Fourth Amendment Republicans

Conservatives Bob Barr, Grover Norquist, David Keene, Paul Weyrich, and Second Amendment Foundation founder Alan Gottleib have founded Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances, which is "an organization dedicated to protecting Americans' fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment and ensuring that all provisions of the Patriot Act are in line with the Constitution." Today, they're calling on Congress "to hold open, substantive oversight hearings examining the President's authorization of the National Security Agency (NSA) to violate domestic surveillance requirements."

Quotable:

"The need to reform surveillance laws and practices adopted since 9/11 is more apparent now than ever. No one would deny the government the power it needs to protect us all, but when that power poses a threat to the basic rights that make our nation unique, its exercise must be carefully monitored by Congress and the courts. This is not a partisan issue; it is an issue of safeguarding the fundamental freedoms of all Americans so that future administrations do not interpret our laws in ways that pose constitutional concerns." -- David Keene, chairman, American Conservative Union

Press release here; link via Duncan Black.

Jesse Walker interviewed Barr for Reason's December 2003 issue.