Republicans Actually Voted Against Wiretapping Before Voting for it

Everyone remembers John Kerry, the flip-flopper, who uttered the infamous remark: "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it." While that statement generated widespread criticism, few have taken the Republicans to task for their drastic flip-flopping on the issue of warrant-less wiretapping.

In 1996, Congress passed anti-terrorist legislation. This legislation was a direct response to the Oklahoma City Bombing. Clinton delivered a bill, which included provisions for warrant-less wiretapping, to the Congress, urging that they act within the week.

"The most important thing right now is that they get the best, strongest bill they can out -- that they give us as much help as they can," Clinton said.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, doubted that the Senate would rush to action before they recess this weekend: "The Senate needs to study all the options", he said, and trying to get it done in the next three days would be tough.

Contrast that the hurried passage of the Patriot Act. As The New York Times reports: "After Sept. 11, Congress was in such a rush to pass the Patriot Act that, disturbingly, many members did not even read it before they voted for it." When Bush's wiretapping program became news in 2005, Trent Lott no longer advocated the study of the issues. He told The Wall Street Journal: "I want my security first... I will deal with all the details after that."

A compromise was reached on the 1996 anti-terrorism bill. The republicans successfully removed the wiretapping provisions. Sen. Don Nickles, R-Oklahoma noted that America remains "very open" to terrorism. "Will it stop any acts of terrorism, domestic and international? No," he said, adding, "We don't want a police state."

The Republicans now endorse this police state. Trent Lott, who worked to remove wiretapping provisions in 1996, rallied support for the program this time around. He insunated that, without the program, Washington DC would be attacked by terrorists. He adds: "What are people worried about? What is the Problem? Are you doing something you're not supposed to?"

The Republicans, who used to posture for limted government, praised Bush's policies in thier 2004 Party Platform,: "President Bush has confronted unprecedented challenges, including a world scarred by terrorism. The President and the American people have risen to the occasion by acting on a bold new statement of America’s place and purpose in the world. Today, we are filled with hope for the most dramatic advance of liberty in 60 years."

The 'dramatic advance of liberty' is a euphamism for the invasive 'war on terror', which has been waged at the cost of America's privacy and civil rights. The Republicans, who historically have been skeptical of big government, have aided the cause of liberty by bowing to the state.