Drudge’s Non-Story: Reid Has Criticized The Patriot Act For Years
Drudge’s Non-Story: Reid Has Criticized The Patriot Act For Years
Today, Matt Drudge “uncovered” a photograph (which is posted on the White House website) of President Bush signing the Patriot Act in 2001. Drudge says it proves Harry Reid is a hypocrite:
[S]tanding over the President’s shoulder with a smile on his face is Democratic Senate Minority Harry Reid (D-NV)! Reid is currently leading efforts in the Senate to block the renewal of the Patriot Act.
In fact, Reid’s position on the Patriot Act has been completely consistent. In 2001, when he voted for the act, Reid supported “sunsetting” the controversial provisions to ensure they weren’t being used to violate civil liberties, or to investigate crimes not related to terrorism.
As it turns out, the powers issued by the Patriot Act had been abused — and one of the most blatant abuses was in Reid’s home state of Nevada, where the act was used to investigate a strip-club owner. Since those stories came to light more than two years ago, Reid has supported modifications to the Patriot Act that are not now in the bill:
11/11/03: Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said he is supportive of sunset provisions that will cause many parts of the Patriot Act to expire in 2005. [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
12/15/03: Senator Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, said he was not aware that the money-laundering provision was in the bill when he voted for it in late 2001. He said he did not expect the bill to be as widely used as it has been in domestic investigations that had little or nothing to do with international terrorism. He said he thought the bill was about thwarting terrorists, not, as he put it, “naked women.” [New York Times]
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Drudge is as dumb as a bag of hair.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:36 pmDrudge hasn’t been getting too many breaking stories as of late. Not too much news scooping going on in his small conservative closet.
-GSD
December 20th, 2005 at 5:38 pmDoes anyone still pay attention to Drudge?
December 20th, 2005 at 5:43 pmSeems like we should be looking for him
on the “Surreal Life” any time now.
He’s been really depressed since Jeff Gannon got thrown off the beat. No one to come over and “help” work out his “writers block”.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:43 pmNo way Reid gets off the hook for changing his mind on legislation given evolving circumstances. What a flip-flopper!
And leakers hurt national security and should be fired, except when they shouldn’t be fired, except when they hurt national security and should be fired, and on and on.
That felt good.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:49 pmAs if enough hasn’t happened in the last four years to make EVERYBODY second guess their own citizenship, let alone not backing the Patriot Act anymore.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:55 pmZookeeper: he’s also as dumb as a box of rocks. I wonder which one’s dumber — the rocks box or the hairbag? Either way, Sludge fits the bill, but nobody pays much attention to him anyway so he’s just trying to continue to justify his own existence here. Probably hoping to be the next Novak, to be hired full-time by Faux News…
Leave it up to the right wingnuts to try to use photos out of context. What’s next — doctoring photos to show that over 2000 American soldiers haven’t actually been killed in Iraq — they’ve just been on vacation???
GIVE ‘EM HELL, HARRY!!
December 20th, 2005 at 5:56 pmIf this is no big deal then why you are whiny liberals crying over it? Wha, wha, wha.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:58 pmHah, the strip club story again. I went to high school with Mike Galardi, the guy in the case. He was a friendly guy all around back then, always bringing the keg to the party from his dad’s bar. Then he became a criminal and pimp.
Galardi’s case, no matter its technical merits, is not a great advertisement for reducing the Patriot Act. Galardi turned the VIP room of his club Cheetah’s into a whorehouse, and even provided services for the son of a city official *at the city official’s request.* Thanks, mom (the official is a woman). Typical Vegas story.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:58 pm“GIVE ‘EM HELL, HARRY!!”
Dude, he doesn’t even know how to raise his voice to a level where you can hear him comfortably.
December 20th, 2005 at 5:58 pmDjangone, the “whorehouse” in the “VIP Room” in the Cheetah lounge aided and abetted terrorist attacks how?
December 20th, 2005 at 6:17 pm#7 – Zippy, I thought about going with the box of rocks, but decided Drudge was stupid enough for the hair. I love a stirring debate.
#10 – It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for. Give ‘em hell, Harry!
December 20th, 2005 at 6:40 pmBe aware. The “Patriot Act” will eventually start affecting everyone in the United States and not just for “Terrorism” purposes as your already seeing. Harry has his eyes open and he sees the big picture as will all of you when it starts affecting you personally. This is just the “Tip” of the iceberg.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:43 pmAnd the dummies who believe Drudge won’t ever think that this is a photo taken out of context, or from another event, or “doctored.” I read Druge now and then just to check in on the ridiculous headlines. Does he still have a loyal following?
December 20th, 2005 at 7:50 pmI think he gets tons of hits. John Aravosis ought to pull a Ford on him.
December 20th, 2005 at 7:51 pmReid in photo:
“Damn this guy is a mental case. Maybe I can get Frist to video diagnosis this derranged dictator”.
December 20th, 2005 at 8:04 pmcorrection: diagnose
December 20th, 2005 at 8:05 pmLooks more to me like Reid has a gas pain.
December 20th, 2005 at 8:22 pmA scoop Drudge can be proud of!
December 20th, 2005 at 8:59 pmI dont even know who drudge is.
December 20th, 2005 at 10:24 pmSenator Reid is a hypocrite, a mormon and a traitor.
December 20th, 2005 at 11:40 pmah, we finally hear from the peanut gallery.
Jonah – you are so getting 9 lumps of coal for Chaunikah.
December 21st, 2005 at 10:27 amAnyone rememebr the failed Patriot Act II? I remmeber reading abotu it and how it showed up in congress fully formed. SOme people tried to intimate that it had been prepared by congressional committee, but it turns out it had been prepared by Ashcroft & Co. at the Justice Department.
It had such beautiful things such as giving the president the right to strip any individual of their US citizenship at anytime if it was felt that they were involved in or supported international terrorism. I wonder if simply not supporting the war would be reason enough? Afterall the adminsitration does say that war protestors are in actuallity supporting the enemy. When this thing discussed financially supporting terrorism it said directly or indirectly counted. If I’m not mistaken Ashcroft felt that Greenpeace was a terrorist organization (not sure if it is official or just his opinion) anyhow, you could buy a music Cd and the group supports greenpeace financially therefore you are indirectly supporting terrorism.
My point is that this thing in it’s original form was so vauge and broad reaching that almost anything could count. I guess including running for president because that menas you wish to overturn the government. It was a mess.
It makes me fully believe that there are deeper and darker secrets with this adminsitration and makes me believe more than ever that they do not intend to give up power in 2008 unless it is to one of them.
December 21st, 2005 at 12:07 pmHarry Reid reminds me of a constipated “old-maid” in britches. (Like Harry, concerned Dems John Fitzgerald Kerry and John Fitzgerald Edwards seem to live their political lives artfully dodging and weaving.)
December 22nd, 2005 at 4:14 pmIf Reid hates PATRIOT so much, why is his spokesman calling on Sensenbrenner to stop clogging up the extension?
“Congressman Sensenbrenner needs to do what’s right for Americans and agree to let the bipartisan Senate bill pass promptly,” said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/22/patriot.act.ap/index.html
Jeez, you Dems had this thing killed (and I was cheering you on). Now Reid is trying to get it extended?
Maybe I just don’t understand it at all…
December 22nd, 2005 at 4:29 pmwell senator reid, when will you get around to a bill on nekkid women. I would like to see bill get some once in a while.
December 24th, 2005 at 7:41 pm