By now we know that in the Senate, any senator can put a "hold" on just about any legislation, keeping it from coming to the floor. The Republicans do it all the time. And it works. Except for when it's a democrat like Chris Dodd, who is fighting to keep telecom immunity out of a bill. Doing so means that telecoms can violate the law, invade our privacy, and assist the government in spying on its own people without a warrant, and, without being able to take them to court.
I really have no idea why majority leader Reid is ignoring Chris Dodd's hold and moving forward with this really bad legislation, but allows republicans to stop really good legislation. It makes no sense.
This article in Harper's Magazine gives the wider picture of what the stakes really are in this game.
http://harpers.org/archive/2007/12/hbc-90001937
By the way, support Chris Dodd's hold.
Update: Chris Dodd stood up and started talking and wouldn't stop. He objected to the typical motion to cut off debate. As a result, Reid took the bill off the table. Woo hoo! Leadership works.
No comments:
Post a Comment