Senate Poised to Capitulate to Cheney’s Fear-Mongering
After a January 24 debate in the Senate on amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the Senate appears ready to capitulate once again to the Bush administration’s agenda of sacrificing liberty for questionable security.
On the day before Congress was slated to take up this issue, Dick Cheney addressed the Heritage Foundation, the most influential right-wing think tank. He was given a thunderous reception, to which he quipped, “I hold an office that has only one constitutional duty - presiding over the Senate and casting tie-breaking votes.” But the most powerful vice president in this nation’s history was about to strong-arm Congress into doing the administrations’ bidding.
Invoking the memory of September 11, 2001 twelve times, Cheney said it was “urgent” that Congress update the FISA law immediately and permanently. Notwithstanding the administration’s well-known violations of FISA months before 9/11, Cheney claimed they had used “every legitimate tool at our command to protect the American people against another attack.” He omitted the illegal tools the administration has admitted using, that is, Bush’s so-called “Terrorist Surveillance Program” and a massive data mining program. FISA makes it a crime, punishable by up to five years in prison, for the executive to conduct a wiretap without statutory authorization. The TSP has been used to target not just the terrorists, but also critics of administration policies, particularly the war in Iraq.
Although Cheney repeatedly linked amending FISA with protecting America, there is no evidence Bush’s secret spying program has made us any safer. Indeed, in 2006, the Washington Post reported that nearly all of the thousands of Americans’ calls that had been intercepted revealed nothing pertinent to terrorism. About the same time, the New York Times quoted a former senior federal prosecutor, who described tips from intelligence officials involved in the surveillance. “The information was so thin and the connections were so remote, that they never led to anything, and I never heard any follow-up,” he said.
In his speech to the Heritage Foundation, Cheney aimed to bully Congress into making the so-called “Protect America Act of 2007″ permanent. On the eve of Congress’s Labor Day recess last year, the Bush administration had rammed that act through a Congress still fearful of appearing soft on terror. It was a 6-month fix to the 1978 FISA, which didn’t anticipate that foreign intelligence communications would one day run through Internet providers in the United States. But the temporary law, which expires February 1, went further than simply fixing that glitch in FISA; it granted immunity to telecommunications companies that turned over our telephone and Internet communications to the government.
Permanent immunity, retroactive to 9/11, for the telecommunications companies is the apparently most critical concern of the Bush administration, whose primary constituency has been the mega-corporations. Although Cheney touted these companies as patriotic partners in the administration’s “war on terror,” they are breaking several U.S. laws, including FISA itself, Title III, the Communications Act, and the Stored Communications Act, as well as the First and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution. Indeed, as the Electronic Frontier Foundation put it, “the real heroes are the companies that refused to help [the administration], like Verizon Wireless” and Quest Communications.
Cheney quoted Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who described the need for these companies to defend against litigation as “an enormous burden.” What he really meant is that defending the roughly 40 pending lawsuits is cutting into their enormous profits.
The House of Representatives passed a bill without immunity for the telecoms. But in a 60-36 vote, the Senate rejected a proposal from the Senate Judiciary Committee that omitted immunity and contained important limits on wiretapping powers. Republican senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, and Democratic senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were not present for the vote.
Senator Christopher Dodd has indicated his intent to filibuster, or prevent a Senate vote, on a version of the bill that includes immunity. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid apparently now supports the filibuster. The Senate is scheduled to vote on whether to proceed to a final Senate vote on this issue on January 28. Three of the Democrats who voted against the SJC proposal must be persuaded to change their votes, and Clinton and Obama must follow suit in order to maintain the filibuster and prevent the Senate from adopting a bill that includes immunity and omits vital civil liberties safeguards.
Here are the Democrats who voted against the SJC proposal:
Bayh (202) 224-5623
Carper (202) 224-2441
Inouye (202) 224-3934
Johnson (202) 224-5842
Landrieu (202)224-5824
McCaskill (202) 224-6154
Mikulski (202) 224-4654
Nelson (FL) (202) 224-5274
Nelson (NE) (202) 224-6551
Pryor (202) 224-2353
Salazar (202) 224-5852
John Edwards, the only Democratic presidential candidate willing to effectively take on the corporations, should weigh in against immunity for the telecoms and challenge his competitors to do the same. This is a golden opportunity for Clinton and Obama to exercise leadership on a crucial issue. Our civil liberties and privacy rights are at stake.
Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and the President of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the author of Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law. Her articles are archived at www.marjoriecohn.com.
Clinton and Obama should support the filibuster right away. The delay SIMPLY reflects their cowardly, shortsighted calculations that they might be portrayed as “soft on Terror” in the general election. In fact, they should run with this issue! Immunity for the telecoms, for cooperating with Big Brother?! I’m incredulous. Ben Franklin’s remark that those who want to give up liberty in exchange for “security” are unworthy of either is worth pondering.
Don’t bet on Clinton or Obama doing the right thing and supporting the filibuster. They will do what is right for themselves, not for the country or the Constitution. They want to stay players, they don’t want to be Statesman.
Hoa binh
While my senators are not on the list I have written to them about invasion of privacy and telcom immunity. Should Darth Cheney have his way with the Senate I shall NEVER vote to re-elect my senators.
this is old, old news.
A DARK & $TORMY RITE?
THEIR “DUE”–ROOT OF ALL EVILIST$: TIP-TOEIN’ THRU THE TURD BLOSSOM($)
What IS it with this pair? It’s Demonic Mojo, Hou$e Bushelzebub: “OP” (”Other Prioritie$”) & OC (”Ol’ Coffer$”), Major-League Big Time “PASS”/Memoryholes, no small thanks to our 4th(rate)Estate.
I’M beginning to think the Vice Precedent ($ic) keeps the DEMS “reminded” of ongoing (”unsolved”) Anthrax-Attacks “Thwartage”, as it were. Recall that only DEMS were “targets”. It’s getting ever easier to imagine secret meetings where this ongoing “effort” is made clear to an already bladder-control-challenged “opposition” party–”the anthraxers–they’re dying to strike (at you) AGAIN–would you get in our way trying to STOP ‘em? here, listen to THIS (uber-classified) “intercept”…would you have corporations PUNISHED for their role in your own personal safety and security, to say nothing of AMERICA’$?”
WHAT-WE’RE-UP-AGAINST–GET THE PICTURE:
Homeland DEMOCRACY Security Breach:
–ON SCREEN:
http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/politics/2007/08/political_art_of_the_week.html
Why is Landrieu listed as a Democrat? She has a consistent record of voting with the Republicans. That’s why the Democratic Party is all but defunct–too many traitors and not enough spine.
They may also be planning to use this legislation to create a “Constitutional Crisis” when the inevitable lawsuits hit the Supreme Court. I’m sure it has occurred to them that the Scalia wing of the Court would be happy to Gut the Bill of Rights on even the flimsiest pretext.
“The world is a dangerous place to live in not because of those who do evil but because of those who watch and let it happen.” Albert Einstein
I can’t wait to see how this gets implemented under the The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act SR 1959/ HR 1955.
I wonder what the market for 1 way tickets to elsewhere will be?
It should come as no surprise that the US government, with record low approval ratings, would fail to explain the ramifications of its legislation. Its ongoing trashing of FISA is part of an agenda to turn the planet into a police state. FISA was designed in 1978 to warrant wiretapping of specific individuals, thus providing reasonably for the public right to privacy. But as protective as FISA was, it never even attempted to address the imperial aggression which is the catalyst of the vast majority of terrorist blowback.
But the imperial aggressors had to finally disable FISA completely with the 2007 FISA Amendment, by eliminating the need for the warrant, so the imperial aggression may expand to total surveillance of all public communications channels with at least one connection outside the United States, without cause. And so the imperial aggressors gave themselves license to greatly expand their surveillance infrastructure. Now in 2008, the aggressors are patching leaks, protecting the imperial telcos from litigation.
It’s obvious that all meddling in FISA has to be scratched. What may be less obvious is that all federal legislation since 2001 has to be scratched. Mass impeachment and war crimes trials are in order. We have to take down all three branches of the government, including the various agencies.
