Reid to co-sponsor effort to strip retroactive immunity from FISA bill. (Updated)
Reid to co-sponsor effort to strip retroactive immunity from FISA bill. (Updated)
Earlier today, Sens. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) promised to do everything they can to strip retroactive immunity from “compromise” wiretapping legislation, including a filibuster. In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) office says he will co-sponsor and support their efforts:
Unfortunately, the FISA compromise bill establishes a process where the likely outcome is immunity to the telecommunications carriers who participated in the President’s warrantless wiretapping program. Sen. Reid remains opposed to retroactive immunity, which undermines efforts to hold the Bush Administration accountable for violating the law. Thus, he will cosponsor the amendment offered by Senators Dodd and Feingold to strip out the immunity provision, and support their efforts to strip immunity on the floor.
At a breakfast with reporters this morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said it would be “healthy and wholesome” if the Senate filibustered the House-passed bill.
UPDATE: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced moments ago on the Senate floor that he would vote against FISA, but that he has an obligation to move legislation that the majority wants:
I don’t particularly like FISA, and I’m going to vote against FISA. But, I have an obligation here as the Majority Leader to move legislation that the majority of the body wants to go forward.
Watch it:
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Good, but don’t get your hopes up. Everybody talks a good game. Let’s see what happens after the smoke clears.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:18 pmToo little/too late. Where were you when the bill was being drafted? Prevention is a Hell of a lot easier than a cure.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:19 pmAh, come on, you know they are going bend over for the hind sausage from Bush.
Sing it: Baldheaded John had a sausage, yeah man…
Zappa, Joe’s Garage
June 24th, 2008 at 7:19 pmHey Nancy, if would have been “healthy and wholesome” if you Bush Jr enablers in the House leadership would have allowed actual debate about this gutting of the 4th Amendment yourselves.
And that goes double for my worthless Bush Dog lackey, Rep. Reyes, who assured me-via radio call in show two weeks ago-that the House wasn’t going to immunize the telecoms without first knowing exactly what they did.
Two weeks later, that’s exactly what Reyes, and others of the “we love Bush Jr” club did.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:20 pmThe House added telco immunity. And certain Senators objected. NOT including Obama.
This bill needs to be filibustered or immunity stripped or both.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:26 pmImpeachment is “healthy and wholesome” for a nation run by criminals.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:28 pmDoes this mean Hairless Runt has balls or Nanny Polio actually has a spine or either one cares? I’m confused.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:28 pmIs this a threat of a filibuster or an actual filibuster? Just curious.
Too bad a dem can’t have a set on ‘em to put a hold on it. But, no…the dems don’t have a collective set of gonads between them.
Disgusting.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:29 pmHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said it would be “healthy and wholesome” if the Senate filibustered the House-passed bill.
I doubt she’ll support the amendment. Any bets?
June 24th, 2008 at 7:30 pmNancy Pelosi should run on the McCain ticket. She sure sounds like the match he has waited for.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:31 pm#1, when the smpke clears you get the same bs. Have you not learned yet?
June 24th, 2008 at 7:32 pmHas anyone noticed how quiet Nancy Pelosi has been lately?
June 24th, 2008 at 7:33 pmAwww, fu(k you, Nancy! I stood and applauded when you took the gavel as the first female Speaker of the House, but you have done nothing but repeatedly capitulate to the most criminal and corrupt administration in the history of this republic.
“Healthy and wholesome?” How in hell would you know? You have become a cancer on the body politic!
June 24th, 2008 at 7:34 pmZooey Says:
——————————————————————————–
Has anyone noticed how quiet Nancy Pelosi has been lately?
Quiet. Loud. Talking. Silent.
USELESS!! WORST SPEAKER IN HISTORY….RIGHT THERE MATCHING THE GW BOTCH LEGACY IN CRIMINAL NEGLECT!!! ENABLER!!
DID I MENTION USELESS?
June 24th, 2008 at 7:39 pmI’m not so sure that all of this isn’t strategically very good. By having the House add the immunity, it is vastly different from the Senate version and, therefore, there has to be reconciliation procedures. This all takes time (stalling until January) and keeps the illegal activities of Bush in front of the media and the public. But then, I am a hopeless optimist.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:44 pmI don’t get it nancy…
At a breakfast with reporters this morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said it would be “healthy and wholesome” if the Senate filibustered the House-passed bill.
Then WTF did you vote yes on the bill ln the house?
I’m starting to think that Jefferson was right….
June 24th, 2008 at 7:52 pmHealthy and wholesome ?
