Tea Party Helps Defeat the Patriot Act Extensions

Before I get into this, I want to remind my readers of a quote by my Congressman, Billy Long. "We were Tea Party before Tea Party was cool." It's a peculiar quote considering Congressman Long didn't side with the other Tea Party members in Congress that voted against extending key provisions in the Patriot Act.

From Slate:

The Tea Party is causing trouble for Republicans again. On Tuesday, the GOP-led House failed to pass a temporary extension of the Bush-era USA Patriot Act after 26 Republicans voted against it. Democrats split on the bill, resulting in a total final tally of 277-148—seven votes short of the two-thirds majority needed, reports the Los Angeles Times. The vote made strange bedfellows of Democrats and Tea Party-inspired Republicans who feel the act's provisions are a violation of personal privacy.