A small item left relatively unnoticed in this week’s kerfuffle regarding the FISA Amendments Act of 2007: Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts revealed in a speech on the Senate floor that by his analysis the act would have the effect of “allowing warrantless interception of purely domestic communications.”
If it had not been for the heroic effort this week of Senator Christopher Dodd with the aid of Senator Russell Feingold, the bill would have passed, and we would have had a regime of warrantless wiretapping of domestic communications within the United States of America. That’s why we need progressives in power: because they’re the only ones who notice, care, and act to stop unconstitutional violations of Americans’ civil rights.
(Source: Speech of Senator Edward Kennedy before the United States Senate, December 17 2007)
