Reid Won't Support FISA Compromise, At Odds With Obama

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced this evening that he will vote against the compromise FISA legislation and work with likeminded colleagues to strip immunity for telecom firms from that bill.

It is a position that puts the Democratic Senate leader at odds with his own party's presumptive presidential nominee, Barack Obama, who also has pledged to fight for the removal of immunity but will vote yes on the final package.

"I am not going to vote for the FISA bill," said the Nevada Democrat. "There are people, Mr. President, who have worked on this FISA matter for three months or more and again the administration worked with them. Did they, on the FISA bill, move enough to make me vote for the bill? The answer is no."

Reid's position seems, at this point, unlikely to change the contours of the debate. This past week, Democratic negotiators in the House and Senate came to an agreement to pass a sweeping overhaul of the nation's electronic surveillance laws, in the process granting conditional immunity for telecommunications companies who participated in the previously illegal program.

That update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act passed the House by a vote of 293 to 129; the majority of the Democratic caucus voted nay.

On Wednesday, one of the FISA legislation's principle opponents, Russ Feingold, announced that he would try to use procedural measures to strip out the immunity provision.

"We are going to resist this bill," said the Wisconsin Democrat. "We are going to make sure that the procedural votes are gone through. In other words, a filibuster is requiring sixty votes to proceed to the bill, sixty votes to get cloture on the legislation. We will also--Senator Dodd and I and others will be taking some time to talk about this on the floor. We're not just going to let it be rubberstamped."

But the Senate has filed (and seems likely to pass) cloture on the FISA legislation and amendments to strip the bill of immunity would likely require 60 votes for passage, something that, with a divided Democratic caucus, almost certainly won't happen. As noted by Congressional Quarterly: "A similar amendment to a previous version of legislation overhauling the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA, PL 95-511) failed by a vote of 31-67 in February."

Reid's position is still a relatively bold political move. While Sen. Barack Obama has expressed reservations with the compromise (and supports an amendment stripping immunity from its language), he nevertheless said he would support the bill. That the Senate Majority Leader would willingly take a different stance from his party's presidential nominee is an indication of both the political pressures of the current election as well as the emotional divisiveness of the FISA battle.

Comments

[Chillinout]

It IS possible that all the phone calls and emails that have been flooding into the Senators, just might be having an effect. (fingers crossed). We will see soon.

[PAposter]

I almost responded as if I believe what the media is trying to "push" today.

Don't believe the hype people.

[Bobleblah1]

Courage with no cost?

PS
What is Obama thinking?

[elderly]

After experiencing the horror of the bush administration, it is imperative for Senator Obama to be strong in his defense of the Constitution of the United States to send a message to all people in this country and around the world that the principles espoused in the Constitution are of utmost importance to the government of the United States. Period.

[UltraClassic]

Obama is a smart politico. Firstly, he knows that hammering the telecoms for cooperating with government requests during a time of war is wrong. Secondly, he knows that the GOP will take this and tie it around his neck this fall.

Obama may be dumb, but he is not stupid.

[AnnaList]

UltraClassic, I think you are right. Especially in light of the comments made by McCain's supporter, Black. The Republicans are desperate and considering the likes of Bush, Cheney, and the other likeminded neo-cons, I don't put anything pass these people. Anyone who is capable of manufacturing evidence of weapons of mass destructions, yellow cake in Africa, destroying so many lives, sending our American troops into a misguided war in Iraq, is capable of anything. Even though in giving the telecoms immunity, it automatically immunizes Bush, it doesn't mean that after Obama is elected, his Justice Dept. cannot bring other charges, especially related to war crimes against the whole lot of them. It doesn't have to stop there either. If we elect enough democrats to the House and Senate, much of the damage created by the Republicans can be remedied. Delay is not denial, but first, Obama has to get elected!!! If so much as a firecracker goes off between now and November, (4th of July considered), the Republicans will find a way to blame the Democrats. I know this is a tough decision for Obama, but so far he seems to have been very thoughtful in his decisions, I have to believe that he has taken all of this into consideration too.