It is now clear that the Democratic leadership is as corrupt and evil as the Republicans. There is less and less difference between the two parties. Bill Clinton is a “republicrat”, just as Hillary is. Look at how Pelosi and Conyer REFUSE to impeach either Cheney or Bush, and eagerly bow down to Bush and Cheney’s legislative demands. It’s AWFUL. Here, after the so-called 2006 “Democratic mandate” elections that gave the Dems the majority in Congress…nothing has changed! The Democratic Congress caves to Bush at every turn, at every whim, giving Bush and Cheney everything they want. Disgusting, really. We have a thoroughly corrupt political system on our hands. Counting the days until Nov. 4 2008 when a new president is elected and Bush leaves office, naively thinking things will improve? Bill Clinton initiated many of the policies that Bush 2 and furthered and enhanced. The next president will pick up where Bush left off, and so on. It’s just like the old Who song Wont get Fooled Again: “Meet the new boss; same as the old boss”. We have an extremely serious problem on our hands.
For the past eight years, the battle cry of the congressional Democrats has been “Two, four, six, eight, when do we capitulate?” They would capitulate if they had the overwhelming majority they keep crying they need in 2009. Their caputulation habit got them put in the minority in 1994, 2002 and may place them there again in 2008. Personally, I don’t vote for capitulators.
Another vote that finds Clinton and Obama peeking out from under the rock. Only a fool would think these cowards are able to lead a nation. Even bush can cast a vote. It will be the worst possible course for the country, but at least he will vote.
The more I watch helplessly from the sidelines, as The Constitution of this country is being torn to shreds, the more I’m beginning to feel that I would willing to sacrifice my life for this country … not our current government, but for the country our forefathers founded.
All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. — Thomas Jefferson
The “Protect America Act of 2007″ should be re-named to:
“Protect the Traitors Act of 2007″, which is more in line with what it was designed to accomplish.
“Although Cheney touted these companies as patriotic partners in the administration’s “war on terror,” they are breaking several U.S. laws, including FISA itself, Title III, the Communications Act, and the Stored Communications Act, as well as the First and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution.”
Has anyone every read “Friendly Fascism” by Bertram Gross? He talked about how technology and coroporate central government power would turn this country into a totalitarian police state.
Yup - they will gradually destroy the freedoms of U.S. citizens by side-stepping constitutional laws in the name of “national security” - “wars on terror” and any other slogans they can create to instil fear among the weak-minded drones with the mentality of children who are looking for mommy and daddy to protect them from all those evil people who are allegedly “jealous” of the way we live. I’ll bet they just can’t wait to take on our national and personal debts. If anything, they are probably laughing at how stupid we are!
The questions remains: Will the Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate defend the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independece, or will they expose themselves as “subversives” to the United States Constitution and destroy every law and ethical principle this country was founded upon?
Wait a second.
Do you mean to tell me that the U.S. Senate, that greatest deliberative body in the world, might accomodate serial liars for no good reason?!
We can’t let this happen. It could become a precedent!
Capitulate? Surely you mean COOPERATE! Aren’t they a wonderful team? The whole world needs to learn this lesson from America. In America there is no discord, both parties, and the people, agree on everything. Aren’t you deliriously happy?
Ok, there are a few bleeding hearts who worry about spilling heathen blood but, hey, they aren’t many, and they are all too busy posting impotent messages on radical venting outlets to make any trouble.
Given what already has transpired for at least the past 7 years, honestly are any of you really surprised?
Just send Congress home for the next year before they do anymore damage. Pay them to just stay home. Hitler was able to say that everything he did was legal. Congress has basically given the Executive Branch the same powers that Hitler had and soon will no longer be required. I guess thats why so many Republicans are retiring from Congress. Maybe they know something.
A LETTER SENT TO SENATOR FEINGOLD TODAY:
Dear Senator Feingold:
You blame the Republicans for not allowing you to remove some portions of FISA. As far as I am concerned, it is actually the current Democrat leadership that is the problem with FISA. Because, it should NEVER have been passed in the first place and yet you keep extending it.
Don’t you understand that no amount of fiddling with it will make it acceptable? Your proposals to “fix” it are the equivalent of attempting to polish a pile of defecation. It is not needed. It was never needed. It has not proved worthy of the cost to our civil rights. Worse, it is an unconscionable, probably unrestrainable, assault on the Constitution and everything this country once stood for.
All you would have to do is do nothing and this terrible abomination automatically dies of old age and no adverse consequences to your re-election. Your fear that you will be perceived “weak” on terror if you don’t cave in is absurd.
And, it if it did make you lose the perks of power, what happened to your courage and your promise to serve the public? Have you forgotten your oath of office to defend the Constitution? Did that become irrelevant or “quaint” as the former Attorney General characterized some basic rights. Did Bush in his illegal spying somehow manage to find some useful blackmail to use on you?
