Harry Reid has no choice but to push for Telecom immunity and it is not because he is opposed to the views of Dodd or Feingold, nor is it because he is in bed with the Bushies. It is because he (along with a few key Democratic congressional leaders)is also complicit in the unlawful wiretapping decisions that were made years ago.

When the wiretapping story first broke five years ago, there was much talk about certain Telecoms (e.g. Quest) refusing to go along with the Administration’s push for their support. They knew that it was illegal to do what was requested of them without a warrant, and they also knew that approval from “just” the Executive Branch would not be enough to justify the potential for future legal actions against them if they were to comply. The Telecom legal teams were overpaid and greedy, but they were not stupid. The Administration knew this. As the media attention quieted down, the Cheney team went to work lining up as many key congressional leaders as they could to “officially” support the Administration’s contention that the Telecom industry would be held harmless if future legal problems arose. One must remember that at the time, (a.) The Administration was riding a euphoric wave of invincibility, (b.) Congress was being run by sycophantic Republicans, and (c.) Congressional Democrats were afraid to oppose anything for fear of being labeled unpatriotic. It’s also important to note that it is doubtful that any of the eventual Congressional supporters knew the real magnitude and audacity of the program that was about to unfold.

Now, as the real illegal wiretapping story comes to light, the Telecoms have found it necessary to call in their Congressional chits. Reid, et al, know that depositions given by the Telecoms would include formal evidence of their complicity, and they know that by offering immunity to the Telecoms this complicity would probably never be exposed (or perhaps exposed after several decades through the Freedom of Information Act).

It’s easy to tell now which Democrats were “touched” by the Cheney crew back then. They are the ones who are either pushing for quick congressional approval of the immunity issue, or are helping to create the beltway CW that says this is all going to blow over in a few weeks.

He'll steal your Holiday nuts, if you let him. imo. He says he agin'st anmesty for Telecoms, but it ain't true.

Also, he is a low-talker. I can't hear a fucking word he says.

(And he never looks up when speaking, so you never know who he's talking to ...very disconcerting.)

Other than that, he should be fired on the spot.

btw., Glenn, who you calling 'riff raff', you dang rabble rouser. The Greenwalds of Hazard (close to pig-turd point), now there's some riff raff.

I used to be riff raff. (I admit it)

Nowadays, I'm a sophisticated urbanite.

chow,

bah.

but I think you meant that Dodd is running FOR not FROM president. ;~)

Krugman probably tempered his observations because he has a national audience. It is possible that the credit crisis will catalyze Americans like no other crime or debacle in recent history. Nobody knows how bad it is going to get, only that it is going to get bad. That is why the Federal Reserve is building the infrastructure now; to handle what they know is coming over the next 1-2 years.

Here is what Krugman did not say -

1) Currently there are $485 trillion Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) outstanding.

2) A single dollar of "real" capital supports $20 to $30 of loans.

3) The total global gross domestic product is $60 trillion.

My little brother did not say a word until he was 5 years old. My parents took him to see a number of specialists but they could find nothing wrong with him. One night at the dinner table he looked up and said, "These mashed potatoes stink."

When my mother asked him why he had never spoken he said, " Up until now, everything has been ok."

So it is with the average American citizen.

As long as their standard of living was rising and it wasn't personal, most Americans were content to let think-tanks and propaganda substitute for the truth. Lately, it has been getting personal. The sub-prime crisis could get very personal. While the ruling class have their turf wars and power grabs another disaster is in the making. One that they could have easily prevent and one that they will respond to at the last minute when it is too late to do anything about it.

oh ... those pesky typos. luckily i have let go of being right about things.

(ha ha)

Primary Challenges.

Many have been making this point for quite some time now. Primary challenges to establishment, Bush/neo-con enabling Dems like Harry Reid, are the way to go.

Anti-Constitutionalists like Harry Reid will not change. Never. The only way to truly protect our Constitution is to challenge and defeat them in the primaries.

Nominate progressives. Nominate those who will protect our privacies, rights and our Constitution. It is the only way to make lasting change.

Yes it seems insurmountable. Not only do we need to beat back the neocons, corrupt conservatism and insidious religious extremism, we also have to deal with craven neocon enablers like Harry Reid.

Beat them in the primaries. Cast them out like we cast out Joe Liebermann. Other states won't fall for the same trick Liebermann pulled to get elected. Make them pay for their destruction of our Constitution. Make them pay with their political careers and futures.

Me, too. But I thought you might want to catch that one. ;~)

That's what we're here for... to help each other. Right?

"Today, it is easy and popular to attack the President when he is down in the opinion polls. Yet, we must also remember that the nature of Washington's politics has helped drive the approval of the Democratic-led Congress to even lower approval levels, indeed some of the lowest in history."

I think he really must have meant to say "...helped drive the approval of the Republican-obstructed Congress to even lower approval levels, indeed some of the lowest in history."

I came across it in Dan Froomkin's column: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/12/20/BL2007122001419_5.html