Action: Stop the Patriot Act

The Patriot Act renewal was passed by the House and moves to the Senate today for renewal. There’s discussion of a filibuster effort, but whether it will be successful is unclear. That’s where you come in. Take three minutes out of your day to fight for Liberty, using this handy guide:

1. Look up your state Senate delegation here.
2. Call (yes, with the phone) each Senator’s office
3. Tell the person who answers the phone:
   1. Your name
   2. That you are a constituent from your home city
   3. That you would urge the Senator to block renewal of the Patriot Act

That’s it, should take less than a minute per call. If enough people call, we can stop this thing.

UPDATE: The roll call vote in the Senate has just completed. We won! Congratulations to all who helped make it happen.

The results (52 Aye – 47 No) of the roll-call vote will be posted here. “No” was the correct way to vote. Do feel free to make a follow-up call to your Senator to dispense praise or criticism as appropriate.

UPDATE 2: Senator Frist is backing the White House line that there will be no short-term extension of the Patriot Act to allow the Senate to reconsider it after the winter break. With the filibuster successful, it looks like the Senate is back to debating the Patriot Act on the floor of the Senate, so keep calling your Senators. We’ve stopped renewal for the moment, but it’s not over yet.

As to the Presidential threat, when the rubber hits the road, I have trouble believing that the President would be stupid enough to veto a short-term reauthorization. Even if he was that stupid, I’d bet that the Senate would override.

Update by Stephen VanDyke: MeFi has a great post up with a lively discussion. The best part though is the title: Who are you and what have you done with my Senate?