This is frustrating, but I don’t have time to address this. Apparently, Democrats have agreed to a “compromise” on the telecom immunity issue, and from all reports, they basically caved to the Administration by asking for a meaningless concession. This reeks of lobbying money, but I don’t have time to dig into this. Instead, I’ll point you over at the writers at ObWi who have a series of posts and links to the wider blog and news world for more information. Here’s the key point:

Most importantly, though, when the government asks someone to break the law, they hold a lot of the cards: the prestige of the Presidency, the power to exclude companies from federal contracts, and so on. Just about the only reason someone might have to say no, other than conscience, is the fear of legal liability. By immunizing these companies, we make it much more likely that the next time some President who thinks he has dictatorial powers asks a company to break the law, it will do so. And that’s just wrong.

The U.S. doesn’t need a President “who thinks he has dictatorial powers” for this to be a problem. We just need a President who believes that the law shouldn’t apply to them. Maybe they think they’re acting in the greater good, but are mistaken. Maybe they’re eavesdropping on political opponents masquerading as legitimate counter-intelligence. We have one now who believes in signing statements and no accountability for his office. Just look at the firing scandals in the various federal agencies. We don’t want to make breaking the law easier of all things.

Anyway, here are the links. The excerpt above is from the first link below:

• FISA “Compromise” by Hilzoy
• FISA: Why It Matters by Hilzoy
• Steny’s Bold “Ignore the Rubes” Strategy by Publius

Read them all. They each address the issue from a slightly different angle, but the conclusion is consistent: the Democrats caved on a policy that is wrong for America, wrong for people who believe in liberty, and wrong for the safety and security of the nation. This compromise doesn’t do anything to help the war on terror, it simply makes it easier for the government to pressure private companies to break the law.

Also, be sure to follow some of the links, especially to Greenwald, who has a series of posts up going into excruciating detail (as only a lawyer could do) if you’re into that. The post linked in this paragraph is the most interesting, but if you want more background on how the bill came to be, who wrote it, and other pertinent details, check out the posts from a few days ago about Steny Hoyer (and no, he didn’t write the bill).

Explaining the situation with the FISA filibuster on Countdown. He’s a good man, and I’m happy he stood up for this. The question at the end there, about whether he would better serve CT and the American people by taking a more visible role in the Senate, is on all of our minds. I know CT Republicans are taking issue with the time he’s spending on the campaign trail on what seems to be insurmountable odds to capture the nomination. At the same time, he’s keeping these issues on the front burner in our national discourse and sometimes you need a candidate to be in the race to fill that role.

Also, Dodd was rather forgiving of Reid’s actions here. This is the best explanation for Reid’s behavior I’ve heard so far. It seems ironic that it had to come to the guy who was pushing back against Reid’s agenda for this week.

(video found via My Left Nutmeg, which has more on the Dodd Majority Leader chatter)

Not a video this time. The image above shows the current vote commitments on a FISA bill that includes telecom amnesty. This is not a partisan issue but one of the basic rule of law. As I read somewhere online today, this isn’t a liberal or progressive issue, it’s a basic Constitutional issue.

Click on the image to see a list of Senators on the Committee. I know some of our readers have Senators from their home states on the Committee (NY, PA, AZ, and CA come to mind). Call them. Get them to commit to a Nay vote on this bill if it includes an amnesty provision.

(PS. This is a great use of simple technology to build a better platform. Donate to Chris Dodd and reward good leadership!)

Update: Please sign this petition to Harry Reid asking him to back this effort. Immunity shouldn’t be enshrined into law.

While no candidate is perfect, Sen. Chris Dodd does the right thing more often than not. On the issue of enforcing the FISA regulations and balancing our rights protected under the Constitution with the need to fight terrorism, he has been in front of the issues. He’s going to fight the retroactive telecom amnesty provisions in this telecom bill, and has already taken action by requesting a hold on the legislation. Now, he’s committed to filibustering if his own majority leader takes the unusual step of ignoring the hold request:

That’s what I want from a candidate, someone who cares enough about these issues to actually do something about them. The crazy thing is that Dodd’s position isn’t that radical. Yet, for some reason, we have a Congress stumbling over themselves to absolve the telecoms for something they claim they haven’t done…

On a related note, I’m truly disappointed in Sen. Harry Reid. This is preposterous what he’s doing, and it’s amazing that the first actual filibuster will have to be initiated by a Democrat. If there’s one sign about how screwed up the Senate Dems are, this is it. The Republicans say they plan to filibuster just to obstruct any bills popular with Democrats so Reid puts up one cloture vote, and withdraws the bill. When a senator of his own party takes a stand on principle, asks for debate and votes to move a bill forward, he threatens to ignore him. What ever happened to fighting for what you believe in?

As Atrios says, reward good behavior: Donate to Chris Dodd’s campaign now. This country needs Chris Dodd running for President and needs Chris Dodd in the White House. I really mean this. He is a smart, honest, decent man with good credentials and good ideas. He doesn’t have the buzz of Hillary or Obama, but he definitely has the substance. Go Chris Dodd!