This is looking more and more like political theatre.

Hell no. This is looking more and more like Dodd's the only one who gives a damn. Where's Feingold on this?

Are there 40 other senators willing to join him in the filibuster? If not, how is the threat meaningful?

Everything these guys do, and have done for years, is pure show. None of them give a f**k.

But, I agree with onceler here. Good on him, whatever the reason. And I've planned on giving him my vote for a while now, though it'll be a wasted one because the the Media already have their darlings, and one of them will win (much as I hat them both).

I wonder, though, if he would even bother if he weren't running for pres.

My point is that we have unconfirmed reports that Reid is going to go around the hold. Now we have Dodd claiming that he will mount a filibuster if that happens.

Now let's unpack this: what's the likelihood that Senator Reid is going to diss one of the senior members of the Democratic Caucus? Dodd is a 26 year veteran. I can think of a lot of retarded political moves, but this would be political suicide for Reid.

This bill is headed over to the Judiciary Committee where Leahy can, and probably will, kill it.

In light of all this, it seems that Dodd is making a shrewd political play. He "indicates" he will place a hold on a bill that hasn't come to the floor. He receives rave reviews for doing so. Now he's "indicating" that if his "indicated hold" is overriden (something that is RARELY, if EVER, done), he'll filibuster the bill. I'm glad he's talking brash, but the reality is, he's just TALKING at this point, since right now there is NOTHING to do.

I'll reserve my kudos until the final act of this kabuki theater. Until then, color me unimpressed.

"Where's Feingold on this?"

Sheesh, this just came out. There's no reason to doubt Feingold would vote for cloture:

October 18, 2007

“As a member of the SSCI, I will strongly oppose any FISA legislation that fails to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans, overseas and here at home. When the Committee considers this legislation today, I will also fight to reject immunity for anyone alleged to have cooperated with the Administration’s illegal warrantless wiretapping program. The documents made available by the White House for the first time this week only further demonstrate that the program was illegal and that there is no basis for granting retroactive immunity to those who allegedly cooperated. The one silver lining of the flawed FISA bill passed in August was that it had a 6-month expiration date. It would be shameful to miss this opportunity to fix the law. It is time for Congress to stand up for the rights of Americans and to defend the Constitution and the rule of law.”

He and Wyden were the only 2 in Intelligence to vote against this bill.

Don't worry about Feingold, we need to get the members of the SJC on board: Kennedy and Whitehouse

Plus others like Kerry who would likely oppose this

If we can build enough opposition, perhaps we can ensure the House refuses to pass any FISA bill until immunity is off the table.

A public filibuster by Democrats against their own majority leader is big news, and many here are not giving it due credit. When was the last time something like that happened?

He "indicates" he will place a hold on a bill that hasn't come to the floor. He receives rave reviews for doing so. Now he's "indicating" that if his "indicated hold" is overriden (something that is RARELY, if EVER, done), he'll filibuster the bill. I'm glad he's talking brash, but the reality is, he's just TALKING at this point, since right now there is NOTHING to do.

Do you have any idea how politics work at all. Really, in the slightest?

By my count, Dodd's done several concrete things that go infinitely beyond bitching about 'kabuki' and sneering about a guy who is actually doing something you seem to support. Good God man, "color you unimpressed?"

Just give up then. It'll be better for those of us who give a damn.

Would someone please be so kind as to explain exactly what a 'hold' is in the Senate? What is it's history? How often have they been upheld/overridden? TIA

I fully understand how politics work. This is brilliant politics on Dodd's party since he's getting the kudos for looking and sounding tough without having to expend an iota of political capital.

Please tell me when a Senate majority leader has overruled a hold placed by a member of his caucus? Extra-credit points for overruling a SENIOR member of that caucus.

Senator Dodd has a long history of acting on principle and stepping out in front of schemes pushed (or at least ignored) by his colleagues ... when Bob Ney (on behalf of Scanlon & Abramoff) tried to sneak a casino authorization measure into the Help America Vote Act, the move was largely ignored until Dodd objected--a move that helped expose the financial rape of the tribes that Scanlon & Abramoff were supposed to be representing and began to bring that whole house of cards down.
Regardless of potential motive, I'm glad someone's refusing to be a lap dog ... Harry Reid is joke.

