Here’s a quick update. There was a vote today on the floor in favor of cloture on the FISA bill 80-15, which means there will be 30 hours of debate on FISA. A lot is happening so please post about it in the comment section. Obama has fallen on the wrong side of the debate. It doesn’t look good.
“The bill has changed. So I don’t think the security threats have changed, I think the security threats are similar. My view on FISA has always been that the issue of the phone companies per se is not one that overrides the security interests of the American people.”
Schumer has come out against FISA. Reid is obviously juggling a few bills at once and that is coming into play. This is from a rough transcript of a statement he gave on the Senate Floor yesterday announcing his opposition to the FISA bill:
Reid: I am not going to vote for the FISA bill. There are people, Mr. President, who have worked on this FISA matter for three months or more and again the Administration worked with them. Did they, on the FISA bill, move enough to make me vote for the bill? The answer is no.
Reid is joining Dodd and Feingold on their efforts to strip out immunity from the bill.
Blue America has placed some robo calls to Steny Hoyer’s house on Telecom Immunity.
On Friday we told you about ads going up in the Washington Post that hold Steny Hoyer accountable for brokering this horrible bill, paid for by these donations. Today Color of Change and Blue America have robocalls going out to Hoyer’s constituents, recorded by Reverend Lennox Yearwood who is from the district.
Emptywheel brings up some good points.
As you look at Reid’s comments, remember that Reid is dealing with all three of these playing pieces, not just the one we’re most focused on, FISA. And to the average American, the other two pieces are way more important than the FISA piece. As well-versed as I’ve become in FISA, frankly, I can’t imagine telling my neighbors facing foreclosure that defeating immunity is more important than them keeping their house.
I’m just making an outtamyarse guess, but I’m guessing that Reid’s delay comment last night may be tailored to get action on the housing bill, by holding the two things the Administration wants–FISA and the supplemental–hostage until a hold-out Republican and Bush agree to the housing compromise…read on
Filed Under: FISA, Uncategorized
Tags: Blue America, FISA, Harry Reid
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Dammit, if I wanted to live in a nation where the government could spy on me, I’d move to Russia, or North Korea. This is the US! We. don’t. spy. on. our. own. people.
We’re not the Tsardom or the Kaiserreich, so we shouldn’t try to repeat their mistakes.
I don’t give a shit about the other bills - dammit! They get paid the big bucks to represent us. If we deal away the Bill of Rights, we are no longer the USA.
“Obama has fallen on the wrong side of the debate.”
It’s Nader time.
“Obama has fallen on the wrong side of the debate.”
Obama has fallen- period.
Ralph Nader!
Here’s to Reid, Dodd, Feingold, and Schumer.
And Obama and his ‘Change’ act is falling apart. Way too soon. By November, his biggest fans won’t even recognize him.
At least nobody in the Bush Administration, Cheney included, has the stones to try what Ivan the Terrible did, no matter how much they want to turn America into Tsarist Muscovy, with the Corporations as the Boyars, and the rest of us as the Serfs.
“Obama On FISA: Security Trumps Suing Phone Companies.”
OMG.
I’ve always been opposed to the FISA bill and am very disappointed in Obama for taking the position he has. That said, I’d like to know what all y’all think about the fact that everyone on the left who vigorously opposes this bill lauded Keith Olbermann for his rant against it some months back, yet he has not criticized Obama for his position. If you ask me, it smacks of hypocrisy. I have never been a big fan of O’s brand of self-righteous indignation, even though I mostly agree with his positions but this takes the cake.
Do we have some reps who, for some hidden reason, are not doing the right thing because of skeletons in their closets. Skeletons that sunlight might open them to an exposure they might not be able to survive?
I am disappointed in Obama’s position. And therefore I will withhold my planned $50 donation this month. In fact, if Dodd fillibusters, I will give the $50 to HIM!
