Chris Dodd's Grave Failure of Leadership on FISA

Last week, on October 18, Markos urged Chris Dodd to "lead" the "fight against FISA capitulation." Markos noted, "Dodd can give himself a nice boost by doing everything possible to put a wrench into this disastrous capitulation."

That same day, Atrios urged his readers to call Dodd and demand a stop to any and all FISA bills that include telecom immunity:

If you think it's important for Dodd to place a hold on any crappy telecom immunity bill that the Senate comes up with, call Dodd campaign headquarters and request they do it.

[flip]

Leading the Dodd charge on the 18th was, of course, Armando. He solemnly opined that a FISA bill with telecom immunity such as Rockefeller's was no less than "another instance of the Congress abdicating its Constitutional duties" and he went on to urge bold action from Dodd:

Senator Dodd, do what you must, including a filibuster, to stop this evisceration of the separation of powers, of civil liberties, of honesty, fairness and justice. Implore your Dem colleagues, especially your fellow Presidential candidates in the Senate, to join you in this fight for the very principles that are the foundation of the Constitution and our Nation.

Additionally, in what is truly a surprisingly effective display of coordination with Tim Tagaris happy coincidence, Jane Hamsher also just happened to, on October 18, weigh in favor of Dodd leading the way on FISA: "how many of you would switch your vote to Dodd if he did something stand-up like this, and said 'no more' the administration’s slavish, corporatist lawlessness?"

And then it happened.

Just a couple of hours later, almost as if everyone who wrote about it earlier that day had knowledge this was coming, Dodd placed "a hold" on Rockefeller's bill. Unfortunately, Harry Reid promptly signaled he would ignore the hold, leaving only the option of filibuster as a possible method of preventing another FISA capitulation.

Well, it is obvious what a true leader would do at this point. S/he would promise to filibuster any version of the FISA bill including a provision for retroactive immunity for telecom companies that helped the Bush administration engage in warrantless wiretapping.

At least that's what I was told here ("will they insist on a bill that goes the distance and unequivocally oppose any legislation that provides amnesty to telecoms?"); and here ("Call and ask Obama . . . to filibuster any bill that offers immunity")

Sadly, Dodd failed utterly on this critical test of leadership. His statement:

Just last night, we heard there are plans to disregard Senator Dodd's intention to place a hold on a FISA bill that includes amnesty for telecommunications companies.

That would be a pretty extraordinary move, but Chris Dodd has pledged to stop this horrible bill any way he can.

So if the hold is not honored, he is prepared to go to the Senate floor and filibuster.

Thus, as others have pointed out, Dodd, by focusing only on "a" FISA bill and "this" FISA bill, rather than "any" FISA bill, has left room to support any other bill, regardless of how awful it is.

A failure of leadership.

That said, Dodd took an important step in expressing a willingness to support a filibuster of at least one version of the bill. The question is, will he insist on a bill that goes the distance and unequivocally oppose any legislation that provides amnesty to telecoms?

We need to make sure he stands firm rather than looks for a hedge. He's aware there are serious issues with this bill, but no doubt he's feeling pressure from his consultants and the Beltway pundit class to make this problem go away.  Let's make him feel the pressure from our side to complete this step toward defending the Constitution against George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Chris Dodd should firmly vow to oppose any bill that gives retroactive immunity to law-breaking phone companies who helped Bush illegally spy on innocent Americans.

Please call Dodd and demand that he answer this question: Will you support a filibuster of any bill that grants retroactive immunity to telecoms for enabling the Bush administration to spy illegally on Americans?

(202) 737-DODD (3633)

Update [2007-10-24 11:59:30 by taylormattd]:: Armando would like me to note that unlike others at this site, Open Left, and elsewhere, he actually gave a straighforward commendation of both the statements from Hillary and Obama.