It's almost as though they haven't yet managed to get the toilets in the White House and Justice Department to flush down the Bush administration's leavings. The smell is bad -- it's been polluting Washington for eight years.
So why is the Obama administration clinging to parts of the "Patriot" Act and why is Congress allowing them to get away with it? The Hill reports:
The Justice Department recently reiterated its request for Congress to extend with few changes key provisions of the Patriot Act: sections that allow roving wiretaps on multiple phones, seizing of business records and a never-used authority to spy on non-Americans suspected of being terrorists even though they have no connection to a recognized terrorist group.
It's all about politics.
Weary from months of clashes over healthcare, Democratic leaders have been quietly trying to avoid a public battle within their ranks on the Patriot Act extension. They also are aware that any effort that appears to weaken the law significantly will leave them vulnerable to Republican attacks heading into an election year that Democrats are weak on national security issues.
Same old. Since when do abrogations of the Constitution give us more security?
