Somebodys Watching YOU!

By Jeff Simpson

"There is no doubt that if we lived in a police state, it would be easier to catch terrorists. If we lived in a country where the police were allowed to search your home at any time for any reason; if we lived in a country where the government is entitled to open your mail, eavesdrop on your phone conversations, or intercept your e-mail communications; if we lived in a country where people could be held indefinitely based . . . on mere suspicion that they are up to no good, the government would probably discover and arrest more terrorists, or would-be terrorists.... But that wouldn't be a country in which we would want to live."

- Russ Feingold on the USA Patriot Act, Oct 11, 2002
(the only House or Senate member to vote against the USA Patriot Act)

Who do you blame?  Why Both parties of course - 

 Over 100 people currently serving in the House and Senate voted for the original Act in 2001. Last year, over 300 voted to extend a key provision.

The votes that got us here:

• The PATRIOT Act, October 2001.
• USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, March 2006
• FISA Amendments Act of 2008, July 2008
• Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009, February 2010
• FISA Sunsets Extension Act of 2011, February 2011
• PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011, May 2011
• FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012, December 2012

(The "Medicare" bill, above, was gutted and re-written to accommodate three PATRIOT-related measures.) 

Broken down even more: 

The PATRIOT Act

Total current members who voted: 153 Total current members who supported the bill: 118
No sitting Republicans who were in Congress in 2001 voted against the PATRIOT Act. More sitting Democrats supported it than opposed.
Votes by sitting members
Support and opposition by party

PATRIOT Act Reauthorization, 2005

Total current members who voted: 260 Total current members who supported the bill: 151
Currently sitting Democrats were more likely to oppose the extension than to approve it. Several Republican House members opposed the extension, but no Senators did.
Votes by sitting members
Support and opposition by party

FISA Amendments, 2008

Total current members who voted: 304 Total current members who supported the bill: 191
Only one Republican voted against the amendments, which authorized the government to conduct sweeps like the one in the Verizon case.
Votes by sitting members
Support and opposition by party

PATRIOT Act Extension, 2011

Total current members who voted: 430 Total current members who supported the bill: 265
A larger number of sitting Republicans opposed the extension than any of the other three. That includes Senators Murkowski, Paul, Heller, and Lee. Nineteen Democrats who opposed the FISA amendments in 2008 voted in support of it under the new president.
Votes by sitting members
Support and opposition by party

FISA Extension, 2012

Total current members who voted: 437 Total current members who supported the bill: 303
Three Republican senators opposed extending FISA: Lee, Murkowski, and Paul.

 So yes, you can be upset that President Obama has overseen such an overreaching program of the US government in the name of safety, but he is not on an island and he did not break new ground here!