They didn't create the Patriot Act, and even if they did as far as I know almost every congressman voted for it, so it's equally on the heads of both parties. The act itself is a combination of various expanded powers, some necessary and common sense and some very questionable, that law enforcement has been trying to get through congress for a long time. I'd say liberal organizations like the ACLU have a lot to do with this thing getting passed, because if they didn't **** themselves at every piece of such legislation no matter how innocuous it was, people would take them more seriously when something truly dangerous did come up for a vote.