Chris Dodd & Russ Feingold Fighting FISA Bill

Image from source, AOL News

Say what you will about the Congress in general and the Senate in specific, there are a few good ones in there still fighting for us. Chris Dodd and Russ Feingold are vowing to fight passage of the FISA bill, and good for them.

The question of why Democrats would cave on the new FISA bill is rich fodder for speculation. My favorite is the cover your ass theory, where discovery of exactly what has been done would implicate not only Republicans, but also a good chunk of Democrats.

In the days after September 11, 2001, any effort to fight George W. Bush's agenda was met with variations of the "unpatriotic" or "America hater" attacks. So, Democrats--by and large--went along. Some grudgingly, some willingly. And now that the mood of the country is considerably different, some of those actions could come back to haunt Democrats. Tough. The warrantless wiretapping and retroactive immunity for telecom companies defiled the Constitution and many other laws. The single greatest duty of Congress--not to mention the President--is to defend and uphold the Constitution. Suck it up guys. And good on you, Senators Feingold and Dodd. I hope you prevail.

[Excerpt]

Feingold, Dodd to Fight FISA

After Democratic Senators Chris Dodd and Russ Feingold issued a strongly worded statement opposing the FISA bill that passed the House of Representatives yesterday, rumors of a filibuster quickly began to circulate. But nowhere in the actual statement did it say that Dodd and Feingold would filibuster the legislation. . .

Read more at: AOL News