Right, left unite to blast Senate Majority Leader McConnell over Patriot Act move

A coalition of advocacy groups from all sides of the political spectrum has joined forces to warn against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) plan to renew expiring portions of the Patriot Act without changes. Traditionally conservative organizations such as FreedomWorks and Gun Owners of America joined the American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP and dozens of other groups to warn the Senate Majority Leader against his “clean” reauthorization of the national security law. “In the absence of meaningful reform, it is unacceptable to rubber stamp reauthorization of an authority that the government has used to spy on millions of innocent Americans,” the groups told Majority Leader McConnell and other leaders of Congress. “These bulk surveillance programs raise serious constitutional concerns, erode global confidence in the security of digital products, and are unnecessary for national security,” they added.

The backlash from both sides points to the perilous path for backers of Majority Leader McConnell’s effort, which is likely to engender opposition from liberal and conservative groups alike. Majority Leader McConnell wants to extend without changes three provisions of the Patriot Act set to expire at the end of May, including the section that the National Security Agency has relied on to collect records about millions of Americans’ phone calls. Instead, civil libertarians have demanded that the Congress reform the law before reauthorizing it.