Gore Blasts PATRIOT Act, Which Mirrors His 10-Year-Old Plan
By: Administrative Account | Source: CNSNews.com
November 11, 2003 12:56PM EST

By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Congressional Bureau Chief
November 11, 2003

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Former Vice President Al Gore made headlines with his criticisms on Sunday of the Bush administration's implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act and the post-9/11 consolidation of federal law enforcement. But a CNSNews.com investigation shows that Gore proposed a very similar program 10 years earlier.

Gore spoke to members of the American Constitution Society - a group of liberal law students, lawyers, academics, judges and policymakers - telling its members that the Bush administration had gone too far in its quest to protect America from terrorists.

"Incredibly, this administration has attempted to compromise the most precious rights that America has stood for all over the world for more than 200 years: due process, equal treatment under the law, the dignity of the individual, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, freedom from promiscuous government surveillance," Gore said. "And in the name of security, this administration has attempted to relegate the Congress and the courts to the sidelines and replace our democratic system of checks and balances with an unaccountable executive."

The Democrat and former Tennessee senator accused the White House of fostering "false impressions" and misleading the nation with "superficial, emotional and manipulative presentations that are not worthy of American democracy.

"They have exploited public fears for partisan political gain and postured themselves as bold defenders of our country while actually weakening not strengthening America," Gore said. "They have used unprecedented secrecy and deception in order to avoid accountability to the Congress, the courts, the press and the people."

Gore was particularly critical of the Bush administration's consolidation of federal law enforcement authority in the Justice Department and what that concentration of power has allegedly meant for civil liberties.

"Where civil liberties are concerned, they have taken us much farther down the road toward an intrusive, 'Big Brother'-style government, toward the dangers prophesized by George Orwell in his book 1984, than anyone ever thought would be possible in the United States of America," Gore added.

Perhaps not farther than 'anyone' ever thought

Gore made no reference during his speech, however, to the fact that many of the very changes he criticized are strikingly similar to a plan he proposed in 1993 as part of the Clinton-Gore "Partnership for Reinventing Government."

The Clinton administration's recommendations were listed as number 312 on a list of 1,498 suggestions, bearing the summary "The DLE should reinvent federal law enforcement to ensure activities are coordinated and critical resources are shared."

DLE was the Clinton administration acronym for the Directorate of Central Law Enforcement.

The Scripps-Howard News Service reported on August 11, 1993, that Gore had "drafted a proposal to transfer all federal law enforcement activities to the Justice Department. The new 'Directorate of Central Law Enforcement,' headed by the attorney general, would oversee the FBI, the DEA, Secret Service, Customs Service, Internal Revenue Service, Postal Service and BATF.'"

Texas congressman called Gore plan 'building block of totalitarianism'

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) wrote about the Clinton-Gore proposal in his September 15, 1993, "Survival Report," arguing it would "create a national police force that is one of the building blocks of totalitarianism.

"The result will have the Soviet-sounding name "Directorate of Central Law Enforcement," Paul wrote.

Paul warned CNSNews.com when the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act was proposed that, regardless of who initiates a consolidation of federal police power, it has potentially ominous consequences.

"We already had, before 9/11, over 80,000 federal agents carrying guns. Now that we have federalized security at airports, a lot of them will have guns. And then, with this new program," Paul warned, "I think we're probably going to double or triple the number of federal agents who will be carrying guns."

Paul has supported President Bush's authority and decisions to pursue the 9/11 terrorists, but he was one of only five members of the House and Senate to vote against the PATRIOT Act's broad new law enforcement and intelligence-gathering powers following the attacks.

Erich Pratt, communications director for Gun Owners of America, recalled in a June 2002 interview that the Constitution authorizes federal "law enforcement" to address only counterfeiting, piracy and other "felonies committed on the high seas," and treason.

"Everything else should belong to the states," Pratt said. "But over the years, more and more power has been flowing to Washington, and now, you have more than 350 agencies at the federal level that are armed and can act like real cops. That is not the vision that George Washington and James Madison had."

Paul and Pratt agree that federal "law enforcement" agencies should limit their activities primarily to providing intelligence gathering, evidence analysis and other support services to state, county/parish and municipal agencies.

"Law enforcement should be carried out locally," Paul added, noting that federal agents were not armed and had no arrest powers until the early 1900s, when prohibition and the federal income tax were imposed.

Before the PATRIOT Act became law, both Pratt and Paul feared the legislation could lead to abuses of citizens' constitutional rights.

"For a good many years now, I've been warning people that we were already moving toward a police state," Paul recalled. "We're going in exactly the wrong direction."

Pratt pointed out that with a consolidation of management and resources comes a consolidation of the information various federal agencies have gathered on law-abiding citizens.

"That's why we don't want all the law enforcement functions to be centralized in Washington, D.C.," Pratt said. "There is a tremendously increased risk, centralizing all that information in one place."

Gore's criticisms of PATRIOT Act mirrored conservatives' warnings

Gore's criticisms of the PATRIOT Act on Sunday sounded much like Pratt's and Paul's comments.

"Now, if it wants to, the federal government has the right to monitor every website you go to on the Internet, keep a list of everyone you send e-mail to or receive e-mail from, and everyone you call on the telephone or who calls you, and they don't even have to show probable cause that you've done anything wrong," Gore said. "Nor do they ever have to report to any court on what they're doing with the information.

"Just last week, Attorney General Ashcroft issued brand new guidelines permitting FBI agents to run credit checks and background checks and gather other information about anyone who is 'of investigatory interest,' meaning anyone the agent thinks is suspicious without any evidence of criminal behavior," Gore claimed. "So, is that fine with everyone?"

Even while criticizing the Bush administration for implementing and utilizing the consolidation of federal law enforcement his administration proposed, Gore chose to still promote an even greater consolidation of law enforcement and intelligence-gathering power.

"The administration has still failed to address the fundamental disorganization and rivalries of our law enforcement, intelligence and investigative agencies," Gore said. "In particular, the critical FBI-CIA coordination, while finally improved at the top, still remains dysfunctional in the trenches."

One of Gore's final comments sounded more to some conservative observers like a statement that might have been made following then-Attorney General Janet Reno's raid to seize Cuban refugee Elian Gonzales than a comment from a liberal opponent of the Bush administration.

"It is important to remember that throughout history, the loss of civil liberties by individuals and the aggregation of too much unchecked power in the executive go hand in hand," Gore said. "They are two sides of the same coin."

Email this Article

Printer Friendly Version