Senator Wyden Demands Debate Over Patriot Act

from the senator-wyden-hits-again dept

Mon, Feb 28th 2011 2:53pm — Mike Masnick

It's feeling like we should have a weekly section for "kudos to Senator Ron Wyden." Each week he seems to be the only major elected public official who seems to actually be fighting for the people, rather than for greater power for corporations and government. His latest is that he seems to be one of the few elected officials who are actually pushing for real debate about the "sunsetted" Patriot Act provisions. As you may recall, Congress has been rubber stamping extensions to the three provisions, which allow for very broad surveillance with very little oversight. Each time they extend the provisions, they claim there hasn't been enough time to debate the provisions, so we should just push it out again. But then no debate actually happens. It looks like Senator Wyden is looking to fix that:

[The Patriot Act] was written and passed six weeks after the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history. Congress wisely included sunset dates for the Patriot Act's most controversial provisions, so that they could be thoughtfully considered at a later time. After ten years, it is clearly time for that debate."

I'd argue it's well past the time for that debate, but that's a minor quibble. Wyden is also pushing for legislation that narrows the surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act and further protects our Fourth Amendment rights.

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Filed Under: debate, patriot act, privacy, ron wyden

32 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 28 Feb 2011 @ 3:11pm

This guy loves to grandstand!
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- Anonymous Coward, 28 Feb 2011 @ 3:15pm
  
  Re:
  More hot air than you average conservative talk show host.
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  - Pay attention, 28 Feb 2011 @ 4:12pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Wyden is a Democrat.
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    - abc gum, 28 Feb 2011 @ 5:19pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Woooosh!
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    - Anonymous Coward, 28 Feb 2011 @ 5:21pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Yup. Democrats have absolutely no hot air.
      
      Riiight!
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- Anonymous Coward, 28 Feb 2011 @ 5:21pm
  
  Re:
  so does your mom.
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Feb 2011 @ 3:31pm

More hot air than you average conservative talk show host.

You realize he's on the left?

I'm an Oregon voter, and have mixed feelings about Wyden. On these sorts of issues, he's a breath of fresh air. On other issues (primarily fiscal), he's a fairly typical overspending/overreaching democrat. No worse than most, but no better.

So my support for Wyden tends to shift depending on what I'm more scared of at the moment: National fiscal collapse, or Orwellian police state.
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- MrWilson, 28 Feb 2011 @ 3:40pm
  
  Re:
  Few politicians are able, much less willing to fix the fiscal issues (except by screwing over citizens and kowtowing to corporations).
  
  Fewer still are willing to stand virtually alone in opposition to legitimately disturbing pieces of legislation.
  
  Wyden is showing that he is the least of quite a few evils. That's good enough for me.
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- Anonymous Coward, 28 Feb 2011 @ 3:47pm
  
  Re:
  I didn't know that the left had no hot air. Did the Faux News people take it all?
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- Charlie Potatoes, 28 Feb 2011 @ 4:34pm
  
  Re:
  Over spending... left wing... liberal.. DEMOCRAT... oh my. Republicans are masters at spreading spin slime. I recall the surplus when the Bush regime took power and I recall the deficit when BushCheney crawled back under their rock after eight years. We seem to be missing about 14 Trillion dollars. I'd frisk them both if I could. Republicans can say anything they want, but they are still liars and slime. So what if the Democrats are, too? Their fingerprints aren't on the deficit. Who spent us into this mess? Hint... it wasn't Bill Clinton and it wasn't Barack Obama. Nice try, assholes.
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monkyyy, 28 Feb 2011 @ 3:37pm

i think he said "clearly" in the same meaning as ur " well past the"
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James Carmichael, 28 Feb 2011 @ 3:47pm

Part of the system works! Democracy's now up to 11%!
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Mike Clouser, 28 Feb 2011 @ 3:50pm

Abolish
Completely the Patriot Act

It was intended to be a tool for tyranny and will inevitably be used for such.
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Hiiragi Kagami (profile), 28 Feb 2011 @ 3:58pm

Interesting first sentence.
It's feeling like we should have a weekly section for "kudos to Senator Ron Wyden."
Actually, why doesn't Techdirt have a "Kudos" section? There have been plenty of positive articles of late and a "Kudos" section would be nice to see.

