In 1986, the British satire Yes, Prime Minister invented the politician’s syllogism: something must be done, this is something, therefore we must do this. In the aftermath of 9/11, termed the worst intelligence failure in modern American history, there was a decision that something had to be done, and that something ended up being one of the most far-reaching—and least debated—laws in American history. The USA Patriot (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush on Oct. 26, 2001. The bill had been introduced in the House of Representatives on Oct. 23, it passed the House on Oct. 24 in a 357 to 66 vote, and then passed the Senate on Oct. 25 98 to 1.
Among the many Democrats (and almost all Republicans) who voted in favor was then-Sen. Joe Biden, who was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time. Biden not only voted for it, he ardently supported it to the point where he pointedly took credit for many of the ideas behind the bill several times in 2001 and 2002. What they ended up with was, in the words of the American Civil Liberties Union, a bill that “turns regular citizens into suspects.” Almost 20 years later, the United States stands on the precipice of making the same mistake again: sacrificing liberty in search of protection.
