[neo]Whoa...[/neo]

Yesterday was a day of no mean importance in the current political situation. The Senate Dems and a few Senate Republicans basically blocked the reauthorization of the ill-named USA PATRIOT Act. And quite possibly a new hero has risen with the potential of becoming a rallying point against anti-Bush sentiment: Senator Russ Feingold.

Feingold was the only Senator to vote "no" on the so-called USA PATRIOT Act when it was first proposed. And yesterday Feingold took the lead on the Senate floor and led a fight to block the reauthorization of the criminal act. And what do you know? It succeeded. A vote to invoke "cloture" on the filibuster against reauthorization failed. So basically the momentum for reauthorizing and even strengthening this horrible bill has slammed right into a brick wall.

Here is an honor roll of the people who voted against cloture yesterday.
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-MBNA)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-RIAA/MPAA)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-Microsoft)
Carper (D-DE)
Clinton (D-NY)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Craig (R-ID)
Dayton (D-MN)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-RIAA/MPAA)
Hagel (R-NE)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Sununu (R-NH)
Wyden (D-OR)

Voted against only on parliamentary grounds:
Frist (R-TN)

Hopefully this is the hoped for "light at the end of the tunnel." Without an oncoming train, please...