leifw

Senate races in Montana are particularly fun because my piddly little vote counts the same as roughly 33 Californians' votes on federal government. On Saturday, the candidates for Montana's open seat debated in Butte.

Burns: [Tester] wants to weaken the Patriot Act.

Tester: I don't want to weaken the Patriot Act; I want to repeal it... It takes away your freedom... and when you take away our freedoms, the terrorists have won.

Tester has received some attention for this statement:

• Praise from Daily Kos, one of liberal blogs with the largest audience.
• Condemnation from former Homeland Security chief, Tom Ridge.