Democrats Offer Extended Surveillence, GOP: NO!

Photo from source, TPM Muckraker

Politics is getting surreal. For weeks, President Bush and the GOP have been trying to simultaneously scare us to death, and lambaste the Democratic Party with the Protect America Act. They try to spin it, saying that the Democrats are to blame for letting this urgently needed act lapse. And yet, when Democrats attempt to extend the act while deliberations continue, the repeated answer is "NO!"

The real issue, of course, is that the Republicans want retroactive immunity for telecom companies, for their "legal" actions. This issue is more important than extending the law to them, quite obviously, because the immunity would insulate the administration from further inquiries.

[Excerpt]

GOPers Rebuff Dem Attempt to Extend Administration Surveillance Law

. . .Given that the President and Republicans have been making speeches and running ads claiming that the nation is at risk because Democrats let the law lapse, you might say it's a reasonable proposition. Just yesterday, the President said that it's "important" for the American people to "understand that no renewal of the ... the Protect America Act is dangerous for the security of the country. . ."

Read more at: TPM Muckraker