FISA Passes Thanks To Dem Leadership Vacuum

"Power," says Don Surber, "hates a vacuum and the way Pelosi and Reid suck, someone had to step up to the plate and pass a bill to let our troops listen in on the bad guys overseas."

Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, shown here in happier, less tested times, have been around the Congressional block for years ... why are they still so amazingly dumb and inept? The passage of the new surveillance bill by a leadership-whacking 60-28 in the Senate and 227-183 in the House, with Dems by the dozens bailing on their leadership, shows why Congress is rated favorably by only 3% -- one-eighth Bush's rating -- on its execution of the war.

This was a simple bill. It recognized that in the decades since FISA was passed, communications technologies have changed, and there are aways to greatly expand our intelligence-gathering abilities without unduly stomping on the rights of Americans. And for those with any doubt, the bill offers a six-month sunset.

The Hate Bush Bullies don't get it.

"For Congress to carelessly give Bush these kinds of powers is asking for abuse and a grand scale. Lawmakers who voted for it ought to be ashamed." -- Crooks and Liars

“We are deeply disappointed that the president’s tactics of fearmongering have once again forced Congress into submission.” ACLU

"The NSA warrantless surveillance program had been one of the strongest and clearest grounds on which to impeach Bush. The program violated then-existing law, and Bush admitted it. What had been illegal is now fully legal -- thanks to a Congress controlled by the Democrats." -- Once Upon a Time

Lost on all these folks is the technological fact that foreign-to-foreign communications now route frequently through the US and should be monitored. For these communications, no FISA warrants should be needed, and the bill recognizes that simple truth. And for the other communications subject to the law, wherein one party is overseas and one is local, FISA is too slow in some cases to be effective.

Things have changed technologically since the 1970s when FISA passed, and they changed strategically since 2001, when Islamism's war on the West became something that could no longer be ignored.

That 28 senators and 183 representatives don't get this and feel it more important to appease the Impeach Bush/Netroots crowd than to protect our soldiers and citizens from terror is a clear sign that the Dems in Congress, and especially their leadership, is out of touch, stuck in a time warp.

We don't have time for timewarps. Kudos to the GOP leadership and to the Dems who put country ahead of party.

Now, finally, let's start snooping!

hat-tip: memeorandum