Last spring, the Democratic majority finally did the sort of thing congressional majorities usually do: it stood up to the president's demands to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to include retroactive immunity for the communications companies who aided the Bush administration in—well, something nefarious. Part of Bush's spying habit was in fact so nefarious that John Ashcroft and top Department of Justice officials were prepared to resign rather than sign off on it. It shouldn't be conservative or liberal to want to know how far Bush went or wished to go in violating rights guaranteed to Americans.
When the Democrats stood up to Bush, an incredible thing followed—Republican fearmongering had little effect. Democrats looked strong.
But Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) was apparently unsatisfied with that outcome. Rumor had it (his staff denied the rumors) that Hoyer was working hard behind closed doors to come up with a compromise bill.
Now Hoyer's "compromise" is a fait accompli, and it's clear the bill is no compromise: "I think the White House got a better deal than even they had hoped to get," said Kit Bond (R-Mo.). It offers the telecom companies immunity if they show that the Bush administration said the spying was legal. It so clearly violates the Constitution that the ACLU and the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) sued as Bush lifted his pen from the bill.
Still, the question remains: why? Is it because Hoyer received money from the telecom industry? (He did.) Is it that he and other Democrats were once again cowed by fears of being called "soft on terrorism?" Do they believe acting like Republicans will help Obama win?
There's a bigger why—why was it so important to Bush to stop the court proceedings against the telecom companies? What was he afraid the discovery process would reveal? Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) said it best: "I am one of the few members of this body who has been fully briefed on the warrantless wiretapping program. And, based on what I know… members of this body will regret that we passed this legislation."
But asking why is useless, because Steny Hoyer and all the cowardly Democrats who gave Bush a free pass may well have guaranteed that you'll never find out.
