Reid is completely disregarding the "hold" placed by Chris Dodd on any amnesty bill -- simply refusing to honor it, even as he respectfully honors literally scores of "holds" from GOP Senators such as Tom Coburn. And while Dodd is interrupting his campaigning to fly to Washington to lead the filibuster he vowed, Reid has ensured with scheduling manuevers that the filibuster will take place only over the weekend -- when all of the members are away raising money anyway and journalists aren't paying attention -- with the intent to try to force cloture once everyone returns on Monday.

[...]

Put another way, the issue isn't that they're failing to impose limits on the President. It's not even that they're failing to do everything they can to do so. The issue is that they are devoting their efforts and energies -- again -- to ensuring that the White House wins, its radicalism enabled and bolstered, and the people who support them thwarted in what they believe.
The criticism isn't that Harry Reid is being insufficiently aggressive in opposing the White House. It's that he's doing what he can to support the White House, serving as their key ally. I suppose one option is to cheer on Democrats anyway, no matter what they do. But I can't understand how anyone who actually believes in anything other than partisan power for its own sake would consider that option to be an attractive one.

Harry Reid's FISA games

but yhey can continue to pass really important stuff that caters to the religious right...you know, that 30% of the country that's batshit crazy:

To be fair, the Democratic-led House was able to pass an extremely important bipartisan resolution yesterday -- by a vote of 372-9 -- which "recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world"; proclaims that Christmas is "a holiday of great significance to Americans"; decrees that "Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization"; explains that "on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ"; and "expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world."

So it's important to temper the criticisms of the Congress with an acknowledgment and appreciation for these brave and important achievements -- one of the bravest and most consequential acts of Congress since they solemnly banded together to condemn MoveOn.org's newspaper advertisement.

Democrats show Beltway "strength,"

Bah, Humbug!

lTMF'sA

lTMF'sA...the revolution will not be televised...Peace

I called up Dodd's office and explained that I support Dodd's hold, and that I am angry with reid for ignoring it.  I asked that if Dodd is unable to stop this bill that he use his position as chair of banking to retaliate against reid.  Reid's approval ratings in Nevada are shit right now, and that Dodd has a real opportunity to make Reid's life hell if his will is thwarted.

Then I called reid's office and told them about my conversation with Dodd's office.  I also told them that there's going to be a campaign in Nevada to dislodge the Senator if the SIC bill is passed.

The woman on the phone was flustered and rude.  She also sounded nervous.

Next call was to Casey: he's leaning against immunity, and is on the Banking Committee with Dodd.  I reminded him that if he doesn't back up Dodd, Dodd can screw up his priorities, and that would be bad for Pennsylvanians.  I'll be calling up reid's office again later today.
Keep the calls coming: 202-224-3542.

Reid's gotta pay for this.  Bush-loving Democrats need to go down: Landrieu looks like she might be losing her election, hahaha, maybe Reid can be next.

Brendan Calling John Mccain

But liberals are not supposed to think that this kind of thing matters. If Democrats paid as much attention to religion as Republicans, Reid could never have become Majority Leader. A liberal Mormon is a contradiction in terms.

The Clintons represent the Republican wing of the Democratic party.

I am dismayed to find that Sen. Reid is playing games with the FISA bill, attempting to sabotage Sen. Dodd's commitment to filibuster any version that authorizes immunity for telecommunication companies that may have knowingly or unknowingly violated the law by assisting in the monitoring of US Persons without proper authority.

We must stand up for the rights guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment.  We can not allow companies that violated those rights to walk away without explaining their actions and how those actions came about.

It is not that immunity is something unattainable, but is must be offered only in exchange for cooperation.  It should be offered as a carrot, and if necessary used as a stick, but it should not be just given away for nothing.

Please encourage all parties involved to support only the Judiciary committee version as the basis for FISA legislation.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

[me]


Steve Harrison for Congress, NY-13, Staten Island and Brooklyn, NY

I appreciate hearing from you, and I have noted your opposition to granting retroactive immunity to telecom companies.