Anyone go to Obama’s civil rights section of his website? It’s all Hate Crime this, Pay Inequality that, and NOTHING about the basic Bill of Rights. He’s not going to support anything anti-FISA. He is for government surveillance.
What about the companies such as Qwest, and Google who knew this was illegal, and told Cheney to go fuck himself? Is Obama telling us that these other companies don’t have legal departments to advise them?
Even worse, is that there’s a large section of the nation that wants to become serfs, with the Corporate Boyars in “service” to the Washington Tsar. How stupid can 300 million people be?
“My view on FISA has always been that the issue of the phone companies per se is not one that overrides the security interests of the American people.” Sen. Obama
What ever happened to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”, Mr. Obama?
Fascism. Pure and simple.
Johnny2Bad @ 14:
I think you need a white guy for real fascism. Unless the name of your nation is Uganda, and you’re called Idi Amin Dada, or it’s Zaire, and you’re Joseph Desire Mobutu.
I’m so furious with Obama and will not vote for him (or McCain). For me the objection is not only or even primarily that I don’t want to be spied on, but it’s that the Congress and Obama is not respecting the separation of powers. The Congress here is acting like the judiciary in declaring the telcoms innocent or immune from prosecution. And Obama is compounding the problem by saying he’ll fix it when elected President, since the Executive does not have Legislative branch power to rewrite the law no matter how many times Bush tacks on a “signing statement” before signing something into law. It’s downright frightening to think Obama, a Constitutional lawyer, has no qualms taking this power to himself. What a sell-out, he stands for nothing but power.
The New Obama:
FISA’s ok….NAFTA “Not so bad”
Suck-kers.
I will vote for a 3rd party candidate if Obama does not stop this bill.
I don’t care if it helps McCain. If Obama cannot lead on this issue, what the hell is the difference between him and McCain anyway?
ER @ 16:
This is why Bush and Cheney must be impeached. Obama is already operating as a dictator, and Diebold hasn’t even selected him yet.
Obama—– “Et tu, Brute?”
You’re either carrying water for telecom big business or you’re representing the people and their right to a day in court and defending the constitution. One or the other. Call, fight and donate!
ER @ 16:
So…who will you vote for? That nut, Barr? That greater nut that the Constitution Party nominated? The Socialist Party nominee, Moore? Or the guy who has an election addiction, Nader?
Johnny2Bad @ 17:
In NC, there was only a choice between Clinton and Obama. Mike Gravel was on the ballot, but he had already left the party.
Mary Ellen @ 8:
I stopped watching Olbermann, but please let me know when he gets around to his “special comment” regarding Sen Obama. Unlikely, I know.
Folks, he’s still a better candidate to represent my interests than John McCain, but this ugly little reversal is the opening salvo in the war proving Obama as just another ordinary politician. Call, fight and donate!
“There was a vote today on the floor in favor of cloture on the FISA bill 80-15, which means there will be 30 hours of debate on FISA.”
80-15. That’s depressing. Not sure what can save us, now. Still, it isn’t done until it’s done.
Dear Senator Obama,
After the terrorist airplane and anthrax attacks of September and October of 2001, many of us experienced a renewed sense of patriotism. For a while, our patriotism was intermingled with the nationalism of the Bush administration and its supporters. However, our patriotism always differed from theirs. Just as people of faith hold themselves and others to a high standard based on their religion, we hold ourselves and political leaders to the constitutional standard of our democracy. Our patriotic fervor concerns protecting the rights that constitute our democracy. We do not blindly support candidates; rather we judge them by their votes and also by their success in protecting our democratic rights. Eventually the political consequences our movement became manifest in the congressional midterm elections of 2006. However, the new Democratic majorities did not honor their obligation to reverse the abuses of power and corruption of the Bush administration. Instead they made a political calculation, that they need not do anything, thinking we patriots would never choose the Republicans. This course of events once again had as consequence the renewed vigor of patriots across the country, who donated to opposition candidates based on issues of civil liberties. In the last several years we have been winning, and the establishment of both parties loosing. This political climate is related to your current success, but only to a point. Since the new progressive movement holds everyone to the same constitutional standard, our support for you will irrevocably evaporate should you vote for the new FISA legislation in the Senate. Your public statement that you will support the new anti-Fourth Amendment FISA law yet monitor the program closely once in office rings hollow. This appalling FISA revision, which gives the power to the President to supersede the Fourth Amendment, is the perfect example reversing the principle that the United States is a land of Laws, not Men. I urge you to reconsider your current support for these FISA changes. Please take the time to find a strategy for the fall election that will allow you to kill FISA now. If you do not, you will certainly loose our votes. Furthermore, money that could have gone to your campaign will instead go to oppose right wing Democrats in Congress.
