FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement of Jonathan Tasini on the Patriot Act vote:
“Tomorrow, the Senate is poised to vote on whether to extend the Patriot Act. Sen. Russ Feingold, Democrat from Wisconsin, is leading a bi-partisan group of senators who have declared that they will filibuster the Patriot Act because of provisions in the legislation that erode the civil liberties of all Americans.
If I was in the United States Senate, I would stand squarely with Sen. Feingold and support the filibuster. I applaud Sen. Feingold’s leadership on this issue.
Almost 400 communities across the United States and seven states have taken stands against the assaults on civil liberties contained in the Patriot Act and have demanded that Congress address those concerns before extending the Act, which was passed in the wake of the September 11th attacks. Like Sen. Feingold, I oppose extending provisions that authorize roving wiretaps and permit the government to seize records from libraries, hospitals and businesses in what are simply unjustified searches.
The question is: where does Hillary Clinton stand on supporting the filibuster? No one knows because, once again, Hillary Clinton remains silent on a pressing question facing her constituents, in this case the defense of our basic civil liberties. Even when a bi-partisan group of senators is working to prevent the continued encroachment on our civil liberties, the incumbent senator from New York dodges her own responsibility to ensure that our rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of speech are not abridged.”
