The ACLU and the Tea Party Patriots are uniting, at least on this one topic, by teaming up on a new video ad criticizing The Patriot Act.

An old trope goes that if the left and the right agree that something is bad, it must be really bad. And as far as the ACLU and the Tea Party Patriots are concerned, The Patriot Act is really bad.

With a new video ad entitled “Collect Call,” the two groups that often occupy opposing positions on the political spectrum want to remind America that the U.S. government has free access to Internet services such as Skype and can access your private medical information.

The Patriot Act expires on June 1, and the two groups want Americans to urge their representatives to refuse to re-authorize the act.

Both groups insist that our civil rights are too often violated by The Patriot Act and want it to end.

The ad is airing in Washington D.C., as well as the early presidential campaign states of Iowa and New Hampshire, not to mention everywhere over the Internet.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com