June 24th, 2008 at 8:05 pmNo Nancy, the dinner table set for impeachment three years ago would have been healthy and wholesome.
All you’ve got to show for yourself now is stale cheerios.
http://www.pointoflaw.com/ archives/ 2008/ 06/ fisa-votes-come-tomorrow-in-th.php
A passage:
The anger and anguish of the privacy absolutists/anti-Bush activists continues to flow, focusing on provisions that would, in effect, grant immunity to the telecom companies that assisted in post 9/11 surveillance of foreign-based communications.
It has nothing to do with being anti-Bush.
It has to do with being pro-America, pro-Constitution.
Since Bush, Cheney and the rest of the PNAC WAR CRIMINALS are
TRAITORS to the USA, they are the ENEMY of the USA.
Plain and simple.
And since we pledge to defend the USA against ALL ENEMIES, foreign and DOMESTIC, we support the trial for TREASON of Bush.
May he drop dead soon, and BURN with TRAITOR Ronnie Reagan, now DEAD and BURNING.
June 24th, 2008 at 8:13 pmHarry?!?!?! Just KILL the effing bill!
Please!
We’re sick of this. You’re not winning any Repbulican votes on this one. Nobody’s watching specific bills! (But we are.) The majority of this country does NOT like the direction we’re going! Just kill it! Fillibuster. Hold it up. I don’t care.
You’re not losing any votes from the general public on this one. (You may lose some votes from those of us that are paying attention, though, if you don’t follow your constitutional obligations.)
Please follow your conscience. Do the right thing.
Your constitutional obligations DEMAND IT.
Fank you.
June 24th, 2008 at 8:14 pmThanks, Reid. I really expected nothing more from you.
June 24th, 2008 at 8:24 pmPrsonally i think Reid is a ‘wonk’, very conceptual and not very p[ractical. The argument he provides however appears noble but is asinine:
” I have an obligation here as the Majority Leader to move legislation that the majority of the body wants to go forward.”
Let’s put Reid’s argument in a different but equal context:
TEENAGER: “But Mo-mmm! Everybody’s doing it!”
MOM: “If everbody decided to jump of a cliff, would you do that too?”
I rest my case.
June 24th, 2008 at 8:41 pmI have an obligation here as the Majority Leader to move legislation that the majority of the body wants to go forward.
Right. Republicans would piss and moan about any bill they didn’t like, and would threaten filibuster or the “nuclear option” to get the Dems to back down.
But Harry Reid just cowers, and says “Hit me again!”
June 24th, 2008 at 8:52 pmThe majority of a few paranoid conservatives who wet their pants every time they have to run for their jobs. All of them took an oath to support the constitution. All of them need to be told what to do by the leader–not excused for their paranoia. Why do so many Americans not vote? Because of people like Harry Reid.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:11 pm”I have an obligation here as the Majority Leader to move legislation that the majority of the body wants to go forward.”
Unless a single Senator wishes to place an anonymous hold on some legislation. Then you act like there’s nothing you can do. Which is the truth, Harry? Can this bill be stopped or not?
June 24th, 2008 at 9:14 pmi’ve been keeping busy elsewhere… just want to get this out -
heard a caller on randi rhodes yesterday remind us that roe is based on the 4th amendment’s right to privacy and person…
think about that…
harry’s ONLY obligation is to the CONSTITUTION.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:15 pmZooey Says: But Harry Reid just cowers, and says “Hit me again!”
Quickly followed by “Thank you, sir, may I have another?”
June 24th, 2008 at 9:15 pm>”I have an obligation here as the Majority Leader to move >legislation that the majority of the body wants to go >forward.”
wow, nice doublespeak. can someone please show me where it says the “majority leader” has to do what a random majority of senators want (or have been bribed) to do?
do we have any possibility of using sheehan to get rid of pelosi? id love to try…. some heads need to roll over this, this is unacceptable..
June 24th, 2008 at 9:19 pmTanqueray Says:
June 24th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
F_ck off, prick.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:22 pm> but if the bill is so bad, i’m sure the
> dems will kill it in the vote.
wow… watching a bush worshipping crony like rodgerdraftdodger use the approval of the Democratic Party as a cornerstone of his argument..pricess.
very few people here are defending the current incarnation of the democratic party around here, rodge,,,at most there are some good apples in the rotten bunch, unlike the republicans, who are almost entirely fascist scum who march in lockstep to whatever Duh Fuhrer tells to them do..Hagel and Paul are one of the few with any capibility for indepenent thought..
