Wednesday’s vote on Justin Amash’s (R-Michigan) amendment which would have curbed the ability of the NSA to collect individual phone data failed by a  205-217 vote. The amendment which saw active arm twisting in opposition from the House Republican Leadership AND the White House demonstrated a broad coalition of libertarian minded conservatives and liberals who are committed to defending civil liberties.

This coalition has had an opportunity of being formed for years but unfortunately political rhetoric from both major parties who are committed to keeping control of their troops has dissuaded any true coalition building. But the Amash amendment showed the clear alliance that is possible here in Florida, as the most conservative Republicans in our delegation joined with the most liberal members not tied directly to the leadership to almost score a major political coup.

From the Tampa Bay Times below you can see the Florida vote breakdown:

New southwest Florida Republican Congressman Trey Radel has been particularly consistent on these issues and has worked to build bridges in the House to liberal Democrats who feel the same way about domestic spying, and personal freedoms. As civil liberties continue to be eroded in the name of National Security and irresponsible commentary is made by the likes of Peter King (the House member most closely linked to terrorists himself with his ties to the IRA in the 1980s and 1990s) about someone like Rand Paul who has very libertarian views on foreign policy and domestic spying (Paul’s father was one of the most consistent opponents of the Iraq War in EITHER party) implying the younger Paul is coddling terrorists, the possibility for an alliance is real.

Ultimately, citizens must decide whether fear of an occasional terrorist act requires a Soviet or Nazi styled police state, the type of institution we fought World War II and a Cold War to defeat, or whether American values are more important than fear. The post 9/11 push to erode Civil Liberties was opposed by most liberals but importantly not by many leaders in the Democratic Party. Today, the Democratic President has expanded George W. Bush’s surveillance and spying while also doing little to curtail the culture of constant war and needless foreign interventions that began in the second term of Bill Clinton. The appointment of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense it was hoped would scale down military operations and the eagerness to use force aboard, but the jury is still out whether Hagel will have the impact some liberals like myself had hoped he would. Hagel’s mission is to mollify the hawkish instincts of this administration in addition to taking on the Military Industrial Complex. On the later matter, it appears Hagel is making progress as defense contractors it has been reported by Bloomberg TV are “nervous” about what is coming from DOD.

President Obama has done better with Syria, rejecting the endless calls from neo-conservatives and some in the Democratic Party to intervene. While the war is a humanitarian disaster, the opposition to President Assad is made up largely of Sunni Muslims who will almost certainly persecute Christians and Shiite Muslims as well as potentially align Syria with Al-Qaeda.

Our President has done well on the domestic front. But his national security policies have not been liberal. While party loyalty is the test for some, consistency and adherence to ideology particularly on matters of this importance should trump party. I am pleased to see some Democrats begin to move towards a coalition with libertarian Republicans on these issues. The next time we push for a military intervention in the Middle East, hopefully this coalition will be strong and reject the phony patriotism that goes along with the beating of war drums.