Civil liberties eroded by "panic" now officially a fringe view

The bottom line is that politicians find it nearly impossible to give up on any kind of power even if they think they wouldn’t have it in an ideal world. And yes, political inertia is strong, so yesterday’s controversial proposal becomes mainstream if the people who are opposed to it can’t do anything about it.

Portions of it expired, and if memory serves, Obama wants some of them renewed.