GOP Maneuver Succeeds: House Dem Leaders Postpone FISA Vote Until Next Week

[babylonsister]

http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2007/10/gop_trick_succeeds_house_dem_leaders_postpone_fisa_vote_until_next_week.php

GOP Maneuver Succeeds: House Dem Leaders Postpone FISA Vote Until Next Week
By Greg Sargent - October 17, 2007, 6:47PM

Looks like the GOP parlimentary maneuver worked: According to House Dem leadership aides, the leadership has postponed the vote on the FISA bill until next week.

As noted below, GOP Rep. Eric Cantor came up with a clever way of throwing a wrench into the FISA bill, which was scheduled to be voted on today and which is opposed by Republicans.

He submitted an amendment late this afternoon that would have mandated that nothing in the bill "shall be construed to prohibit the intelligence community from conducting surveillance needed to prevent Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, or any other foreign terrorist organization…from attacking the United States or any United States person."

Though this language has no real legislative meaning, it nonetheless was effective in scuttling the bill. That's because he introduced this in such a way that would have forced the bill to go back to committee and delayed it for an untold amount of time.

That left House Dem leaders scrambling today to figure out how to respond. And so, instead of letting this measure effectively scuttle the legislation, they decided to postpone the vote until next week in order to regroup and figure out how to proceed. "This legislative maneuvering by Republicans was a cynical attempt by Republicans to kill the bill," a senior House Dem aide griped to Election Central.

As I predicted, House Republicans are already spinning this yanking of the bill as proof that Dems don't want to protect America -- even though the Dems' real objection was to the fact that the procedural measure would basically have killed the legislation.

As GOP Rep. Cantor, the author of this maneuver, crowed on his web site: "They are so desperately against allowing our intelligence agencies to fight OBL and AQ, that they pulled the entire bill to prevent a vote."

Late Update: It looks like the GOP maneuver may have been even trickier than it first appeared:

http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2007/10/fisa_bill_already_allowed_unfettered_evesdropping_to_prevent_terror_attack_dems_say.php

[gateley]

1. K&R nt

[marmar]

2. And where were these maneuvers when Dems were in the minority?

I know your average Repug isn't as intellectually smart as your average Dem, but perhaps they've got more back-alley street sense.

[hisownpetard]

3. God, you put that perfectly. Thanks!!

[KoKo]

6. I guess they just weren't "clued in" to the tactics dreaming of the next election

when the Dems would take back power. :eyes:

[Selatius]

4. Democrats are paralyzed by corporate influence. That's why.

For every Democrat who wants to put up resistance, either one or two other Democrats who are more corporate friendly breaks ranks or undermines the effort. Corporate cash is like Kryptonite to Democrats, but for Repubs, it's like Popeye eating Spinach.

[judaspriestess]

7. you are so right!

all these people care about is saving their political careers.

[TankLV]

9. Don't be too hard - our Dems were whining about the power they didn't have as a "minority"...

so they can now whine about how they have no power as the "majority"...

to say I'm disgusted with our Dems would be a vast understatement...and the main reason why I ALSO hold the Dem Congress in such LOW esteem...

[babylonsister]

13. You are not alone, in spades. nt

[cali]

17. And you know with certainty that the dems didn't use

similar maneuvers? Because I don't, and I'd love to see the evidence you have to back up that assertion.

[KansDem]

5. Let them say "O.K...."

"shall be construed to prohibit the intelligence community from conducting surveillance needed to prevent Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, or any other foreign terrorist organization…from attacking the United States or any United States person."

As long as they go through the FISA court with the proper documents.

Also, it might not hurt to remind the American people that the bin Ladens are a family friend of the Bush Family. In fact, rewrite this statement as:

"shall be construed to prohibit the intelligence community from conducting surveillance needed to prevent Osama Bin Laden, or any other friend of the Bush Family, Al Qaeda, or any other foreign terrorist organization from attacking the United States or any United States person."

"Foreign terrorist organization?" I suppose this excludes the domestic terrorist organization like the Ku Klux Klan, Operation Rescue, and Skinheads...

[robinlynne]

8. Thanks sister!

[robinlynne]

10. okay, so there is a week. Good time to let all our reps know about the fact that this spying had

NOTHING to do with 9-11? Since it started before 9-11, and is NOT to protect us frfom terrorists at all, I think it's time the debate shifted a bit.

[babylonsister]

11. Do our reps care what we want or know? That is the true question. Also,

who's running this show? I think it's a done deal and we might be disappointed yet again. This is me, the optimist, but that's where I'm at.

[robinlynne]

12. of course, but we should devise a strategy and get on the phones. Another tactic

would be for the dems to accept his addendum, and add one of ours: one person, one warrant. NO basket warrants.

[babylonsister]

14. I'm in, but I really don't see small voices working. nt

[WilliamPitt]

15. Good. Better to wait for a better bill

...and to gather votes for that better bill in the meantime.

[babylonsister]

16. I hope you're right, Will.

I pray this isn't the start of a cave.