Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, left, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. (AP)
As Congress ponders the fate of the PATRIOT Act — and the counterterrorism surveillance programs it authorizes — two potential Republican presidential candidates stuck up for those programs Friday at a conference of Republican activists.
Both former Florida governor Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie disputed the critics — including some fellow Republicans — who say the surveillance programs violate civil liberties.
“These same folks who are criticizing us now will be the same people who will stand on Capitol Hill if there’s another attack on America and interrogate the CIA director and FBI director and ask them why they didn’t connect the dots, and not realize the hypocrisy of their actions,” Christie said at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City.
Bush later seconded Christie’s comments, telling the group: “There is ample evidence that the PATRIOT Act has been a tool to keep us safe — There is no evidence of anyone’s civil liberties being violated because of it.”
Government surveillance could well be an issue in next year’s Republican primaries. A potential opponent of Bush and Christie — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. — spent part of this week leading a filibuster against the PATRIOT Act and its surveillance programs operated by the National Security Agency.
Republican lawmakers have criticized both Bush and Christie for their support of the NSA surveillance programs.
“Jeb Bush Is ‘Wrong’ About Constitution,”tweeted Rep. Justin Amash, R- Mich.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah — responding to a Christie comment this week that “you can’t enjoy your civil liberties if you’re in a coffin” — accused the New Jersey governor of engaging in “political pornography.”
In Oklahoma City, both Bush and Chris got heckled by one member of the audience who at one point shouted “Protect the Constitution!”
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