Senate Passes FISA Bill, Gives Telecoms Immunity

Bowing to President Bush's demands, the Senate sent the White House a bill Wednesday overhauling bitterly disputed rules on secret government eavesdropping and shielding telecommunications companies from lawsuits complaining they helped the U.S. spy on Americans.

The relatively one-sided vote, 69-28, came only after a lengthy and heated debate that pitted privacy and civil liberties concerns against the desire to prevent terrorist attacks. It ended almost a year of wrangling over surveillance rules and the president's warrantless wiretapping program that was initiated after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The House passed the same bill last month, and Bush said he would sign it soon.

Opponents assailed the eavesdropping program, asserting that it imperiled citizens' rights of privacy from government intrusion. But Bush said the legislation protects those rights as well as Americans' security.

"This bill will help our intelligence professionals learn who the terrorists are talking to, what they're saying and what they're planing," he said in a brief White House appearance after the Senate vote.

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The LA Times reported in late June that only 23 percent of registered voters approved of the job the President is doing:

Seven months before the end of his term, President Bush's approval rating is at an all-time low.

In the just-released Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll, the president won approval from 23% of all registered voters -- including 3% of Democrats and 58% of Republicans. Those numbers are down from February, when he had an approval rating of 35%. His high mark, according to the poll, was in November 2001, just after the 9/11 terror attacks, when the president's popularity rating among registered voters was at 85%.

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Sen. Barack Obama voted for the compromise while Sen. Hillary Clinton voted against it.

Watch a video about the money trail surrounding the bill from the American News Project. Read more about the bill here.

Comments

[whiskeytangofoxtrot451]

Exactly how low does Bush's approval ratings have to sink before the democrats will stand up to him?

Do we have to wait until the only people left who support him are is wife and mother?

[JoJoKewl]

I will surely vote for Obama in November. I'll vote the str8 Dem ticket just like I always do. Nothing turns Ol' JoJos' head around. I never expected much change in the first place. Big change doesn't happen in America. We make progress a little bit at a time. Two steps forward - one step back is often the case. Real changers like Ralph Nader don't get elected. I will not be discouraged tho I will sure as hell be disappointed.

[Canaris]

Best of all, we get to do it all again next election, as the new FISA bill is set to expire in four years. Who had the brilliant idea to make this issue subject to the hysteria of election year politics again?

What a fiasco. The Supreme Court affirms the 2nd Amendment at the same time as the Congress and Senate eviscerate the 4th, with the added bonus that they remove the courts ability to rule on the Constitutionality of said evisceration. If only they could have declared Dubya President-For-Life, they would have got the betray America hat trick.

[ThunderclapNewman]

Exactly how has the 4th amendment been eviscerated?

Please be very specific.

[JoJoKewl]

No searchs without Due Process Clap. That means a warrant. They broke the old law and didn't get punished for it. The Fourth is dead. No search is now illegal.

[LaFeminazi]

"Senators Feingold and Dodd deserve kudos for their attempts to help make this awful Senate bill more palatable," said Fredrickson. "Though many questions still remain unanswered about years of domestic spying, the Senate has effectively sealed the vault by handing over immunity to the phone companies. The over forty legitimate lawsuits currently pending against them may end before they’ve begun. It’s a fact that Americans had their rights violated and now, by closing the courtroom door, they may be left with no recourse. The Senate failed us with this vote. It is a major step backward both for Americans’ privacy and the Constitution."
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/34086prs20080212.html

[Canaris]

It would be that bit about people being secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. That amendment was designed so the government COULDN'T do those things, not so that they could as long as the President said it was OK. The Consitution is a document limiting the power of government, not enabling the government to grab more of it.

[nomobull]

my guess is that most of the pundits and their followers don't know.

[eahce]

Go back to watching fox news.

[NoBo08]

I just heard they called off the election and W is now president for life.

[jwws007]

now that Barack has turned into Bush lite, and the democrats have turned into republicans, I won't be supporting anyone this year. but don't worry, I'm sure some big money lobbyists will bail Barack out, maybe the telecoms

[Independent voter]

Obama lacks the courage to stand up against Bush for the rights of the American people.

How can he be expected to have the courage to stand up against the heads of hostile nations like Communist China, North Korea, Russia etc.

I am so disappointed in Obama.

[eahce]

Obama is just another elitist member of the CFR.

[ThunderclapNewman]

You lie with amazing facility.

[FirstShirt]

He is a member of the Code of Federal Regulations?

[rjean]

ohhhhhhhhhh how can you be disappointed in BO....he is the messiah....but jessie dont like NO TALKING DOWN......­..........­.

[donjoe4]

I just don't get it..I'm shaking my head saying if you were George or Dick would you leave this kind of power?.i mean on Jan 20 George is just going to throw the keys to the next president and say "have a nice day"...i don't see it...

[Ammobob]

Barry W. Bush's hypocrisy knows no bounds..........he has 'REFINED' yet another position..­........it­'s definitely NOT a flip-flop.

[bluesoul]

thanks for spicing up the discussion with a dash of sanity

[LaFeminazi]

Try and you lation.

[LaFeminazi]

Try hang ulation?

[NoBo08]

Try inhalation?

[LaFeminazi]

As Bloody Stupid Johnson would have put it, one needs three right angles to properly triangulate.

[Independent voter]

What's next Obama - bomb Iran? torture civilians who disagree with you?

Biden, Clinton and Dodd had the courage to say no to this fascism. Why didn't you? Or were you just "refining" your position?


Kindly stop asking me for more money.

[ThunderclapNewman]

You have never supported O'bama.
Your profile proves it.

[JoJoKewl]

Republican Lite - that's the way to go. Worked real good for John Kerry and it will work real good for Obama too. Yep.

[jonmonbuckeye]

Want to have fun with Republicans? When they show up on your doorstep pandering for a vote, tell them them that you love the 2nd amendment sooo much, that you are going to give them a 10 second head start before you shoot them in the rear. Just remember- Republicans make GREAT speed bumps.

[LaFeminazi]

One small step for man

One giant banana peel for mankind.

[JoJoKewl]

Bada bing! Good one!

[ThunderclapNewman]

Excellent!

[lornejl1]

No one but the left gives a flying ****, that's why this crap keeps happening.

[rkrenke]

Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow made Michigan proud yesterday. While we've had our differences on other issues, I'd like to thank them both for standing for the Rule of Law and defending my civil liberties. HRC should also be commended for voting against this travesty.

Congress is lead by individuals who have no idea how to govern let alone provide the strong leadership this country needs. I am embarrassed and disappointed in myself that I supported Obama throughout the primary and will not support him in the general election with either votes, contributions, or volunteer time.

A democracy is only as strong as the People who support it and I am done voting for cowards.

"It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government." - Thomas Paine

[hank48188]

They let the Michigan Democratic Party and the DNC to steal my vote and give it to Obama, why didn't they stand up for my rights? Maybe it's all that money from George Soros.

[rkrenke]

Actually, I think the MDC was trying to secure the nomination for HRC, not Obama. And, I'm not sure how George Soros plays into this - please elaborate.