G. Greenwald: What Backroom Conniving Are Steny Hoyer and the Chris Carney Blue Dogs Up To on FISA?

[babylonsister]

What Backroom Conniving Are Steny Hoyer and the Chris Carney Blue Dogs Up To on FISA?
by Glenn Greenwald


Are House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and a small handful of “Blue Dog” Democrats working in secret to reverse one of the only worthwhile acts of Congressional Democrats since they were given control of Congress in 2006: namely, the refusal to vest the President with vast new warrantless eavesdropping powers and bequeath lawbreaking telecoms with amnesty? It certainly appears that way.

Numerous reports — both public and otherwise — suggest that Hoyer is negotiating with Jay Rockefeller to write a new FISA bill that would be agreeable to the White House and the Senate. Their strategy is to craft a bill that they can pretend is something short of amnesty for telecoms but which, in every meaningful respect, ensures an end to the telecom lawsuits. It goes without saying that no “compromise” will be acceptable to Rockefeller or the White House unless there is a guaranteed end to those lawsuits, i.e., unless the bill grants amnesty to lawbreaking telecoms.

Even Capitol Hill insiders are baffled at the impetus for this new drive to capitulate. For the first times in years, the House Democratic caucus unified to take an actual stand on an issue relating to Terrorism — all but five Blue Dogs voted for the House bill and rejected the Rockefeller/Cheney Senate bill. Even the GOP accepted that their fear-mongering campaign around the issue had failed, as there was no public outcry demanding that the President be allowed to spy on Americans without warrants or that telecoms be allowed to break the law with impunity. Key Blue Dogs have been making impressive public statements insisting that they will not reverse their position.

Hoyer’s motives, then, appear to be two-pronged: (1) he and the House Democratic leadership simply want to grant amnesty to telecoms — they favor it — because they do not want the lawsuits relating to illegal spying to proceed to resolution; and (2) they are deferring to the tiny number of Blue Dogs who favor amnesty and warrantless eavesdropping. This article from The Hill this week specifically identifies freshman Rep. Chris Carney as demanding that the House comply with the President’s demands:

Vulnerable freshman Democrats and Blue Dogs say the issue demands action.
“Overall, it’s very important,” said Rep. Chris Carney (D-Pa.), a freshman member of the Blue Dog Coalition who often votes against his leadership.

Carney said that a compromise should protect national security and also respect civil liberties. “I’ve been in favor of the Senate bill. We’ll see what happens,” he said.

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/02/8683/

[Dr.Phool]

1. Time to spay and neuter the Blue Dogs.

I think that's done with a primary challenge.

[Mojorabbit]

2. it makes no sense

that a freshman dem would have so much say. It can't see it hurting anyone who is running for reelection.
All it would take is an add saying that he was not in favor of the govt wiretapping innocent citizens and not in favor of granting companies immunity for breaking the law.
I don't get it.

[Vincardog]

3. The key is that they all work for the same corporate masters. They made a stand to pacify us

and now they want to do as their corporate masters wanted anyway.
It sounds like eating your cake and having it too to me.

[VP505]

4. Very strange

that for once the House Dem's won on a issue that needs absolutely NO more discussion. Nothing need be done until the next Congress is seated and the effort to overturn all the wrong headed crap this Admin has shoved down our throats is started. Fact is NOTHING can happen on this unless Hoyer either LETS it happen or MAKES it happen.