According to this article in the New York Times, the Senate actually failed to end debate on the renewal of the PATRIOT Act today, leaving open the possibility that no action will be taken before the bill expires on December 31.
Responses from the bills supporters were, of course, unsurprising. From the article:
Another supporter of the bill, Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, asserted that if the Patriot Act had been in place before Sept. 11, 2001, the attacks might never have happened. And should another attack occur before the law is reauthorized, “We will have to answer for that,” he said.
Yes, and by that same logic, maybe passage of the bill will cause aliens from Planet Zorak to descend upon the Earth, raining down destruction and obliterating life as we know it. Clearly, we cannot pass this reckless legislation.
On a more serious note, one of the two Democrats who voted with Republicans to end debate was Nebraska’s Ben Nelson. I can’t help but wonder if he is really in favor of extending the PATRIOT Act, or if this vote was cast in anticipation of a likely run for the Democratic nomination in 2008.