Let's just say, for sake of making this a little easier to speak on -- the entire Patriot Act was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and tossed out the window, okay?

Would I be against all of the authors being punished? No. It's our representatives job to read the bills and not pass unconstitutional material.

People try, all the time, to abolish our civil rights. Right wingers, left wingers, communists, socialists, terrorists, columbians, cubans, mexicans, canadians, the ACLU, whites, blacks, etc. etc. etc., every single group has people in it that do things against our constitution or attempt to pass laws that disobey it -- it's the job of our representatives to ensure they don't pass.

To put it simply, I'd demand and expect the rest of the country would demand that we not re-elect any official that voted to allow the unconstitutional document into power -- assuming he should have reasonably known it was unconstitutional.

I say that last line because you know, there could have been an item or two that was based on previous case-law, and by that standard it may have been legal and constitutional -- if the case-law since changed then I wouldn't expect the representative who voted to allow that responsible, for that SINGLE item.

Bottom line, people are allowed to attempt to make illegal and unconstitutional laws -- it's our representatives job to ensure they don't come into power. If they do, then they did not do their job satisfactorly and should be removed. Put in jail? Depends, but in this instance -- likely not, removed from power? You damn right.