In the Let’s Parse The Word “Is” catagory, we bring you the controversial FISA bill.
On October 17, the Senate Intelligence Committee reached an agreement with the White House to give telecom companies imunity from the shit they turned over to the NSA. They did this illegally, because Bush asked pretty pretty please, but, as we all know, ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it.
On October 18 Chris Dodd said he would filibuster and put a hold on this bill. That same day, Obama said this:
“I have consistently opposed this Administration’s efforts to use debates about our national security to expand its own power, whether that was on the Iraq war, or on its power grab to curb our civil liberties through domestic surveillance programs. It is time to restore oversight and accountability in the FISA program, and this proposal — with an unprecedented grant of retroactive immunity — is not the place to start.”
MoveOn and other groups then asked that he be explicit. An hour and a half later, they had an answer:
“Senator Obama has serious concerns about many provisions in this bill, especially the provision on giving retroactive immunity to the telephone companies. He is hopeful that this bill can be improved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. But if the bill comes to the Senate floor in its current form, he would support a filibuster of it.”
However, this, apparently, was too explicit. By saying this bill he was called “chickenshit” and it was demanded that he “support a filibuster of any bill that grants retroactive immunity to telecoms amongst few others.
Because stating that if the bill comes out of committee including the immunity he disagrees with he will veto it is apparently not good enough, he had to say it again.
“To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.”
That’s right — in politics, it doesn’t count unless you say it twice. And really loudly.