My first nomination would go to Nina Paley for her recent "copyrights promote lawsuits" comic strip.
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Chris (profile), 28 Feb 2011 @ 4:03pm

It's not going to matter anyway
he is just going to have a "tragic" accident and disappear forever
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- Hephaestus (profile), 1 Mar 2011 @ 7:04am
  
  Re: It's not going to matter anyway
  Probably just be a plane crash like Senator Heinz who became a red smear on a runway ... that reminds me I need ketchup
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Anthony, 28 Feb 2011 @ 4:46pm

Sen. Wyden
The debate over these provisions is indeed way overdue, but not to any politicians lack of interest but to the lack of interest of the American public. If the American public was not so apathetic and got off their butts and supported such a debate we would have it. If there is one thing every politician wants more than power and money, it is to be on the side of public opinion.
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- abc gum, 28 Feb 2011 @ 5:24pm
  
  Re: Sen. Wyden
  I call BS.
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Thomas (profile), 28 Feb 2011 @ 4:50pm

I just hope.
the good senator doesn't find black SUVs tailing him all the time, or that he gets a trumped up charge that sends him to Gitmo.

Politicians do not want to be seen as condoning terrorism, thus we have the Patriot Act.
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- abc gum, 28 Feb 2011 @ 5:32pm
  
  Re: I just hope.
  "Politicians do not want to be seen as condoning terrorism, thus we have the Patriot Act"
  
  Voting against the patriot act would not necessarily imply "condoning terrorism". Does anyone really think Feingold or Kucinich condone terrorism? And I doubt anyone thinks the same of the ten who recently voted against it either.
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  - Jim, 28 Feb 2011 @ 6:44pm
    
    Re: Re: I just hope.
    Kucinich does, he is unfortunately my congressman. Went on Syrian TV and Al Jazeera calling the King of Syria a great man. But other than him your point is certainly valid, Dennis is a one of a kind fool. He means well and he has a heart of gold but is totally clueless on what goes on in the world.
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    - Jim, 28 Feb 2011 @ 6:46pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: I just hope.
      On further reflection I retract that. Dennis is not condoning terrorism when he praises Syria, he is too clueless to understand what he is saying or doing. Since he doens't realize what Syria is up to he isn't really condoning what they do.
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      - Christopher (profile), 28 Feb 2011 @ 7:12pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: I just hope.
        What is Syria up to that the United States is not in another way, analogous to them? Be specific please!
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        Jim, 28 Feb 2011 @ 7:17pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I just hope.
        Where did I say the US was innocent? Be specific please!
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    - Jim, 28 Feb 2011 @ 6:46pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: I just hope.
      On further reflection I retract that. Dennis is not condoning terrorism when he praises Syria, he is too clueless to understand what he is saying or doing. Since he doens't realize what Syria is up to he isn't really condoning what they do.
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Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 28 Feb 2011 @ 6:56pm

"Debate"
Too bad that "debate" on the Senate floor is just senators reading speeches to the CSPAN cameras.

It doesn't matter how long they debate for, it won't change any senator's vote. 80+ will vote to re-extend because if they don't, their opponent in the next election will tag them with "soft on terrorism."
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Jeff, 28 Feb 2011 @ 11:50pm

Rand Paul
Love him or hate him, Rand Paul is another example of a Senator standing up to the patriot act and doing so in a vocal way.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Mar 2011 @ 6:11am

Senator Ron Wyden is from the wonderful state of Oregon and seems to be the only sensible senator in Washington D.C. He's right about the Patriot Act. But more than the Patriot Act we need to already clean house at the agency created by the scare tactics of the Patriot Act. Homeland Security!! I don't feel more secure, but I do feel more harassed, more profiled and basically I hate the sound of their name. I am an American citizen and I want to be left alone. I don't want to travel. I don't want a government job and I don't want to be questioned about every move I make in my life. I just want to be left alone. Go profile some other country.
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V, 1 Mar 2011 @ 6:28am

It always begins...
It always begins like this. Something bad happens. Grandstanding government official overreact in a knee jerk response, then later... use the changes as a springboard into even more draconian changes.

Did anyone REALLY expect that the Patriot Act would EVER expire?

REALLY?!
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Mar 2011 @ 8:51am

I love how legislation is named..."homeland security" and "patriot act"....voting against any part of either one makes a politician look anti-american.
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Die-Hard Republican, 1 Mar 2011 @ 3:57pm

Senator Wyden for PRESIDENT!!
Senator Wyden for PRESIDENT!!
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jess, 9 Mar 2011 @ 1:53pm

wow this is horrid!!!!!!
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