The Senate voted 48-45 to invoke cloture (end debate) on the misnomered PAA, the Republicans missed by 12 votes the 60 required. Arlen Spector was the lone Republican Senator to vote Nay. Read that again, conservatives, the lone vote.
Now for the chicken hearted scared children not of the Republican persuasion (BushCoVian), we have 3 Democrats (they say) Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, and David Pryor. If these people represent your state and you thought you elected Democrats, now you know.
Let's take a look at this, George II claimed immediate need for this bill in August 07, so it was passed as a sunsetting bill. If we didn't get the bill in August, we were going to be attacked, again. This has nothing to do with the actual FISA Act, which continues on, unchanged, and allows the government to gain a warrant from the Secret Court within 72 hours of an emergency wiretap. This one is a real mess, and at Republican's insistence includes immunity for the weasel telecoms. Bush has threatened to veto an extension of the current expiring Act that doesn't have immunity, so he'll take no Bill versus an extension. He's also made clear he'll veto one without immunity.
So the deal is, this hugely important absolutely necessary to national security bill can go in the waste basket if he doesn't get it now and it doesn't include immunity. Look out, the three year old in Chief just stamped his feet and threw himself on the floor. Immunity for telecoms that knowingly broke Federal Law (not to mention some State ones) is more important than the security of the United States of America. Either that or ATT is the USA. Nice to know where you stand with this Administration by their own words.
Everybody and their brother said the Democrats didn't have the nerve to go against cloture, seems they missed something. Some people have talked about reasonable Republicans, did they have anybody other than Spector in mind? This is a lame duck President, a bunch of them still have to run for election but they threw their lot with George II. Does somebody still want to argue with me about the necessity of burying these pricks?
1 comment:
Why are Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton afraid to cast a vote on FISA? I understand they did not vote. It would seem they are setting themselves up for political grandstanding down the road for political expediency, wiggle room, I love this country but....
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