Pleasant surprises

A group of prominent conservatives have formed a group (Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances) to call for hearings into the NSA use of warrantless wiretapping.

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, chairman of PRCB, was joined by fellow conservatives Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR); David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union; Paul Weyrich, chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation and Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, in urging lawmakers to use NSA hearings to establish a solid foundation for restoring much needed constitutional checks and balances to intelligence law.

I agree with Markos that this should never have been a partisan issue, but one concerning the fundamental principles of American constitutional government. It's heartening to see GOP heavy-hitters putting some clout behind these calls.

Update: Digby thinks this is just in keeping with previous behavior of movement conservatives -- that they're cutting Bush loose due to his unpopularity, having gotten what they could from him. Could be.