Chris Dodd’s website has the text of his FISA speech in Congress today, but the audio won’t play, at least on Safari. I tried to embed it in a post, but it was silent. Parts of the speech are on youtube however, and here’s one:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o_3bphT3dg[/youtube]
Harry Reid is clearing the way for this bill. I was surprised to read on the Huffington Post that Reid is distancing himself from Obama, who has cravenly disowned his previous opposition to the bill. Reid is doing precisely what he did before. He is personally opposing the bill, while doing all that he can to make sure it comes up for a vote in the form and in the manner that most suits the White House’s interests. Reid has power to set and shape the agenda. He has refused to use that power to fight FISA, and his own personal vote means little in that context. Reid is, in fact, doing pretty much what Obama now says he wants. He is going to force a doomed vote on immunity, and then clear the decks to make sure that Bush gets the bill he wants.
Note: This post was revised quite a bit from it’s original form, which was only up for a few minutes. I originally found a youtube of Dodd that I thought was his speech today. In fact, it was from December, so I substituted this video, and took out some comments that don’t necessarily apply to this video. Sorry about that.
Second Update: Harry Reid said, in the FISA context, that “I have an obligation here as the Majority Leader to move legislation that the majority of the body wants to go forward.” He seems to be quite selective in choosing bills on which he discharges that obligation. Latest case in point, a bill that even George Bush supports to fight AIDS in Africa. It seems seven Republican Senators prefer that we try not to prevent the spread of AIDS. They prefer we let the disease run rampant and then treat the victims. The majority of the Senate wants the bill, but is it going forward?
McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., support the legislation and said they were pushing for a compromise. Reid has been reluctant to move the legislation forward until an agreement is struck, and this week Democratic leaders focused blame for the delay on the seven senators.
Seven Republicans can do what 15 Democrats cannot. It’s great to be in the majority, isn’t it?
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