Senate Lap Dogs Propose Gutting of FISA and Oversight
by TChris
Republicans are packaging as "reform" a plan that would gut FISA, leaving the president free to spy on Americans without obtaining a warrant. A NY Times editorial expresses appropriate outrage at this cynical ploy to shield the president's lawless behavior:
Faced with a president who is almost certainly breaking the law, the Senate sets up a panel to watch him do it and calls that control. ... The Republicans' idea of supervision involves saying the White House should get a warrant for spying whenever possible. Currently a warrant is needed, period. And that's the right law. The White House has not offered a scrap of evidence that it interferes with antiterrorist operations. Mr. Bush simply decided the law did not apply to him.
The Times reports that the deal, negotiated with the White House, "left Senate Democrats fuming on the sidelines." The Times also reports that the proposal is "likely to win approval from the full Senate." Isn't it time for spineless Democrats to stop fuming and start filibustering?
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