Re: Dodd Beats Back Bush Spying Bill

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Brock N Meeks <bmeeks () cox net>
Date: December 18, 2007 1:25:05 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] Dodd Beats Back Bush Spying Bill

Dodd's efforts on behalf of beating back this bill are undeniably  
welcome.  Dodd, standing in the gap on the floor of Senate, comes  
about from a "perfect storm" of events (I love when this happens):  A  
democratic presidential candidate whose polling numbers barely  
register a blip on the political radar screen; an antsy Congress  
wanting to jettison Washington as soon as possible so as to not cut  
into their holiday campaigning... er, vacation; a great "rally the  
troops" hook in "Beat Back Telecom Immunity."

You could almost smell the Net light up yesterday as Dodd's filibuster  
tactics were gaining traction.

And so, as the headlines read:  Dodd Beats Back Bush Spying Bill...  
but to what end?  In another era, a similar headline, datelined San  
Antonio, Texas territory, might have read:  "Davy Crockett Beats Back  
Santa Ana at Alamo," which he did for a couple of weeks and the rest,  
well, is history...

So, Dodd has he merely forestalled a high visibility feature of the  
bill.  We start all over in January, fat, happy and full of good  
cheer... I'm just saying.

So here's the rub: when the bill comes back to the floor, can we count  
on Dodd to once again go into the breech?  I think not.  There will be  
no gain from such political theater (and let's be honest, it was great  
political theater); there will be national stage next time for the  
country (read: media) will be in the throes of a blistering horse  
race, er, presidential campaign season.  Iowa and NH primaries will  
have come and gone and Dodd's political run at the White House will be  
toast.

Let's see a show of hands from those that think Dodd will be just as  
energized for the debate in January after seeing his presidential  
aspirations swirl down the drain.  Yeah, I didn't think so.

And, OK, maybe that's being to cynical <cough>; let's say Dodd again  
takes the podium and swings a big stick at that fat, irresistible, low- 
hanging legislative pinata called "telecom immunity," the secret here  
is that telecom immunity ISN'T the big issue.  Telecom immunity is a  
one-trick pony for this FISA revamp.

With immunity over and done (either way), hiding in the tall grass is  
the White House backed provision that would eliminate the current  
requirement that says the FISA court must approve of the wiretap  
program BEFORE the tap takes place; instead, the White House wants the  
ability to start its wiretap program (whatever that program may be)  
and then at some later date present the program to the FISA for  
review.  The court, in the WH backed bill, would not have the ability  
to flat out order a program be stopped, instead they would only have  
the ability to say "we don't approve, so either revise your plan or  
stop."  And of course, every 30 days the wiretap program can be  
changed in some manner and then resubmitted and the process begins  
again.  It's a shell game the WH can keep playing forever. In  
addition, the wiretapping never has to stop while court is reviewing  
the program.

It's THAT kind of end around that is critical in the debate of this  
bill, it is THAT kind of language that will have far reaching, long  
lasting affect on citizens, long after the issue of immunity has been  
relegated to an historical footnote.

Brock N. Meeks
Director of Communications
Center for Democracy & Technology


On Dec 18, 2007, at 7:52 AM, David Farber wrote:

> ________________________________________
> From: Richard Forno [rforno () infowarrior org]
> Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 7:42 AM
> To: Blaster
> Cc: David Farber
> Subject: Dodd Beats Back Bush Spying Bill
>
> Dodd Beats Back Bush Spying Bill
>
> Mon Dec 17, 10:50 PM ET
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20071218/cm_thenation/45261018&printer=1;_
> ylt=AnihohfSQL0_vb7FgfTrdmI__8QF
>
> The Nation -- After waging an all-out battle against the Bush  
> administration
> and leaders of his own party, Senator Chris Dodd achieved a  
> legislative
> victory on Monday, halting President Bush's attempt to rush a Senate  
> vote on
> a bill granting retroative amnesty to companies accused of illegally  
> spying
> on American citizens.
>
> "Today we have scored a victory for American civil liberties and  
> sent a
> message to President Bush that we will not tolerate his abuse of  
> power and
> veil of secrecy," Dodd said in a statement distributed by his  
> presidential
> campaign. "The President should not be above the rule of law, nor  
> should the
> telecom companies who supported his quest to spy on American  
> citizens," he
> added.
>
> The news was also cheered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation,  
> which is
> suing over allegedly illegal domestic spying in Hepting v. AT&T. "The
> biggest hero today is Senator Dodd, who recognized the profound
> Constitutional issues at stake in taking this key issue away from the
> courts, and refused to let it be rammed through the Senate without a  
> fight,"
> said Cindy Cohen, the group's legal director. "Over the holiday  
> break we
> hope that many Senators will listen to their constituents who want  
> them to
> stand up for the Fourth Amendment," she added.
>
> Halting the amnesty bill was also a victory for the netroots, which
> ferociously backed Dodd's legislative strategy and pressed Harry  
> Reid, who
> ultimately backed down by announcing he would delay the vote until  
> January.
> Over half a million people lobbied against the bill via email,  
> Democratic
> bloggers rallied support and pressed the presidential candidates,  
> and MoveOn
> targetted specific Senators to back Dodd's efforts. "No president  
> should be
> able to work with corporations to break the law and then use  
> Congress to
> cover up the crimes," wrote MoveOn's Nita Chaudhary, urging web  
> activists to
> lobby Congress on Monday morning. "Holding the phone companies  
> accountable
> may be the only way that the American people find out the extent of  
> the Bush
> administration's illegal actions," she added.
>
> While Dodd's effort shows that a little leadership and backbone can  
> get
> results, the battle is far from over. Bush is demanding that Reid  
> get the
> spying bill passed -- with retroatctive amnesty -- in January, when  
> the
> critical fight over accountability for spying could be overshadowed  
> by a
> presidential campaign in full swing. The Constitution-netroots wing  
> of the
> Democratic Party will keep fighting for accountability, thankfully,  
> but it's
> up to the presidential candidates and the Senate leadership to  
> ensure that
> Bush does not steamroll the rule of law once again.
>
>
>
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