Democratic presidential candidate Christopher Dodd is back on the Iowa campaign trail after leading a filibuster in the U.S. Senate this week to block a bill that would shield phone companies from lawsuits for helping the government "eavesdrop" on Americans. During a speech today in Ames, the Connecticut senator said sometimes liberty is more important than security.
"The phone companies basically kept all the records, all the conversations, all the faxes, all the emails of millions of Americans without any court order and I just think that congress condoning that and immunizing them for any possible lawsuits here is just a dreadful precedent."
Phone compnaies face as many as 40 civil lawsuits alleging violations of communications and wiretapping laws.
"Our security is terribly important, but our liberties are, too, and you don’t get more secure by giving up your liberties — in fact you’ll get more secure by fighting for your liberties," Dodd said, to applause from the Ames audience.
Dodd boasted of spending 11 hours on the floor of the senate to block the bill.