Glenn wrote:

It also should be noted that until there is a vote, one can't know for sure what the outcome is, so it certainly makes sense to continue to pressure as many Senators as possible to vote the right way.

mcjoan wrote:

We are pretty unlikely to get a majority vote on stripping telco amnesty, slightly likelier to win on Whitehouse-Specter. What's important on the amnesty issue is to get as many votes as possible. If we can get 48 or 49, it will strengthen the hand of House negotiators when the bill goes to conference. The House's RESTORE act does not contain amnesty, and they'll need all the help they can get in keeping it out of the bill. A strong showing by Senate Dems will help their argument.

Emptywheel has other votes to push on, amendments that could serve as poison pills for the administration. These include Feinstein's exclusivity amendment--the one that states that FISA is the exclusive means of foreign surveillance, Whitehouse's minimization amendment--it simply gives the FISC authority to not only approve minimization rules but to review their implementation, making sure that the government is not abusing the information it gathers.

Again, anything we can pass among these amendments is a victory. But getting as many votes as possible is also critical--every vote for a good amendment is a vote for strengthening the position of the House when it comes time to negotiate. And every good amendment that passes puts us closer to Bush having to veto--having to baldly reveal that his primary purpose with this legislation has been political all along.

Every Senator should be contacted on this bill.... http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/2/1/133634/3710/796/447719

If Senators don't get at least as many calls, faxes & emails as they did a week ago, they just might think we caved.

Cheney/Bush Scorched Constitution Policy over the next year. Where's Albert Speer when you need him?

with the 2008 Senate Democratic Leadership Survey and a request for $ attached.

Question: What do you believe is the most important issue facing America? (Please rank with "1" being the most important.)

--Ending the war in Iraq - check

--Job security and creation - check

--Affordable health care - check

--Quality public education - check

--Global warming and reducing our dependence on oil - check

--Social Security privatization - check

--Stem-cell research - check

--Reducing the national debt - check

--Other - check

Hmmm. Something's missing...can't quite put my finger on it...oh, wait...

RESTORING THE RULE OF LAW AND OUR SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES

Christ.

Kind of a follow-up to pow wow's excellent post:

Today [2/8], a formidable trio of House Committee Chairmen sent a stern letter to their colleagues urging them to oppose immunity for phone companies that assisted in the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program.

The White House is demanding that immunity for the telecoms be included in Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) legislation pending in Congress. But in today's letter -- written by John Dingell, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce; Ed Markey, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet; and Bart Stupak, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations -- the congressmen argue that the president is creating a "false choice" for lawmakers.

"By tying the question of lawsuit immunity to questions of national security and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reform legislation, the President has created a false choice for Congress," the letter states. "The issue of immunity for phone companies that chose to cooperate with the President's warrantless wiretapping program deserves a separate and more deliberate examination by Congress. No special urgency attaches to the question of immunity other than the present Administration's general eagerness to limit tort liability and its desire to avoid scrutiny of its own actions, by either the courts or the Congress."

Earlier this week, more than two dozen House members sent a letter to the White House announcing their opposition to telecom immunity. Along with the Chairmen's letter, this may represent a significant shift in the political debate over telecom immunity.

http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/02/08

For the full letter from Congressmen Dingell, Markey, and Stupak: http://www.eff.org/files/nsa/dingell.pdf

Is someone a widdle scawed?

Americans would rally to President Bush when it comes to government surveillance authority if the issue were explained properly in terms of national security, Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy, said in an interview Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Unfortunately, a series of "unhelpful court decisions" has "complicated and muddied" the issue to the detriment of the administration, Gaffney told Cybercast News Service at the conference in Washington, D.C.

In retrospect, Bush would be better off today if he had explained to Americans early on - since 9/11 - that the Constitution gives him the authority to exercise surveillance measures fairly liberally, said Gaffney.

http://tinyurl.com/2tsn4l

Credo still has a Senate/House contact form here: http://act.credomobile.com/campaign/dodd_feingold

Here's a directory with Senators & Reps' phone, fax & email: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

And goodonya. Giving up really isn't an option.

Here's conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh yesterday: "[S]omebody in the White House press corps listens to this program. It is Jeff Gannon from Talon News. Here is his question, which is a repeat, a rehash, of a precise point I made on this program yesterday and is highlighted on RushLimbaugh.com.

"REPORTER: Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the U.S. economy: Harry Reid, [blah, blah, blah, blah, blah].

Limbaugh continues: "[W]hat makes me think that the reporter was listening to the program is that Harry Reid never actually said 'soup lines.' http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41596-2005Jan27.html