A Western Democrat on the Patriot Act
Over at Gather.com, Jay Stevens has great coverage of the Patriot Act in the Tester/Burns race.
The West contains a strong libertarian streak: Westerners value self-reliance and resent unwanted intrusion of government in their lives. They value common sense, hard work, and practical solutions. ...In the Senate debate in Butte, Senator Burns accused the Big Sandy farmer of wanting to revise the Patriot Act. "I don't want to revise the Patriot Act," responded Tester, "I want to repeal it." Later in the same debate, Tester answered sharply to a question on gun control with a statement that was considered quintessential Western Democrat: "With things like the Patriot Act, we'd damn well better keep our guns."
While Bush and allies like Conrad Burns continue to tout the administration's unconstitutional extension of executive power, Westerners are increasingly resentful of a government that's reaching into their personal lives and threatening their basic liberties. ...
In the larger sense, the Republicans are becoming the party of big government, wayward spending, and indiscriminate intrusion, while the Democrats are lining up to define themselves as the protectors of Americans' basic freedoms, including the right to bear arms. Tester is definitely capitalizing on Burns' clumsy and stubborn insistence to defend the President's intrusive and extra-legal terrorist programs in a state where a jealous regard for individualism is a virtue.
Here's to Jon Tester -- not afraid of the righties, even on the Patriot Act. Here's the lesson: Don't be afraid of speaking powerfully to your position; even if it runs against the Beltway conventional wisdom. (Maybe even, because it runs against CW!)
Kari Chisholm | October 29, 2006 | Comment on This Post (0 so far) |
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(and yes, we know that sometimes they're very, very wrong. Other times, they're right on.)