Sincerly,
Citizen J
General_Rennenkampf @ 22:
So if the choices are Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, or the Devil…You’re recommending actually voting?
Interesting.
guido @ 25:
Who was stupid enough to believe that “change” mantra anyhow? I live in Louisiana, there’s more than enough promises of change going unfulfilled to have jaded me on
the Messiah-I mean Obama. Just look at the recent clusterfuck our governor, Jindal created when he didn’t fulfill one of his promises. Expecting a national politician to be better is usually a GOP flaw, not a Dem one.moeglicherweise @ 27:
Dass mag sein, aber er hat schon ausreichend Geld.
Johnny2Bad @ 28:
You mean Ahriman, don’t you? Satan is just a Judaized version of him that the Christians went hog-wild with, and the Muslims unfortunately picked up from us.
Johnny2Bad @ 28:
Sure… for Cthulhu! Why settle for a lesser Evil? ;)
Johnny2Bad @ 14:
Hey, Johnny2Bad, in the last 6 or 7 days you’ve been really good about following up on our conversations regarding FISA and Obama…Did you miss my reply @83 to you in yesterday’s Hoyer/FISA thread? Because that would be very out of character for you. I was absolutely certain that you’d have a reply.
Johnny2Bad @ 14:
Not fascism, I think they want a monarchy, and a Saudi-style monarchy at that.
General_Rennenkampf @ 31:
“The much better candidate” or “Lesser of two evils” is this guy….not this one
Andy K Jong Il @ 33:
Missed it. Life, ya know?
Johnny2Bad @ 36:
So would you like me to link it again? I can do that. Because I’m sure you want to answer the questions I posed to you. I know I’m looking forward to your explanation.
Enter Objectivity
With all that I feel about the FISA legislation, I am split about Barack Obama’s position on this issue. There is a lot at stake concerning this election. Barack has got to be a bit more patronizing then he probably would be because he has got to cover the views of so many.
It would not matter if Obama would choose to support charging the telecommunication companies with crimes, he would of been attacked by the Democrats and the Republicans. If you are looking at this from an objective hard numbers perspective, Obama is taking the side of the Democratic leaders. At least, he can appear to be united in the face of power base.
If I were a Republican, I would be happy Obama was faced with this issue. In fact, I would support every issue like it, so it can drive a natural wedge into his numbers. As we move into the complexities of this election year, we must adjust our own ability to see things in “end objective” terms. The man is trying to win an election; this takes plying the issues at some level. To play the issue does not mean Obama lacks commitment to stand up for what he believes.
When we have moments like this, I wonder if the Left gives the Right more talking points to use against us. You can bet they will exploit this current split to its fullest. We must be willing to support Obama in his dark times, for they come with difficulty and vulnerability.
Joseph
Like all other candidates, Obama is a politician first and foremost. Get over it people! OBAMA ‘08!! or………….McShame ‘08? You people want the whole cake in one sitting.
Yea, right, the day leftists vote for a 3rd party candidate, is the day I puke. Obama has to play it down the middle to woo in some moderates. Cut him some fricken slack, people!
Andy K Jong Il @ 37:
If I did I’d go back over there.