HooRAY Chris Dodd. You BE the Man (a TRUE Democrat).

NOTE:
Coonsey's View is looking for one or two folks to volunteer articles/columns once in awhile to it's site.

If interested go to http://www.freewebs.com/coonsey/ and SEND POST. Be sure to give a title and name (at this time - your real name or a fake handle) for the column.

You can also create your own Forum under already specified Topics.

We welcome you all.

Can someone tell me why one of the most convservative Democratic Senators was elected to the Majority leader position?

The dem senate causes needs to vote someone else into this role that can maintain his spine when any meaning legislation comes to a vote. The only thing Reid has been good at is bending over whenever Bush is in the mood for screwing the constitution/people.

I don't understand how any of this could possibly be a problem. TPM so faithfully stenographed Snarlin Arlen a few days ago, and HE SAID there would be no immunity for the telcos.

Man, stenography ain't what it used to be, eh?

YEAH, AWESOME, FINALLY. If he does as he says that he will do, a novelty in politics (See mrs. bill), he will immediately go up in the polls, big time. Finally, someone with some guts. I may vote for him.

Agreed that Dodd has raised the story to the point where is may not be ignored. I wrote my senators here in Maryland to support Dodd. Hopefully there will be an outpouring of emails to the Senate to not let the telecoms get away with a crime. It is time to let the courts decide the legality of their actions. And hey if they are guilty and forced to pay then so be it. It's about time we return to a nation of laws not men.

"It doesn't matter that it's political theater if he's doing it for the right reason."

I don't think it even matters if he's doing it for the wrong reasons, so long as he does it. I'm way passed the point of having any faith in the personal integrity of professional politicians. I reward the ones who do what I want and I punish the ones who don't. Don't really care what their motivation is for doing it so long as they do it.

ron: Thank you for your service. I don't know if you caught it, but there was a diary up on the Daily Kos that talked about the soldiers who were assigned the task of interrogating Nazi war criminals at the end of WWII. They took great pains to be human and not use torture. And we are talking about people who thrust the entire planet into war and killed millions of Jews, not to mention other Eastern European ethnics. You truly were The Greatest Generation.

redwoodtreehugger: FWIW, I heard t-mobile is a German company and they refuse to take part in this. And there is Qwest too. But your millage may very.

Harry Reid is pushing a bill to give the AG power over the telecoms. These jerks are all evil.

Vote for the only guy with integrity-

ronpaul2008. com

Senator Dodd, if he follows through on his statement to stop any blanket immunity for illegal acts by the government and the telcon companies, has my vote! He is the only one who is doing somethibg, instead of talking about doing something.

How this Congress can continue to bow down to to Bush is beyond me. Why the f*ck were they elected - surely not for their good ideas!!! They were elected to stop the war and turn this country around. So it's not easy - but thery don't have to keep feeding the troll in the Whitehouse!!!

Uggghhh!

Thank you Senator Dodd!
After reading his book "Letters from Nuremberg" it became clear to me that Senator Dodd would make an excellent President.

Acting on behalf of the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party does get one love from the base! I wonder how much money Dodd’s collected in the past 24 hours? I’ve made a promise to myself to send him $50 every time he acts decisively against the Bush administration and its enablers on the Hill. I firmly hope to reach the maximum contribution allowable.

Reid’s son is Hillary’s Nevada Chairperson. The last thing Reid wants to do is to make a competitor of Clinton’s look good, but that’s exactly what he has done. Hillary must be on the telecom’s side of this as well. Her silence on the issue is deafening. Eventually, she’ll have to spew some double speak, then vote against the bill and in favor of ending debate. Her supporters will use it as evidence of her opposition when they do their doublespeak thing for the base, but her real corporate puppeteers will know that she’s their girl.

The real elephant in the room is the extraordinary new powers this bill gives the AG. The blanket warrants are also disastrous. Dodd is my hero, but also I hope he demands changes to all the horrors in the bill. In for a pint and all that.

