Behind The Scenes, Liberals Ponder Supporting FISA Legislation

http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2007/10/behind_scenes_liberals_ponder_supporting_fisa_legislation.php

Behind The Scenes, Liberals Ponder Supporting FISA Legislation
By Greg Sargent - October 9, 2007, 7:21PM

Things are in flux tonight behind the scenes as House Dems struggle to decide whether to support the FISA legislation that two House committees unveiled today. So here's what we're able to gather about the state of play right now.

The entire House leadership is supporting the bill, confirms Stacey Bernards, a spokesperson for House Dem leader Steny Hoyer. But where are the House liberals? They are the key group to watch, because their mini-revolt against the legislation last week was taken as a sign that there would be heavy pressure on the House leadership not to capitulate by giving the administration too much power over wiretapping.

So where are they? According to House Dem aides, House liberals appear to be leaning in the direction of supporting the legislation -- though nothing is at all certain. Earlier today, an aide says, an internal count of House members showed very strong opposition among liberals to the bill unveiled today. But later in the day, some liberals appeared to be privately concluding that many of their demands -- which they unveiled amid last week's revolt in hopes of influencing the process -- had been met, this aide says.

Indeed, one key House liberal who'd taken a stand against earlier manifestations of the measure -- Jerrold Nadler -- announced today that he would support the bill. In a statement his office claimed the bill "reinforces the role of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in regards to electronic surveillance programs," and "requires that FISA warrants are required when targeting domestic communications," though it doesn't require them for foreign ones.

Still, things are in flux, and the aide cautions that a key sticking point for liberals remains -- the measure's embrace of "basket" wiretapping. House liberals are meeting behind closed doors as we speak to debate what their stance should be on the legislation. The House liberals' efforts are being coordinated by Bill Goold, an aide to Rep. Lynne Woolsey (D-CA), one of the key House libs behind last week's mini-revolt.

What's more, some voices on the left are strongly urging House liberals to hold the line on "basket" warrants. As Matt Stoller noted over at Open Left, the ACLU issued a statement today blasting the legislation over this provision, saying that it is "a crucial sticking point. There is no specific target when you use basket warrants, which contradicts the heart of the Fourth Amendment. Essentially, a basket warrant really means no real warrant." A spokesman for Rep. Nadler was unable to immediately say why he backed the legislation despite this feature.

I'm told that House liberals are privately discussing refusing to yield on this point, but it won't be clear how willing they are to hold the line on it until some internal decisions are reached and the House libs start taking public positions in earnest. We'll know more in the A.M.

It's that important.

I am now truly partyless. There is no party that represents me.

This and the war will mean the Repugs will win the WH and the majority in 2008. The Dems cannot be trusted, are too weak and will lose whatever support they thought they had.
:thumbsdown:

wrote today.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2010130

Here's something more upbeat with some great links:

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/13171.html