Ding dong the wicked witch is dead. House and Senate Conferees have given up trying to compromise on the horrible House version of the 9/11 Commission intelligence reform bill known as H.R. 10.

After the election, talks will resume. This is a failure for Bush. He pushed the House version which had new death penalty offenses and contained the most repressive immigration legislation in decades. He pushed a version that might have sent immigrants back to countries where they might be tortured.

We do need intelligence reform legislation. We don't need it with draconian new and expanded law enforcement and immigrant-directed powers. Kudos to the Democratic Senatorial conferees who refused to yield:

• Richard Durbin of Illinois,
• Carl Levin of Michigan,
• John Rockefeller of West Virginia,
• Bob Graham of Florida and
• Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey
• Joe Lieberman of Connecticut