GOP Sinks to a New Low

U.S. Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT) just went to the House floor and essentially accused those who want to reform the Patriot Act of not caring about the 3,000 Americans who were killed on 9/11. His comment, coincidentally, followed a passionate statement in support of an amendment reforming the Patriot Act by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who represents Manhattan.

The Shays quote is not available yet on the web, but when it is, I will post it - let's hope he doesn't retroactively "revise and extend" his remarks for the record.

If you have C-SPAN, you should watch the debate going on. The Republican leadership is impugning the patriotism and national security credentials of those who are supporting efforts to prevent the government from being able to secretly search library/bookstore records of ordinary Americans who aren't even a target of an investigation. The White House has threatened to veto the measure if it passes. Read more about the issue in today's Progress Report.