Regardless of which party is in power, doing right is always right and doing wrong is always wrong. The PATRIOT Act has, to my knowledge, never received the kind of scrunity and attention it demanded in the debate leading up to its original passage, much less its renewals. We need a national discussion of the legislation this time, particularly given that it is now being expanded, rather than downscaled as in previous renewals.
To my mind, the PATRIOT Act hinges on three questions:
(1) Are its provisions in line with our constitional protections?
(2) How effective have its provisions been in achieving its purpose?
(3) Is the trade off in liberty worth the alleged gain in security?
Of course it's easier to just be lazy and let your congressman do your thinking for you. They never lead us astray.
