CHANGE: Democrats demand Obama ‘end the bulk collection of phone records.’

Democratic Sens. Mark Udall (Colo.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.) demanded that President Obama “end the bulk collection” of the public’s phone records.

“We need to strike a better balance between protection America from terrorism and protecting the civil rights of Americans,” Udall said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “The Patriot Act’s bulk-phone record collection does not achieve that balance.

“Tonight I am calling on the White House to end the bulk collection of phone records.”

Criticism of national surveillance programs have come under increasing scrutiny after leaks that one program had accessed the phone records of millions of U.S. citizens.

“Americans have been presented with false choices: You can have your security and you can have your liberty but you cannot have both,” Wyden said. “I think Americans have come to understand that this set of false choices is not what this debate is all about and they deserve better.”

Usually, it’s Obama talking about false choices. But if our secrets are entrusted to the likes of Bradley Manning, best we not keep too many of them . . . .