[Prism]

Reid magnifies the stunning Obama flip-flop by showin us the guts necessary for leadership. There are an awful lot of second guessers scratching heads right now. Many of us will be praying that superdels to the convention let it be known that they can still switch to Clinton if Brack is going to continue this swift and stunning pattern of betrayal (not only FISA but Campaign Finance, NAFTA, Iraq, UNIVERSAL health care) Is that snake oil I detect or has the shame candidacy of the "change' been unmasked?

[MikePS65]

Clinton didn't even bother showing up to vote on the FISA bill. Who knows how she would've voted on it had she actually been around to do her job.

[WAstateliberal]

Don't feed the troll. Prism wasn't going to vote for Obama in November anyway, so why should he/she care how Obama votes on FISA?

And Reid showing guts? That made my snapple come out of my nose. Thanks for the laugh. Haven't laughed that hard since watching Wipe Out last night.

[cyndeewi]

Obama has not changed on Universal Health Care, you are lying there. He has changed on campaign finance and no one disagrees with him but you and McCain.

[lwfky]

Why, oh why, didn't Senator Feingold run for president. There is a candidate I could believe in!

[WIpatriot]

My Senator would make an excellent president. But then we would probably get stuck with that talking head pubbie representing WI. Between him and Sensenbrenner, I'd have to move out of state.

[TN]

Huge mistake for Obama to say he would vote yes on the legislation. He is relatively new, that is what the repubs say, we don't know him. This makes me wonder if they are right. This is huge, he is expert in the constitution, something smells here.

[buckygreen]

SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD: It's not even a fig leaf; it's a joke. It does not in any way prevent the ruling from that court, basically automatically, of immunity, because it just involves saying, "Look, they've got a piece of paper from the government­." This is nothing but Democrats trying to pretend that they're doing something here. They are doing nothing. They're giving in. Senator Kit Bond, a Republican from Missouri, is basically giggling at the fact that the Republicans and the administration got essentially everything they want on this. It's sadly a great failure on the part of the Democratic majority that was elected in 2006 primarily to get us out of Iraq, but also significantly to protect the Constitution of the United States. This is not a proud moment.

I'm with Feingold on this. Where is Senator Obama?

...people like Hoyer, and Pelosi, and Emanuel, and yes, even Obama (I don't care if he's the presidential nominee or not, if he issues statements that presume his constituents are fools) paint this complete, multi-tiered collapse as something noble, and necessary, and (for the love of pete) hard-won. That is perhaps the greatest insult: the Democrats have adopted the very Republican position of presuming that if they just pretend that something is true, people will believe them.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/25/9451/68807/758/541305

[WIpatriot]

Right, and all that piece of paper from the gubbermint has to say is "This company is immune from prosecution" and that's the same damn thing.

[cyndeewi]

Obama just lost my vote. I will sit this election out.

[JimR]

What is that sticking out of Reid's pants? I've never seen those on him before. Are those... testicles?

[BlackLeatherRain]

*dies*

You owe me a new keyboard.

[meanguy]

maybe he could lend them to barry

[KeysDan]

A foundational change needed is protection and defense of the liberties embodied by the Constitution and a return to the rule of law, with civil and criminal accountability. The FISA bill, as constructed, continues, and even enhances, the assaults experienced over the past years. Making the illegal legal, giving amnesty to telecom giants for wrongdoing, and , essentially, providing immunity for Bush administration officials by mandated dismissals of civil suits and their potentially devastating component-­-discovery­, is not change. It is more of the same and then some. It appears that the "compromise" (i.e., capitulation) is an orchestrated campaign tactic to provide immunity from Republican charges of being soft on terrorism. Even that craven nimbleness might provide the basis for a rationalization, given the need to defeat Republicans, if it were not for the irreversible damage. Senator Reid is providing a fig leaf for those senators under attack by their thinking constituencies; moreover, our standard-bearer can say that he "worked" for amendments, but simply to no avail, so don't blame me.