Frankly, you had better start worrying more about us, the growing majority of liberal and progressive voters because I promise you something. If you and the other present Democrats in Congress allow any version of FISA to continue, I will work as hard to remove you as I am already doing to remove Bush and his cadre of criminals.
Think about it. If you are so incompetent as to be unable to stop that FISA bill when all you have to do is to refuse to bring it to a vote, then we have no confidence in your abilities. You should resign in embarrassment due to gross incompetence.
(the author of the letter to Feingold is an Attorney-at-Law, who still believes the Constitution has relevance and importance.)
Always congress. Look at the people. They give congress a very low rating. But why? Because the country is split and the congress is in the middle, frozen in the headlights. The country is split between those who only want to be in war if they are winning and those who want to be in war at all cost because that’s the only way to be safe. There are no anti-war viable candidates because the people are not anti-war. Haven’t you noticed the abscence of marches and protests while 1 million Iraqis have been butchered?
The largest march I remember was against immigration policy. THAT’S MEXICANS MARCHING FOR THE RIGHTS OF MEXICANS IN THE US! Sheesh.
IMPEACH THE PEOPLE!!
The only use left for the Constitution is toilet paper.
Impeach?
seperate wings of the same bird!
I wish people would stop saying ‘Democrats capitulate’. Capitulate implies that there was at one point some opposition. Which is a lie since the Dems have supported this entire program all along … back to the Clinton days … through voting for the Patriot Act, etc.
The Bush-Cheney fearmongering and consequent “protect America” Constitution shredding makes the American people look more and more like a nation of cowards, with the Democrats in Congress doing so much to help! We no doubt need a strong third party to represent the brave.
Back in 2006, the Daily Kos crowd was telling us that we needed to elect a Democratic Senate so that bills like this would never even get out of committee.
VA Green, we don’t really have a Democratic Senate — not with Lieberman there. BUT, forget the negativity and ACT.
I just called all of the above numbers and was able to leave brief polite messages against telecom immunity on all but Milkulski’s phone which was full.
Please CALL and DO LIKEWISE. Polite. Brief. HOLD THE TELECOM’S ACCOUNTABLE. America is watching.
Thanks!!!
Seems as though no one in Congress is willing to sacrifice themselves or their family members to the Bush-Cheney mafioso family techniques.
That people value their lives over their liberties is understandable but still pathetic.
The paradox is that we in America today, can only gain what we need to survive at a basic level by sacrificing ourselves and the ones we love to the death machine. Once that giant maw is stuffed with enough bloody bodies it would then be forced to shut down.
“…punishable by up to five years in prison…”
It would be good to see Cheney and Bush in prison garb. To me, this immunity is something like commuting the sentence of Libby. You can commit crimes for us and we will get you off the hook.
VAGreen January 26th, 2008 9:38 am
“Back in 2006, the Daily Kos crowd was telling us that we needed to elect a Democratic Senate so that bills like this would never even get out of committee.”
VAGreen,
They were groping for a potentially viable solution to the Bush/Republican-led constitutional disasters of the century. But as Einstein said: “The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.”
Sadly, most Democrats are eating from the same corporate-controlled plates as Republicans. It’s almost impossible to distinguish one party from the other these days.
Here’s an example: “State Secrets Protection Act” - [Congressional Record: January 23, 2008 (Senate)]
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/statesec.html
While you’re reading this document it actually sounds as if Ted Kennedy and Arlen Spector in a “bipartisan” effort are really trying to give plaintiffs every opportunity to show that their rights have been violated under “state secrets” privilege, until you get to following paragraph where Congress would once again defer their constitutional powers (making the laws) to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
“The proposed bill incorporates the security procedures established in the Classified Information Procedures Act and permits the Chief Justice to create additional rules to safeguard state secrets evidence.”
These potential “additional” rules could theoretically reverse any good intentions set forth in this Kennedy/Spector bill.
Let’s not forget to remind our senators that, contrary to “9/11 changing everything and that’s why the telecom companies agreed to help fight terror, blah blah blah,” the truth is that they began this “helping” months and months prior to 9/11.
Lies upon lies upon lies. Immunity would be seen as permission to do it again, again with impunity.
Anyone voting for this is voting for a Nazi police-state in America.