Dodd is the only candidate who is, so far at least, taking real political risk to fight for Constitutional principles long allowed to waste away by Congress. Edwards and Obama may be sympathetic, but they have not been putting issues like this at the forefront.

I sent him $20, the first campaign money I've been willing to part with -- if he sticks with his word and keeps fighting, he'll get more, and possibly even my vote in 2008.

Iowa still a couple of months off and I've just become a Dodd supporter. He has a chance if we give him one.

Where's Hillary on this? Where's Obama? Suddenly, in an election year, they've gone passive on a very unpopular issue. If they can't lead now, what's to say they'll lead later?

Dodd has just shown the Dems what real leadership is. If the current crop of Dems won't lead, we should elect ones who will. At this point, both Reid and Pelosi deserve to lose their next primaries.

Contact Dodd and thank him: http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/3130

Contact Reid and voice your disapproval:
http://reid.senate.gov/contact/offices.cfm

For cell phone service go to Working Assets. It's a progressive company that supports all the causes we care about.

I didn't have read all the comments so if someone has already pointed this out; forgive me.

The President has the authority to pardon.

Q: Why do the corporate criminals need this legislation?

A: Because it will keep them from answering any questions in a court of law. In other words, it saves them legal expenses.

Q: But didn't Ford pardon Nixon before he ever went to court?

A: Yes he did. But in this case Bush wants POLITICAL cover so he does not need to provide amnesty for the Corporate criminals.

Can you hear the former Cheerleader now? "Heh heh, you know, well, the CONGRESS said it was OK. So, heh heh, I may be the Decider, but I'm not going to argue with Congress on this one. I mean, you knew, heh heh, they made Me America stronger in the War on Terrorism."

Abrogation of our 4th Amendment rights surely must make us stronger, eh? Besides, with the exception of the 2nd Amendment, everything else in the Bill of Rights are guidelines. No?

Hail to the Abrogationist in Chief! (And His Supplicants in the Congress)

Sick to death of these "leaders." Those who sit by passively and allow the Constitution to be broken are as guilty as those who do it, especially if they're TALKING BIG (like the tough-talking rifle-toters of the 1990's and 80's--where are THEY now?) and DEMANDING RESPECT. All of this bunk involves the "revolving door" of Government Largesse hand-in-hand with BIG BUSINESS. It's very very profitable to talk big and do nothing... Uptherepublic!

Dodd's statement on his Senate page...

...“The President has no right to secretly eavesdrop on the conversations and activities of law abiding American citizens and anyone who has aided and abetted him in these illegal activities should be held accountable,” said Dodd. “It is unconscionable that such a basic right has been violated, and that the President is the perpetrator. I will do everything in my power to stop Congress from shielding this President’s agenda of secrecy, deception, and blatant unlawfulness.”

I just wrote a wholehearted endorsement for his stance on this issue.

When he went up against O'Reilly, he had my support.

If he goes up against this bill, he has my vote.

What's this? A senator standing up for the Constitution?! Wait, and I think Dodd is a Democrat?! Even more strange.

Reid should be taken down.

Kudos for Dodd. I would vote for him. Finally someone who is finally standing up for something. Where's Obama and his supposed idealism!??

Kudos to Dodd!

This is important and I would vote for him just for this issue alone. I believe it is important that this go through the court system. It's the last recourse we have to hold Bush's lawlessness up to the light of day. Surely the Dem leadership isn't going to do anything.

Where's Obama and his supposed idealism?

"Anonymous wrote on October 19, 2007 5:10 PM:

Kudos for Dodd. I would vote for him. Finally someone who is finally standing up for something. Where's Obama and his supposed idealism!??||"

I think Obama is busy taking off his gloves and this is a full time occupation for him.

It will be interesting to see whether Hillary and/or Obama will oppose a bill giving the lawbreaking firms retroactive immunity and filibuster against it if need be. If they don't and Dodd does, he will have my support for the Presidency and I will send his campaign a contribution.