FISA Capitulation

Rachel Maddow on Countdown while filling in for Keith Olbermann discussed the FISA legislation with George Washington University constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley.

Maddow: What do you think of the arguments for granting these companies retroactive immunity.

Turley: What the Democrats are doing with the Whitehouse is they’re trying to conceal a crime that is hiding in plain view, that everyone can see it. So the argument for it is quite simple. Nobody wants to have a confrontation over the fact that the President committed a felony not once but at least 30 times. That’s a very inconvenient right now in Washington.

Maddow: Senator Obama says he does not like this bill but he says heis supporting it as a compromise. Is iit a comprome?

Turley: I am completely astonished by Senator Obama’s position and obviously disappointed….this is not a compromise, it is a cave in….the 4th amendment is going to be eviscerated tomorrow.

See the complete interview here.


And the Capitulation is Complete

Senate Passes Eavesdropping Bill
Grants Immunity To Phone Companies That Listened In On Americans

Just under a third of the Senate, including Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, supported an amendment that would have stripped immunity from the bill. They were defeated on a 66-32 vote. Republican rival John McCain did not attend the vote. Obama ended up voting for the final bill, as did Specter. Feingold voted no.

FISA Vote May Be (Temporarily) Blocked

Dday explains-

Senator Reid just informed his colleagues on the Senate floor that, because of all the other bills in the queue (like the housing bill, and the Iraq supplemental), FISA may not get a vote until after the July 4 holiday recess.

This is honestly the best we can hope for right now. Sens. Dodd, Wyden and Feingold are ready to filibuster and gamely trying to get colleagues to do the same (Sen. Dodd's speech tonight was a bravura performance), but realistically the numbers to stop cloture aren't there. However, that could change if the delay continues. And getting this to the recess means being able to get in a lot of Senators' faces on their trips back home. In addition, there's going to be a very short window in August where a ton of must-pass bills have to get through Congress, and throwing FISA in with that mess means that anything can happen.



Call your Senators first thing in the morning- phone numbers here.