Glen Greenwald writes:
The Senate today — led by Jay Rockefeller, enabled by Harry Reid, and with the active support of at least 12 (and probably more) Democrats, in conjunction with an as-always lockstep GOP caucus — will vote to legalize warrantless spying on the telephone calls and emails of Americans, and will also provide full retroactive amnesty to lawbreaking telecoms
Despite what Glen says, I think this is the correct response from the Senate as regards the telecom companies. Hopefully the House will follow along soon.
More from Glen:
How far we’ve come — really: disgracefully tumbled — from the days of the Church Committee, which aggressively uncovered surveillance abuses and then drafted legislation to outlaw them and prevent them from ever occurring again. It is, of course, precisely those post-Watergate laws which the Bush administration and their telecom conspirators purposely violated, and for which they are about to receive permanent, lawless protection.
In lumping the telecoms in with the Bush administration, Greenwald – like the Democrats behind the anti-immunity agenda – is demanding the execution of the accomplice, not solving the real problem.
Was the surveillance illegal? Better minds than mine certainly think so (and I agree).
Is the the telecoms’ fault they obeyed the President of the United States in the midst of a national security crisis? No.
If Democrats feel the need to find a scapegoat for the abuses of power, invasions of privacy, and violations of the law and the Constitution that have been systematically conducted over the last 7 years, then I suggest that they summon a little moral courage and take aim at the source of the problem: the White House.
Their current spat of misdirected anger is simply petty and vindictive due to their own powerlessness.