Last year President Bush was able to rush the dubious Military Commission Act through the Congress. This year he was able to rush through another surveillance measure. In my view, the President’s legislative ‘achievements’ have little to do with persuasion. It is about the politics of anti-terrorism legislation. That is, if a member of Congress does not support the proposal under consideration, it means he or she is too ‘soft.’ Even though we’re about six years past 9/11 and even with the track record of Attorney General Gonzales, most legislators put their reservations aside, curl up into the fetal position and say “I am against the terrorists too,” as they vote in favor. Last year, Senator Specter went so far as to say that he hoped the courts would strike down as unconstitutional the bill he just voted for. Whatever one thinks about the legislative details of the Patriot Act, the Military Commission Act, or this “Protect America Act of 2007,” all friends of liberty ought to be disturbed by this political climate. The question is: When will this vicious cycle of anti-terrorism legislation stop? In a Giuliani administration? In a Clinton administration?

For more on the new law, go to the Balkinization blog. Tomorrow, Glenn Greenwald and Lee Casey will be here discussing the legacy of the Bush presidency. Watch it online.