Daily Kos: Feingold blogs about Patriot Act

Daily Kos: PATRIOT ACT UPDATE: "I have never done this before, and I know that it's frowned upon, but here is my statement from last night:

Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
On the Latest Regarding Patriot Act Reauthorization

'Today is a victory for the American people and the bipartisan group of Senators who have been fighting against efforts to extend the Patriot Act permanently without protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens. I am pleased that the Republican leadership backed down from their irresponsible threat to let the Patriot Act expire and agreed to a 6-month extension of the provisions that would have sunset at the end of this year. This will allow more time to finally agree on a bill that protects our rights and freedoms while preserving important tools for fighting terrorism. Those of us who stood up to demand modest and reasonable protections of our liberties never wanted to stop Patriot Act reauthorization. We just want to get it right this time around.

We could have avoided these last-minute negotiations if the House had just adopted the Senate version of the Patriot Act that passed unanimously earlier this year. As we move forward, I hope that the Republican leadership in the Senate and the administration will continue down the path they started on tonight so that we don't find ourselves in this same situation 6 months from now. One thing is clear - what happened in the Senate over the past few weeks shows that this conference report is dead.'

That's right, they backed down, for now. There was an agreement reached last night to extend the Patriot Act for 6 months so there is more time to finally get things right. I want to sincerely thank everyone for their support and for continuing to make their voices heard on this issue. We could not have reached this point without your support.

That said, our fight is far from over. Continue your efforts, whether it's writing your member of Congress, or talking to your "