June 26, 2008
FISA Bill Passes Cloture in Senate...No Thanks to Chris Dodd
The FISA bill, which was the subject of much heated debate earlier this year, finally passed cloture in the Senate yesterday...which means the debate is now over and it will go for a full Senate vote tomorrow (Friday), and then it goes to the president's desk for his signature.
As Ed Morrissey points out, the Reuters article linked above says the 80-15 vote was dominated by "mostly Republican supporters," but with 32 Democrats and 48 Republicans, support seems more bipartisan than not. But this is Reuters we're talking about.
So who was among those who wanted to hold the bill up in the Senate? None other than our very own Chris Dodd, the "dark horse" presidential candidate who ended up being the first casualty of the primaries earlier this year. Other "usual suspects" included Dick Durbin, Patrick Leahy, Barbara Boxer and Chuck Schumer, to name a few. Dodd is in, um, good company when it comes to keeping our nation safe and secure. Not.
(In fact, if you're looking for a big waste of valuable resources and time, look no further than the fact that a "National Intelligence Assessment" on Global Climate Change was ordered by the Dems in charge last year. The Corner has details (h/t Moonbattery). So rather than trying to spy on members of al Qaeda and checking out what's happening over in Iran, we now have intelligence gatherers writing analases of "low to medium confidence" on how to SAVE THE EARTH from a phenomenon that is being doubted more and more by critical thinking scientists and laymen alike.)
For those of you who may need a memory boost, the bone of contention in the FISA bill is that telecommunication companies that cooperated with federal officials in turning over records will not be prosecuted as long as they were acting in good faith in a national security capacity.
Kris mentioned in a recent comment in another of my posts that she heard Dodd has promised not to run for re-election in 2010. Let's hope she's right.
Show Comments »
As you certainly must know the question is whether to allow our courts to examine the matter of criminal conspiracy- and criminal action- or to remove the possibility of that examination.
The late George Carlin would describe the arguments I've heard for passing this provision as ones that send the bullshit meter needle straight up.
Dodd is one of a handful of Democrats with guts and honesty. Many Republicans have guts, few are honest or act with the public in mind. Some, including the Occupant of the White House, seem to have dishonesty as a standard methodology.
