Monday, January 28, 2008
Another Telecom Immunity Monday
In the U.S. Senate, the FISA bill is up for a cloture vote today at 4:30 PM. Cloture cuts off debate, which makes a filibuster impossible. A cloture resolution needs 60 votes to pass.
In its current form, the FISA bill includes retroactive immunity for telephone company illegal wiretapping, so it should not pass. Senator Dodd and Senator Feingold have promised a filibuster, which keeps the bill from coming to a vote.
Rumor has it that both Clinton and Obama, two of the three Senators who are running for president (3=McCain) have interrupted their campaign to come to the Senate floor today and vote against cloture.
This is a huge victory! If you called, if you wrote about this, if you cared, you should be proud!
Technically, Obama and Hillary don't have to be there. Cloture can pass at 60-0 or fail 59-0 -- the critical factor is 60 aye votes.
But I am heartened that both Clinton and Obama see telecom immunity as a critical issue. And I am optimistic that they will convince several of the pro-cloture Democrats (reportedly Rockefeller, Bayh, Mikulski, Pryor, Salazar, McCaskill, Nelson (FL), Carper, Nelson (NE), Landrieu, Inouye, and Johnson) to withhold that aye -- and, perhaps, sway enough Senators to vote out a FISA bill without amnesty for telco spying.
In its current form, the FISA bill includes retroactive immunity for telephone company illegal wiretapping, so it should not pass. Senator Dodd and Senator Feingold have promised a filibuster, which keeps the bill from coming to a vote.
Rumor has it that both Clinton and Obama, two of the three Senators who are running for president (3=McCain) have interrupted their campaign to come to the Senate floor today and vote against cloture.
This is a huge victory! If you called, if you wrote about this, if you cared, you should be proud!
Technically, Obama and Hillary don't have to be there. Cloture can pass at 60-0 or fail 59-0 -- the critical factor is 60 aye votes.
But I am heartened that both Clinton and Obama see telecom immunity as a critical issue. And I am optimistic that they will convince several of the pro-cloture Democrats (reportedly Rockefeller, Bayh, Mikulski, Pryor, Salazar, McCaskill, Nelson (FL), Carper, Nelson (NE), Landrieu, Inouye, and Johnson) to withhold that aye -- and, perhaps, sway enough Senators to vote out a FISA bill without amnesty for telco spying.
Technorati Tags: AT&T, FourthAmendment, Politics, Telco, Wiretap
Comments:
In the above, you list Clinton, Obama, and McCain as the "three senators who are running for President." Interesting how you, like the rest of the media, have left out Senator John Edwards, who was by far the most eligible and competent candidate. Another example of the media marginalizing good candidates in favor of bad ones.
# posted by 
: 1/30/2008 1:48 PM
: 1/30/2008 1:48 PM
Edwards isn't a sitting Senator, so he can't vote and has no standing on the Senate floor.
He's a fine candidate, in my opinion, with a good tech policy, but because he isn't a sitting Senator, he's not relevant to the cloture vote, the FISA extension vote, etc.
Sorry, your comment is off base.
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He's a fine candidate, in my opinion, with a good tech policy, but because he isn't a sitting Senator, he's not relevant to the cloture vote, the FISA extension vote, etc.
Sorry, your comment is off base.
