Washington Post
by E. J. Dionne Jr.

12/20/05

It's not too much to say that liberty and democracy were triumphant last week. Remarkably, the willingness of four senators to cross party lines was the key to this victory. The good news came when the Senate voted to stall the renewal of the USA Patriot Act, which granted extraordinary powers to law enforcement after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Forty-six senators, including those four Republicans, refused to shut off debate on the bill because they believe that some of its provisions go too far in impinging upon civil liberties. The rebels are not opposed to all of the Patriot Act's provisions; they acknowledge that the rise of terrorism requires new approaches to law enforcement. But they insist on preserving traditional American protections for individual rights. They think judges should be able to review the actions of the authorities, they want to avoid police fishing expeditions, and they want to protect privacy...

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Informant: Thomas L. Knapp