Finally, someone gets it. Chris Dodd has raised the issue of filibuster against the awful FISA/Telecom Amnesty bill:
While the President may think that it's right to offer immunity to those who break the law and violate the right to privacy of thousands of law-abiding Americans, I want to assure him it is not a value we have in common and I hope the same can be said of my fellow Democrats in the Senate.
For too long we have failed to respect the rule of law and failed to protect our fundamental civil liberties. I will do what I can to see to it that no telecommunications giant that was complicit in this Administration's assault on the Constitution is given a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Just last night, we heard there are plans to disregard Senator Dodd's intention to place a hold on a FISA bill that includes amnesty for telecommunications companies.
That would be a pretty extraordinary move, but Chris Dodd has pledged to stop this horrible bill any way he can.
By threatening to put a hold on the bill, and filibuster any attempt by Harry Reid to bring it to the floor, Dodd is actually doing what his constituency is asking. This may seem symbolic, but is carries real meaning, something the Democratic side of the aisle in both houses seems to be missing.
Since the '06 election, we've waited, not always patiently, for Congress to do what we asked them to do: End the war, bring troops home, stop the Neocon-driven Executive Branch power grab, and assert some of the power given to Congress by the Constitution.
Fear of appearing weak to the far-right wing of the Republican Party has resulted in the Democratic leadership appearing weak to the whole country. Reid and Pelosi have capitulated too often, and the entire political width of the American public is pissed. Congress was empowered by the Constitution to enact legislation, and there is no reason for them to swallow GWBush's bitter pill.
Chris Dodd has risen to the top of the pack of Presidential andidates with this move, and I applaud him for it. And I challenge the other Democratic candidates to join him.