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USA PATRIOT Act Defeated

Libertarians Celebrate Victory

(from the Libertarian Party of Ohio)

The Senate on Friday rejected attempts to reauthorize several provisions of

the USA Patriot Act as infringing too much on Americans' privacy and liberty, dealing a huge defeat to the Bush administration and Republican leaders.

In a crucial vote early Friday, the bill's Senate supporters were not able to

get the 60 votes needed to overcome a threatened filibuster by Sens. Russ

Feingold, D-Wis., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and their allies. The final vote

was 52-47.

The Libertarian Party played a crucial role in bringing together conservative

and liberal opponents of the PATRIOT Act to form Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances (http://www.checksbalances.org/index.php).  The Patriots lobbied Congress intensively over the past year to allow the controversial provisions to expire on Dec 31 2005.

"Through our participation in Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances, we were able to work with former Congressman Bob Barr to bring conservatives like the American Conservative Union, Americans for Tax Reform, and Gun Owners of America  together with progressive groups like the ACLU," explains Ohio LP Executive Director Robert Butler.

"This represents the great change that has occured in American politics.  Many issues no longer break along traditional conservative vs. liberal lines.

 Current arguments occur between those who prefer liberty and freedom and

those who prefer big government's false sense of security," declares LPO Chair Jason Hallmark, "And today Liberty has won."

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