http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/03/speaking-out-of-both-sides-of-bush.htmlFrom Anonmymous Liberal on Greenwald's blog. A long post about the DeWine NSA bill and Feingold's censure resolution. Worth reading the whole thing.
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Before long, Democrats (and Republicans) in the House and Senate will be forced to vote on this legislation, which, if passed, will gut the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a law that has governed the surveillance of Americans for almost 28 years and has been fine-tuned by Congress on numerous occasions (most recently two weeks ago). Between now and the time that bill comes up for a vote, there will be no Congressional investigation, no further fact-finding. Indeed, for most members of Congress, there will not even be a classified briefing. Our representatives and senators will be asked to legislate in the dark, to make a policy judgment about a program of which they know virtually nothing--except, of course, that it's currently illegal.
When that day comes--and it will--what do Democratic Senators plan to do? They won't know any more about the program than they know now, and they will be expected to make a policy judgment, not a legal one. They'll be expected to vote "yay" or "nay" on a bill called the Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006. Do they really think that if they just lay low and remain agnostic, this issue will go away? Do they think they'll be able to punt on this issue indefinitely?
This battle cannot be avoided (nor should it be). Democrats can either choose to set the terms of the debate by going on the offensive and supporting Feingold's resolution, or they can once again allow the GOP to define the debate. Instead of a debate over censure we can have a debate over the Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006.
As the minority party in Congress, the only weapon the Democrats have is symbolism. Feingold's censure resolution offers a platform for Democrats to frame the upcoming debate, to explain to America that President Bush broke the law and that his own party has refused to investigate it. It is an opportunity to put the administration on the defensive. If the GOP then moves ahead with an attempt to legalize the President's conduct, the Democrats will have already made it clear to the public why they cannot support such a bill. Their opposition will seem principled and consistent. The Terrorist Surveillance Act will look like what it is, a piece of cover-your-ass legislation introduced only after the President had been caught red-handed breaking the law.
If the Democrats wait until the DeWine bill comes to the floor to speak up, they will once again come across as indecisive and weak. They will allow the administration to frame this issue as one of terrorism policy, as opposed to presidential law-breaking.
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