Tim Walz: “After a brief reprieve, the politics of fear is back in full force. The White House and my colleagues on the other side…”

“After a brief reprieve, the politics of fear is back in full force. The White House and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are saying that the expiration of the Protect America Act has made this Nation more vulnerable. That is simply false. The Washington Post did a nice job of refuting this claim in saying Mr. Bush's pass-it-now-or-the-terrorists-will-win rhetoric is overheated fearmongering. Before the Presidents Day recess, I encouraged my colleagues to stay in Washington and forge a bipartisan long-term solution. I regret that we didn't do that, but I'm not afraid of the expiration of the Protect America Act. I voted for that piece of legislation. As a 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard, I know the importance of having the tools to fight the terrorists. However, I'm committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find a long-term bipartisan solution that strengthens national security, protects our civil liberties, and does so without providing blanket immunity to companies that may have broken our laws. I hope that we can end the fearmongering and the political rhetoric that have characterized this debate and get down to America's business. And I think it needs to be pointed very clearly to this Nation's enemies, this Nation is protected, this Nation stands united on the issue of protecting us, and no amount of rhetoric will change that.”