Patriot Act Apparently Effective -- But Target of Kerry's Darts
by Chad Groening and Jody Brown
May 10, 2004
(AgapePress) - A conservative pundit who was once a well-known leftist says Democratic John Kerry and other liberal Democrats are undermining America's national security by attacking the Patriot Act.Back in 2001, John Kerry voted in favor of the Patriot Act, saying it reflected "an enormous amount of hard work" by Senate committees and represented compromise on anti-terrorism legislation that he was "pleased" with. He not only stands by that vote, but according to Newsweek also claims to have authored most of the law's money-laundering provisions.
But the Massachusetts senator has been criticized for turning against the Patriot Act early in the Democratic primary campaign after seeing one of his opponents, Howard Dean, get political traction by trashing it. For example, in a recent campaign speech, Kerry told the Anti-Defamation League that the war on terror is not just about "the flexing of our military muscle" and that America needs a change in strategy against terrorists.
Kerry even accuses Attorney General John Ashcroft of using the expanded police powers under the Act "in secret ways and for political purposes" by authorizing his agents to monitor church meetings and political rallies.
Author and publisher David Horowitz says like many liberal politicians, the Democratic presidential hopeful is misguided in his criticism. "John Kerry has laid siege to the Patriot Act, which is our first line of defense here," he says. "All of the anti-American left hates the Patriot Act -- all of them are attacking it."
Supporters of the Patriot Act point out that many of the provisions in the Patriot Act make it easier for the different elements of the intelligence community to share information and to work together -- something the government was criticized for not doing prior to the 9-11 terror attacks. Horowitz contends that if the Patriot Act had been in place two months before those attacks, intelligence officials would have had access to information that could have prevented the attacks.
"It is true that [opponents of the Patriot Act] have roped a few conservatives in with them, but that shouldn't blind people to [that] fact," he says.
As far as the effectiveness of the Patriot Act is concerned, Horowitz says homicide bombers understand only one thing. "They all believe they can kill innocents, and that they'll go to heaven if they do," he says. "One of the phrases they have is 'We love death.' Well, what we need to do is kill enough of their leaders and enough of their soldiers and intimidate the rest -- that's the only solution."
A recent Gallup poll showed that twice as many voters thought Bush would do a better job of continuing the battle against terrorism than Kerry would. And 56 percent of respondents said the president says what he means and means what he says; only 44 percent felt that way about Kerry.