June 24th, 2008 at 9:23 pmTanqueray Says:
June 24th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
In your dreams, you f_cking nutcase.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:34 pmHe’s obliged to uphold the Constitution. And if he cannot he needs to resign. What a dick.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:39 pmTanqueray: the brand of gin losers order when they try to act classy…
June 24th, 2008 at 9:41 pmUPDATE!
Dodd and Feingold FILLIBUSTER Wiretapping Bill
Live streaming video here.
This is happening RIGHT NOW. Senator Chris Dodd has taken the floor and begun the wiretap bill filibuster. The video is live-streaming from the Senate floor.
call or email your support now!
http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/3130
http://feingold.senate.gov/contact.html
June 24th, 2008 at 9:48 pmZooey, how weird is it that ginboy saved a post you made about Pelosi for a year and a half? He’s either a freak who lives in mommys’ basement, or a paid troll with access to a huge database where he can instantly cross reference people’s names and specific topics or political figures. Either way, ick!
June 24th, 2008 at 9:48 pmBobwurst,
Creeps like that are just wrong ‘uns. And that one is a creep who fails to recognize sarcasm. I guess that’s what he gets for thinking. :P
June 24th, 2008 at 9:57 pmKeep the presure on them! Keep calling Reid, Dodd, Obama and Hillary! Most importantly tell Obama’s staff that not another dime and no help on the Campaign if he does not throw his full weight behind NO IMMUNITY!
This must not pass.
Then after we are sucessful we can move on to helping the challengers to Hoyer, Pelosi and all of the other enablers!
June 24th, 2008 at 9:58 pmZooey:
June 24th, 2008 at 10:00 pmDoes this mean I should delete the “zooey” folder?
dbadass,
Yes, please. :D
June 24th, 2008 at 10:04 pmTanqueray Says:
Isn’t Barry still a Senator? Why doesn’t he lead a filibuster? He’s the leader of the Democrat Party now.
Reid has to run everything by his wives and can’t get them to come to a consensus.
And Nancy is the perfect example, along with Hillary, of why you don’t send a woman to do a mans job.
Just the facts Zooey, just the reality.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
_____
Wow - you just insulted Democrats, Mormons, and women in one post. Why not make fun of black people, too, for the grand slam?
June 24th, 2008 at 10:13 pmBriseadh na Faire Says:
——————————————————————————–
UPDATE!
Dodd and Feingold FILLIBUSTER Wiretapping Bill
Live streaming video here.
This isn’t the Filibuster, He’s taking time out of another bill that he has before the floor. But he’s just getting warmed UP! Go Chris GO!
June 24th, 2008 at 10:18 pmStern letters to follow. No action, just a couple of statements and stern letters.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:27 pmHarry thinks his loyalties belong to his partners in crime, but they belong to the United States citizens. He has failed the citizens terribly.
But, I have an obligation here as the Majority Leader to move legislation that the majority of the body wants to go forward.
Here’s a news flash, Harry: How about moving legislation that the majority of AMERICANS wants to go forward? Remember us out here? Ending the war, energy policy, supporting and protecting the Constitution of the U.S., investigation of and prosectution for fraud by no-bid contractors, etc. Any of this sound familiar?
Um, thanks.
PEACE
June 24th, 2008 at 10:42 pmDemocrats in Congress should pull a stunt like the one Republicans pulled when they controlled Congress.
I know, I know, it’s reprehensible to even mention anything that Republicans did in pursuit of their “permanent Republican majority,” but in this case, where the very survival of our Fourth Amendment (and others) is at stake, then Democrats, if unsuccessful in stripping this obscene retroactive immunity provision out of this bill, should, in the Senate/House conference committee, strip out retroactive immunity and send the resulting bill to Bush…which no doubt he’ll veto.
Of course, this would rely on Sen. Reid and Rep. Pelosi actually taking their oath seriously to defend our Constitution, and require them putting Democrats on this Senate/House conference committee who would make certain that retroactive immunity would be deleted.
My prediction: Reid and Pelosi will cave, giving into Republican and Blue Dog Democrat demands that the Bush administration and telecom companies get their desperately-desired retroactive immunity, which will open up the door to even more illegal surveillance and wiretapping of U.S. citizens, totally revoking the Fourth Amendment, and turning our nation into a Fascist Police State. (Hell, we’ve already seen what Bush and culture of corruption Republicans did to the Justice Department, so no doubt they’ve done the same to the FISA court, which at one time was created to protect U.S. citizens from such an evil and un-American scenario ever arising).
