Your U.S. Senate believes it is okay for you to be spied upon by your government, and for Bush to be able to define what that means, according to his whim. Your U.S. Senate believes that it was okay for the telecoms to break the law by allowing you to be spied upon when it was still illegal. Before today’s votes, Glenn Greenwald wrote this:
The Senate today — led by Jay Rockefeller, enabled by Harry Reid, and with the active support of at least 12 (and probably more) Democrats, in conjunction with an as-always lockstep GOP caucus — will vote to legalize warrantless spying on the telephone calls and emails of Americans, and will also provide full retroactive amnesty to lawbreaking telecoms, thus forever putting an end to any efforts to investigate and obtain a judicial ruling regarding the Bush administration’s years-long illegal spying programs aimed at Americans. The long, hard efforts by AT&T, Verizon and their all-star, bipartisan cast of lobbyists to grease the wheels of the Senate — led by former Bush 41 Attorney General William Barr and former Clinton Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick — are about to pay huge dividends, as such noble efforts invariably do with our political establishment.
Dan Froomkin put it in these stark terms:
Here’s a White House ” Fact Sheet” on telecom immunity: “Companies should not be held responsible for verifying the government’s determination that requested assistance was necessary and lawful — and such an impossible requirement would hurt our ability to keep the Nation safe.”
But isn’t that the very definition of a police state: that companies should do whatever the government asks, even if they know it’s illegal?
You can read the roll call on retroactive telecom immunity here. These are the Senators who supported Chris Dodd, to prevent retroactive telecom immunity:
Akaka (D-HI), Baucus (D-MT), Biden (D-DE), Bingaman (D-NM), Boxer (D-CA), Brown (D-OH), Byrd (D-WV), Cantwell (D-WA), Cardin (D-MD), Casey (D-PA), Dodd (D-CT), Dorgan (D-ND), Durbin (D-IL), Feingold (D-WI), Harkin (D-IA), Kennedy (D-MA), Kerry (D-MA), Klobuchar (D-MN), Lautenberg (D-NJ), Leahy (D-VT), Levin (D-MI), Menendez (D-NJ), Murray (D-WA), Obama (D-IL), Reed (D-RI), Reid (D-NV), Sanders (I-VT), Schumer (D-NY), Tester (D-MT), Whitehouse (D-RI), Wyden (D-OR)
These are the Democrats who voted against it:
Bayh (D-IN), Carper (D-DE), Conrad (D-ND), Feinstein (D-CA), Inouye (D-HI), Johnson (D-SD), Kohl (D-WI), Landrieu (D-LA), Lincoln (D-AR), McCaskill (D-MO), Mikulski (D-MD), Nelson (D-FL), Nelson (D-NE), Pryor (D-AR), Rockefeller (D-WV), Salazar (D-CO), Stabenow (D-MI), Webb (D-VA)
Not a single Republican or Lieberman voted against telecom immunity!
(more)
I would like to point out that of those Democrats who voted for retroactive telecom immunity, Bayh, Feinstein, Inouye, Lincoln, Mikulski, Nelson (FL), Pryor, and Stabenow have endorsed Senator Clinton, for president. Apparently, her experience was not able to change their minds on this issue.
I would like to point out that of those Democrats who voted for retroactive telecom immunity, Conrad, Johnson, McCaskill, and Nelson (NE) voted for telecom immunity. Apparently, his hope wasn’t able to change their minds.
Even those Senators who voted with Dodd did not necessarily prove themselves leaders. As Jane Hamsher says:
This is kabuki. If Pat Leahy is so damn morally outraged at the thought of retroactive telecom immunity, why did he do the el-foldo when Reid substituted his Judiciary Committee bill (which contained no retroactive immunity) for the Intel bill(which did)?
Leahy has endorsed Senator Obama.
Of all the senators who had been previously in favor of retroactive telecom immunity, neither of the leading Democrats was able to change a single vote. This was a chance for them to show leadership, and neither did. Chris Dodd showed leadership. The best they could do was to follow. John McCain, of course, voted for retroactive telecom immunity.
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… for not having impeached this gang of criminals. There are consequences for this profound lack of leadership.
Does anyone think the Repubs would still be marching in lockstep if ANY of the investigations had been enforced?
Why should they not vote for whatever they wish when they see there will be no consequences?
And that’s a consequence, too.
Thanks for this, Turk. As usual, outstanding job.
right of redress retroactively repealed! Fuck the Constitution, this is America!
Put this together with Matt Taibbi’s Chickendoves article, and a few other sellouts we’ve witnessed in the last 13 months (letting them refuse to testify, not punishing them for refusal to comply with subpeonas, putting Mukassey in office…), and we can really say the choice between Democrats and Republicans is like the choice between having mad cow disease and ebola.
And Hillary and Obama are just more status quo domestically and abroad, don’t matter what those suckers at DKos imagine.
In my opinion, the U.S. Senate took a dump on the Constitution today.
To bad, in my opinion, that these guys cannot be reached out and touched by ordinary Americans.
We need a fucking revolution.
If anything further is required to make a laughingstock out of DailyKOS, the “netroots” candidacy of Jim Webb should suffice. Webb voted for telco amnesty today. The notion that “electing Democrats” will restore sanity and justice to America appears increasingly fantastic.
The Iraq war will continue under Obama. You can bet $30 trillion in Iraqi oil reserves on that.
During the Vietnam fiasco, the Dems were the original sinners–and the Republicans proved no better. During the Iraq fiasco, the Rs were the original sinners–and the Dems will prove no better. FISA and Iraq are just two symptoms of the decline and fall of the American experiment. Lust for power and money is the natural outcome of a capitalist society.
Bushco has returned me to my idealistic roots–socialism and pacificism. The Democratic party will never be the solution for America’s decline–they are “them”–sometimes do the talk–sometimes do the walk–never to be trusted when the going gets tough. Dean was/is a phony. If he was a good guy, he’d have resigned long ago. He has been tooled, he has done nothing for the people. Edwards too, said the right things–upset the masters of the universe–and disappeared.
A while ago, I expressed supreme pessimism. I am not being smug when I now say, “told you so.” F##K Em all–we need a revolution–not the evolution of the fakers in the Dem party. No more of my money–Bush might be dumber, but he gets what he wants from the Dem party–the bastards. Pelosi and Reid work for Bush–kiss his ass–enable the decider. Let’s not forget that both of them got their jobs by acclimation from their peers. Neither Obama nor Clinton will get anything done with this congress–if they even try. Nader was wrong, but he was also right.
Better call again…. louder this time….
I’m becoming more and more concerned about the direction our country continues to take. I will never forgive Saundra Day O’Conner for giving the presidency to the criminal in chief.