[pbziegler]

I've been giving Obama a lot of dough and spent many hours on the phone taking him up to voters. I will continue to support him but he sure smells like old stink on this one. Chances are pretty good that once we get him in the White House, just like the Democrats we got in congress, he will not prove to be something new. Big Surprise. In any event there's old bad and old worse and McCain is old worse.

[Heidfeld]

Wait a second, isn't this Obama fellow supposed to be the great uniter? Isn't he supposed to reach across party lines and bring everyone together?

Well how are we supposed to believe that if he can't even agree with the DEMOCRATIC party on an issue as clear cut as this?

We have little to judge BO on, and the little that we have is not encouraging.

[WIpatriot]

Non sequitur.

[southernsepia]

Could progressives grow up about this election?

Our candidate will not agree with you on every position.
He will not wear his liberal credentials on his sleeve.
He will move to the center prior to November.

He wants to win. We want him to win.

I am tired of folks throwing a hissy fit every time our candidate says something they mildly disagree with. This is about moving the country forward with a major change of direction, not one or two or ten pieces of legislation.

Please stop all the threats to pull your support every time the media tells you something that breaks you out of your Utopian fog.

In order for us to move forward we must win.
Use your energy to register new voters!

[PAposter]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Brilliant!

[buckygreen]

Utopian fog? Yeah I guess youre right. I mean its only whats left of the 4th Amendment. No big deal.

As a strong Obama supporter, I would suggest that those of you who think that this is just a mild disagreement over a minor issue - the United States Constitution(?!) - are the ones in a fog. Obama should join my Senator Feingold and "denounce and reject" this capitulation disguised as compromise.

[Bozwellian]

Yeah, "MUST WIN" , but then too, what is a win if the "principles" are forsaken in order TO WIN ? This nonsense of MUST move to the center...u­h, think most even in the center can comprehend how the such as this FISA misappropriation of authority effects and affects and impacts more and rather ALL and in truth, time to actually hold some to accountability for REAL !!!
Obama should join with those that say they will muster up a fillibuster until this gets at the very least "tabled" for say a late January or February session where perhaps a larger majority can sink its teeth in properly !!!

[rkrenke]

Really? How many election cycles are we going to fall for the "wait until after the elections" speech?

This isn't just any issue - this issue may be one of the most important issues of the past decade. I do not give my representatives or the presumptive nominee permission to vote away my civil liberties by eviscerating the Constitution and our Bill of Rights. These documents have served this country for centuries, and, quite frankly, at this point I don’t trust this Congress or Obama to make the right choices and decisions.

Obama needs to EDUCATE and INFORM voters on why this legislation is unnecessary and detrimental to our way of life. To do anything less simply labels him as more of the same.

I applaud Harry Reid's decision and can only hope that he has the fortitude to stop this legislation from ever reaching the Senate floor.

[jaldenh]

Agree! Politics is the art of the possible.

[jupitor]

Actually in reality they are not on the oppisite side of the fence! They both want the wording of the FISA bill changed! They don't want the tel.com to be given immunity! however, if obam don't vote for this bill and we get attacked, than Mccain will say it was his softness and he has no common sense when it comes to protecting this country and what we need to do. So he has to let Reid carry the torch in hopes so many agrees with him that he can put a NO vote in and not look like the lone ranger in this. He's not President yet, and he can't do us any good unless he gets that office. So he must be very careful on every step he takes! Reid and Obama are on the same page on this, no doubt. But Reid doesn't have the Presidency to lose and Obasma does. After Charlie Blacks little throw up on how an attack on the united states would benefit Mccain, he's right and that leaves Obama to watch his back side right now, and to prove he's a strong leader who wouldn't do any thing to put us in danger.

[heather11483]

Something's up. I think the blogospere might've been a bit hasty in slamming Obama. When this thing reaches the Senate, I think it's going to be very interesting.