Yet right-wing propagandists lie and claim not only is Bush's spying program wildly popular among Americans, but that it's just unpatriotic, Osama-lovin' liberals who are calling for an investigation of the program.  But the fact that the nation's leading conservatives are speaking out against Bush  is undeniable:

• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): "I don't know of any legal basis to go around [FISA]."
  
• Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA):  "There is no doubt that this is inappropriate."
  
• Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS): "I am troubled by what the basis for the grounds that the administration says that they did these on, the legal basis, and I think we need to look at that far more broadly and understand it a great deal....
  
• Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN): "I [want hearings]. I think this is an appropriate time, without going back and should the president have ever tried to listen to a call coming from Afghanistan, probably of course. And in the first few weeks we made many concessions in the Congress because we were at war and we were under attack. We still have the possibility of that going on so we don't want to obviate all of this, but I think we want to see what in the course of time really works best and the FISA Act has worked pretty well from the time of President Carter's day to the current time."
  
• Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE):"No president is ever above the law. ... We are a nation of laws. You cannot avoid or dismiss a law."

For a long list of other Republican members of Congress who come out against the program, check out Media Matters here.

Don't forget that the nation's leading conservatives have spoken out at Bush's program in unequivocal and blunt terms:

• Bob Barr: "[F]ederal law still clearly states that intelligence agents must have a court order to conduct electronic surveillance of Americans on these shores. Yet the federal government overstepped the protections of the Constitution and the plain language of FISA to eavesdrop on Americans' private communication without any judicial checks and without proof that they are involved in terrorism.""
  
• Grover Norquist: "Public hearings on this issue are essential to addressing the serious concerns raised by alarming revelations of NSA electronic eavesdropping."
  
• David Keene (Chairman, American Conservative Union): "This is not a partisan issue; it is an issue of safeguarding the fundamental freedoms of all Americans so that future administrations do not interpret our laws in ways that pose constitutional concerns."

Bush's spying program is so repulsive to the core of our democracy that even some of his most ardent supporters will not come to his defense. Just as every other time Bush has face criticism from his own party (Social Security, Iraq War) his administration is embarking on a full-blown, campaign style offensive this week. Alberto Gonzales, Deputy National Intelligence Director Mike Hayden, and other officials will flood the airwaves with their empty rhetoric of  a "limited program" which "saves lives."  The goal is not just to convince Americans and to paint liberals as anti-national-security.  Bush also faces the daunting task of fending off the growing mass of conservatives demanding answers.

I've said this before and I'll keep saying it. There is no way that the NSA program was limited to spying on known al-Qaeda members' phone calls to American citizens. If it were limited to that there never would have been a need to go around the FISA court. If it were limited to that, there would not have been 10 or more NSA employees so outraged that they felt the need to leak to the New York Times. If it were limited to that, the President would have been able to convince the New York Times not to run the story.

The NSA program was clearly targeted at people that the NSA employees thought there was no legal justification to spy on. It's obvious. And if this were not the case the President and Karl Rove would have already put the issue to bed. They would not be seeing the likes of Grover Norquist signing petitions for Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances. I'm used to being told to take my concerns and shove them up my ass. But what happens when you tell large swaths of your base to go get fucked?

Will the principled Republicans back down?

Is this a case of Karl Rove deciding "the best defense is a good offense?"

I don't know, but it looks like they are forcing a constitutional showdown onto their own party. And we are only too happy to join in the fray.