Our roll-over and play-dead Congress about to sell us out again!

The New York Times has reported that Congress and the Bush administration have reached a compromise on an expanded FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) bill that will grant telecom companies limited immunity.

Once again, our roll-over-and-play-dead Congress has found a way to relinquish its duty to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. The Times describes the process as having been reached after ‘months of wrangling.’ That’s the problem here; Congress is only interested in ‘wrangling’ not in standing up to or ‘fighting’ against what has become, at best, a rogue administration.

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The Democrats were returned to power in November 2006 under the guise of reigning in this administration and ending our involvement in Iraq. Neither has happened. Instead, the Congress has been complicit in escalating the war in Iraq and in assisting President Bush’s assault on our civil rights. In February the Democrats showed a bit of backbone by allowing the temporary surveillance measure to expire, raising Bush’s hackles. It must have been too much heat for the Democrats to endure because they’re about to vote him expanded spying powers. <!–[endif]–>

The most controversial portion of the FISA bill is the section that grants retroactive immunity to the telecoms complicit in violating our civil rights. According to a spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), he considers this bill better than the bill the senate passed in February and much better than the Protect America Act signed into effect last summer. His spokesman went on to say that Reid is still opposed to retroactive immunity. However, it remains to be seen if Reid will stand up and fight. It sounds more like he has resigned himself to the fact that the bill will pass.

Caroline Frederickson, head of the ACLU Washington Legislation Office characterized this legislation as a “thinly-veiled giveaway to some major campaign donors.” She went on to say, “The Hoyer/Bush surveillance deal was clearly written with the telephone companies and internet providers at the table and for their benefit. They wanted immunity, and this bill gives it to them.”

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It’s clear that the Democrats lack the political will to stand up to President Bush, a lame duck president who can now lay claim to having the most unpopular administration in American history. One has to wonder why they are even taking up this legislation at this time with a new administration starting in just seven or eight month’s time. Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) vowed to filibuster any legislation that included retroactive immunity. That remains to be seen. It’s difficult to have much faith in this particular crop of Democrats.