June 24th, 2008 at 11:02 pmHmmm, if he had the best interests of the NATION in mind, he’d just shitcan the whole mess.
June 24th, 2008 at 11:24 pmthe problem we have with Pelosi, and I’m sorry that one person on this board doesn’t understand this, is not that she is WEAK-willed as you would like to stereotype women, but rather that she is complicit in this administration’s crimes and would rather let them go scot-free if it means she gets off as well.
June 24th, 2008 at 11:57 pmCan you imagine a Republican saying that we have “an obligation here to move legislation that the majority of the body wants to go forward”? Of course not…So why bend over and allow legislation that the majority of the American people DON’T want to move forward?
June 25th, 2008 at 1:00 amyou have an obligation to be voted out of office for being a pushover. Any Senator or Rep that votes for this bill will forever lose my vote, and I compel you to campaign against anyone Dem or Rep that votes for this. This is a disgusting abuse of power that the courts should strike down anyway…ex post facto laws are unconstitutional and the loophole that punitive damages are not punishment is bullshit. This may be the worse action our government has taken since it invaded Iraq.
“The sentiment that ex post facto laws are against natural right is so strong in the United States, that few, if any, of the State constitutions have failed to proscribe them. The federal constitution indeed interdicts them in criminal cases only; but they are equally unjust in civil as in criminal cases, and the omission of a caution which would have been right, does not justify the doing what is wrong. Nor ought it to be presumed that the legislature meant to use a phrase in an unjustifiable sense, if by rules of construction it can be ever strained to what is just.” Thomas Jefferson, 1813
June 25th, 2008 at 1:42 amWhy do I feel that Sen. Reid is just running misdirection.
Here is his reason that immunity for Telecoms pass. ” We tried to stop it ” .
June 25th, 2008 at 2:08 amDear Sen Reid,
Please grow a pair.
Thanks,
Cruz
June 25th, 2008 at 3:22 amWe need a new leader - pure and simple. This is appalling. We need to get rid of Pelosi too. I’m so mad I could spit! They were abused for six years and now they want to play patty-cake.
Our leaders should not play nice until they have undone all the evil that was forced on the world in the first six years of the Bush disaster. Until they’ve fixed things, they need to be a ruthless as the Republicans were.
June 25th, 2008 at 7:53 amHarry Reid, “But, I have an obligation …”
Sir, your FIRST and UTMOST obligation as Majority Leader is to DEFEND THE EFFING CONSTITUTION AGAINST ALL ENEMIES FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC!!!!!!! Well guess what Harry, there are a couple of domestic enemies to the Constitution sitting smuggly and unchallenged right in the effing White House in case you haven’t cared to notice! Why don’t any of the leaders in the House and Senate fulfill their obligation to the Constitution and the American people? It’s cut and dry Harry. A majority of the body could be swayed to do what is the right and just thing if in fact we had true, UNCOMPROMISED leadership in the Senate. Don’t you think we see that Harry???? If the rumors are true that you, Pelosi, Rockefeller and Conyers had foreknowlege of many of Bush’s crimes and sat on your hands don’t you understand that it will come out eventually??? If the Administration, through it’s illegal wiretapping, is blackmailing you and others as has been suggested, isn’t your complicity in their crimes making things worse for this Nation?. For THIS will come out too Mr. Reid!!!!
June 25th, 2008 at 9:03 amZooey Says:
Tanqueray Says:
June 24th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
F_ck off, prick.
What Zooey said.
June 25th, 2008 at 9:07 amI’ve always thought that the true test of whether Bush has overreached on security measures, will be how many of Bush’s policies Obama would reverse in ‘09.
Here’s a partial answer:
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) today announced his support for a sweeping intelligence surveillance law that has been heavily denounced by the liberal activists who have fueled the financial engines of his presidential campaign.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/ the-trail/ 2008/ 06/ 20/ obama_supports_fisa_legislatio.html
Some of the claims of presidential abuse of the constitution and of liberty may have been demagoguery. The policies may be more reasonable than some opponents charge.
Here’s Obama in Feb:
But our leaders do face a level of expectation for security. The balance between preserving liberty, while we ensure security, is a difficult one.
June 25th, 2008 at 9:14 amHarry and Barack have been on the fence soo long that they have lost their balls and will probably look like Nancy Pelosi by votes end.
June 25th, 2008 at 10:13 amThis Congressional leadership has sold out the American public, next on “their” agenda is the Second Amendment to be removed from the Constitution. Can anyone tell me what color Nancy Pelosi is?
June 25th, 2008 at 3:51 pm