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A secret government program sparked outrage in Congress and hurt efforts to extend the Patriot Act.
Well what did they think was going to happen?
Are those people not able to anticipate where the legislation that they pass into law will eventually lead?
Are our nation being run by a bunch of imbeciles.

Oops, never mind...most of 'em never even read the proposed legislation so how could they have known what would come about.
examples...Patriot Act Redux, and in the Dark
The Patriot Act was passed in haste, in the angst-filled days after the Sept. 11 attacks, with some lawmakers candidly admitting they never read the details.
The USA Patriot Act and Censorship
Many of the members of Congress and their staffs had not even read the Patriot Act, all 342 pages of it, before the vote on it was taken.
Students criticize PATRIOT Act
Many of those who voted for the bill have since claimed that their staff never even read it.
It would seem to me that those with the responsibility of voting on a bill should read the bill before they vote and not leave it to their staff who may, after all, not be qualified to accomplish such a task.

And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay...

Peyton R. Helm President, Muhlenberg College
Those of us who have actually read the USA Patriot Act (all 342 pages of it) realize that much of it is sound, reasonable, and laudable. We also realize (as many of Adams' critics do not) that reading the act hardly ensures one will understand its meaning. To really understand the Patriot Act, with its scores of inscrutable references to minor changes in specific clauses of a host of other federal statutes, requires one to read extensive analysis and explanation of the act by trustworthy legal experts.