Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) has announced, in an eloquent op-ed to his constituents, that he plans to introduce legislation which would, among other things, repeal the Patriot Act and establish real protections for whistleblowers.

Regarding this legislation, Holt writes:



Soon, I will introduce legislation that would repeal the laws that brought us our current “surveillance state”: the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act. My bill would restore the probable cause-based warrant requirement for any surveillance against an American citizen being proposed on the basis of an alleged threat to the nation. And it would, for the first time, provide genuine legal protections for the Thomas Drakes of the world.

Holt, who represents New Jersey's 12 Congressional District and was the former chairman of the House Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, railed in his op-ed against the "radical over-reach" and Fourth Amendment violations of our current surveillance state, and blamed both the executive and legislative branches for allowing individuals like Thomas Drake – upon whom he bestowed particular praise – to be prosecuted rather than hailed.

Holt, after announcing the legislation he plans to introduce, closed with the following:



If we hope to restore and preserve the republic that Hamilton, Patrick Henry and other Founders risked their lives to create, we must end the industrial-scale surveillance and perpetual war mentality that has been foisted on the American people in the name of “national security.”

Amen, Rep. Holt. And good luck. Public opinion is on your side, and is steadily tilting your way.

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