Reply #6: My apologies for singling out Kerry and Edwards...

[sfecap]

You are correct, With the exception of Kucinich, all of the candidates in office voted for it. I mentioned Kerry and Edwards because I happened accrss their vote while looking for something else.

That said, there is no excuse for voting for a bill that is the most sweeping assault on American civil liberties in our history without extensive debate and examination. I don't care when it was passed or in what context it was passed. The Senate has a responsibility to see that the Constitution and Bill of Rights is upheld. A Senator has the responsibility to ascertain that they know what he or she votes for. To now whine about Ashcroft is lame, IMO. They had to have known what they were handing the AG. And they knew full well what kind of a RW asshole Ashcroft was. They served with him in the Senate.

What is particularly galling about what I posted re Kerry and Edwards is that they, after voting for the Act,continued to support the governments ability to tap citizens without court approval, and without verifying exactly who they were tapping. Sorry, I doin't buy their tap dancing about it now.