Patriot Act extensions fail to pass

CNN is reporting that House Republicans failed to muster enough votes to approve further extensions of the Patriot Act:

Republicans seemed to be blindsided Tuesday night when they came up seven votes short of passing a bill keeping three current measures used by law enforcement and intelligence officials from expiring at the end of February.

The bill, considered under a House rule requiring two-thirds majority for passage, would have extended these provisions through December 8, 2011. Twenty-six Republicans opposed the bill, eight of whom are freshmen. Some Republicans such as Ron Paul of Texas have previously opposed Patriot Act extensions because of concerns about civil liberties.

Twitter is abuzz with folks happy to see it fail even as they mocked Republicans for letting it fail....

I encourage you to make up your own mind:

@mkraju Rand Paul announces he'll oppose Patriot Act renewal, saying it empowers feds "to violate the Fourth Amendment rights of our citizens."

@JohnFugelsang I wrote the Gov't complaining about The Patriot Act invading my privacy & they said they already knew how I felt about it.

@truthout News in Brief: House Fails to Re-Authorize PATRIOT Act, and More ... http://bit.ly/hChYDa #p2 #p2b #p21

@SnarkRemarks So-called "Patriot Act" is farthest thing from patriotic. If not actually unconstitutional, it surely violates the spirit---and our rights.

@LJSearles Crap! I agree with Rand Paul on something. This is worrying. http://bit.ly/fJ58T1

@bluechandelier Rank-and-file take down Patriot Act in House - http://politi.co/dRRIsp Excellent!

@ltdanchoi I was happy the Patriot Act failed renewal, then realized the government knows everything already via Facebook.

@zorblaz If anyone in Homeland Security was surprised that the Patriot Act extension didn't pass, They had better start tapping more phones.

@stacyherbert I'm shocked, shocked I say http://fdl.me/hY2VJh Tea Party Caucus shows reverence for freedom & Constitution by voting for Patriot Act reauth

@Maun PATRIOT Act up for re-authorization. Fight back here: act.demandprogress.org/act/patriotact… via @demandprogress

@downwithtyranny Cantor, embarrassed by his defeat on the PATRIOT Act last night, is furiously trying to shift the blame to pathetic Whip Kevin McCarthy

@jasooo They revoked the Patriot Act, one small step in the right direction America.