Comments on: Sen. Chris Dodd’s First Speech On FISA Today

By: MarkH

MarkH — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 03:25:41 +0000

Absolutely mindboggling speech. Dodd is a hero!!

Great speech!

By: Christy Hardin Smith

Christy Hardin Smith — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:26:02 +0000

PetePierce at 100 — You may feel very strongly about this, but to analogize this in comparison to the millions murdered in the Holocaust? Doesn’t work for me as an analogy. Try Orwell or Phillip K. Dick in terms of scope and asshattery. But governmental abuse and murder are not peas of the same pod in my mind.

By: RoyEPearson

RoyEPearson — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:09:54 +0000

It is all smoke and mirrors. They never intended to stop it.

By: PetePierce

PetePierce — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:07:43 +0000

What you are watching is a Democratic party capitulation to Bush analagous to the French capitulation to Nazi Germany during WWII with Americans being sacrificed the way the Jews were.

By: Hugh

Hugh — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:04:27 +0000

All that said…anyone who suggests this is Reid’s complicated and fancy way of defeating telecom immunity is full of it. If Reid wanted to kill it, he’d offer the SJC for debate. Or, if he wanted to do it in some convoluted way, he’d have one of his staffers call up RH or Jane and explain what’s going on to them. Since Reid did neither of these, we can only assume this is exactly what it looks like: an attempt to generate passage of telco immunity.

And it is not like this was the first time that Reid has played this game. All of his previous efforts were sellouts. Experience tells us that this is what is happening now.

By: selise

selise — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:59:36 +0000

Just to be clear as to what is being gauged by a review of the parliamentary procedure, it’s probing the extent of Dodd/Feingold’s objection to passing a FISA bill.

exactly!

and… it allows us to judge the level of “support” of their senate colleagues.

By: RoyEPearson

RoyEPearson — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:59:33 +0000

Shut Down The Government to end the War. The illegal actvivties of This administration are all the same poison. The war kills our treasured Soldiers. We must stop at all cost the machinery that continues these acts.

Push Shove Shut it down.

By: cboldt

cboldt — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:56:26 +0000

I agree that what Reid said would happen (the Senate can take up the bill) didn’t happen.

I think Reid stated what he wanted to have happen, and what would happen unless he heard something resembling objection upon completion of the cloture vote.

Dodd wants to enter an amendment too — which more or less sets him up as wanting the bill to be pending so he can introduce the amendment ;-)

By: cboldt

cboldt — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:53:28 +0000

Just to be clear as to what is being gauged by a review of the parliamentary procedure, it’s probing the extent of Dodd/Feingold’s objection to passing a FISA bill. They have some serious tools at their disposal, and they do know how to use them.

A full-bore objection/obstruction will exist if at least one of them does not enter a UC agreement that cuts short the time allotments of Rule XXII. They can and did object to taking up the bill. They can run the clock at each amendment, even the ones they agree with, by requiring adherence to Rule XXII time periods and by not agreeing to take a vote on any amendment, or on the final bill, until the cloture process for each step has run its time according to Senate rules.

By: selise

selise — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:52:08 +0000

Reid stated what amounted to agreement.

if so, it doesn’t look like that agreement is being followed. is it possible you misunderstood the meaning of the uc this morning?

When Reid asks for consent to proceed to the bill, Dodd is within his rights to continue his objection and debate, until 30 hours has expired.

that is my understanding from this morning (before hearing from you about this morning’s uc)