They're Delaying the FISA bill again...
Gotta say: he may be a spineless little whelp of a man...
By Moe Lane Posted in Congress | FISA | Great Netroot Betrayal | Kabuki Dance — Comments (7) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
...but Harry Reid sure knows how to hide in plain sight:
Senate delays FISA vote — again
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) once again pushed back key votes on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act until early next week, another temporary setback for the long-stalled bill.
After passing an economic stimulus package late Thursday afternoon, the Senate immediately began taking up some of the 11 amendments pending to the FISA bill.
However, Reid put off votes on final passage of the bill, which means it will not likely be completed until early next week.
Specifically, Tuesday. Two of Senator Feingold's amendments (3913 and 3915) have already crashed and burned, which should have surprised nobody; and the fact that the next stage has been scheduled for a day when two Democratic Senators are going to be in the middle of an absolutely critical campaign day (MD, VA, & DC - which means, paradoxically, that a last-minute cancellation could be plausible*) is, of course, a complete and total coincidence.
Of course.
Moe
*Guess we'll see, huh?
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They're Delaying the FISA bill again... 7 Comments (0 topical, 7 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Missing a vote's one thing: actually making it is another. Particularly when the bill is going to pass anyway, and when the Senators in question have some hope of having to be in a situation later about why they have to explain why they're not EOing the FISA bill out of existence.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
a pork barrel, vote getting, stimulus package before national security. It couldn't get more obvious or more brazen as to what matters most. They are tired of having their patriotism questioned? Then they should try and revive the moral corpse that is the Democratic Party and at least partly and temporally reject the modern disease of liberalism.
"a man's admiration for absolute government is proportinate to the contempt he feels for those around him". Tocqueville
Please, we all know this is a Bushie power grab, Big Brother, Ashcroft's invisible hand and all that stuff. I mean, where you been man? Pass the pipe, grow a goatie and vote for Ron Paul, dude. This is so 1984 esque.
Back in the real world we have more reports that AQ is trying for another attack here to increase their profile. If you don't think FISA will help prevent that, hang around to read the post mortem, God forbid there, there is another one.
"Nec Aspera Terrent"
bene ambula et redambula
Contributor to The Minority Report
When did the conservatives become so scared and willing to give the government whatever it wants without question? I thought you conservatives distrusted the government - are you so paranoid about terrorist that you are willing to ignore these principles simply because someone “claims” that it is necessary to avoid being killed by terrorist (based on secret information that cannot be verified because it is secret). I realize that AQ is a threat, but it is shocking to me that so many conservatives have been scared into completely losing their skepticism of government claims? ANY government claim that has to do with terrorism is accepted as the word of gospel by conservatives these days. Do you not realize that there may be a Democratic President this next term - will you trust them to use these powers wisely and fairly? Maybe it will all change when the government starts telling us we would be safer if there were more restrictions on guns so they don't get in the hands of all of those AQ operatives in the country. That might wake up all of those conservatives from their post 9-11 slumber and realize that we don't need to give up all of our constitutional protections in order for the government to protect us against terrorist.
By the way, the Democrats are not trying to prevent FISA reform. The Democrats have agreed to almost all of the principle components of the House FISA bill - the sticking point is the retroactive immunity for the telecommunication companies. Why is that a national secruity concern? Why is Bush willing to veto the entire FISA bill and put our country in jeopardy solely to protect the telecommunication companies? Please explain this point to me.
You didn't really have time to do enough discovery to fuel even a hypothetical impeachment campaign anyway.
And don't blame us for that, either. Blame your own legislators in Congress, particularly since they are infinitely more deserving of the charges of cowardice that you were tossing around...
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
It's obvious that some congressional Democrats wish to remove any obstacle that might impede the sudden increase in campaign contributions that would surely follow the creation of another cash cow for one of their top special-interest groups, the trial lawyers.
Apparently, President Bush believes that punishing the telecom industry for accepting its civic responsibility and exhibiting true patriotism, as opposed to the lip service provided by congressional Democrats, would be detrimental to national security.
***
“Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn't so.” – Ronald Reagan
Is that Clinton and Obama will be in the metro area - with the right transportation availability they could get to the Senate floor from pretty much anywhere they might be on Monday/Tuesday in about an hour.
Assuming Reid sticks to traditional ways of doing this sort of thing, the vote will be scheduled for a time certain and Clinton and Obama (and McCain) will be able to schedule their appearances so they are nearby at vote time in order to put in their vote.