SOMEBODY PUT SOMETHING IN HIS DRINK

With unanimous support in the Senate from the start and the small matter of
the First Amendment pitted against it, the RAVE Act seemed like it might be
a sure thing.

But as little as one week before a floor vote, the RAVE Act has lost the
support of co-sponsor Senator Patrick Leahy (D- Vermont). Responding to
public outrage over the bill expressed through protests, petitions and
marches nationwide, Senator Leahy officially removed his name from the list
of cosponsors on Friday, September 13.

Also aiding the anti-RAVE cause was a fantastic media campaign. Coverage in
some of the most well-read and respected newspapers in the country is
likely to thank for the outpouring of letters, faxes, phone calls and
emails that flooded the Senate in past weeks.

Leahy's withdrawal of sponsorship is particularly significant because he
holds the position of Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and sits
on the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs - the very committee from which that
little imp we call the RAVE Act was born.