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Putting Obama and the Dems on the Defensive

Patrick Casey

Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats find themselves in a no-win situation.

We awoke this morning to the reports that a compromise has been reached between the Bush Administration and Congress on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The best reporting that I’ve seen on this so far is from the Wall Street Journal’s Siobhan Gorman (Deal Set on Domestic Spy Powers). The best (and most humorous) analysis that I’ve see is at RedState by Moe Lane (The FISA Controversy, in tedious Question and Answer form).

It really is a win for the Bush Administration, and a loss for the Democrats, including Barack Obama. The Dems have been screaming for years about this illegal domestic spying program—this bill puts the lie to that theme. It acknowledges that FISA warrants were never before required for eavesdropping suspects overseas, but that with new systems that routes world-wide communications through the United States, it was time to allow for FISA to be updated to reflect the realities of the latest technologies.

The government will be allowed, in circumstances that dictate it, immediate authority to commence wiretaps as long as they notify the FISA Court within 7 days. The Court would then have 30 days to approve a warrant, during which time the surveillance can continue. The FISA bill also offers retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies who assisted the federal government post-9/11. The current lawsuits by liberal groups will be allowed to go forward, but will be dismissed upon the production of evidence that the companies were complying with the request of the federal government and the President.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the problem all along was the liberal base of the Democratic Party, and their minions in Congress:

The outcome was driven largely by the realities of election-year politics. Democrats, particularly more conservative ones, in vulnerable re-election races couldn’t afford to appear to be dodging a big national-security issue. And many believed the law needed to be updated before surveillance orders expired in August. House Democratic leaders struggled for months to find a proposal their entire party could support but couldn’t overcome splits between conservative and liberal Democrats—some of whom are reacting angrily to the deal.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama will have to decide whether to support it and risk the wrath of his party’s left wing, or vote against it and risk losing support from independents. One top Democratic lawmaker said the Democrats delayed the announcement by a couple of days, in part to give the presumptive nominee time to assess his position.

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So Obama and the Democrats are in a no-win situation, no matter how their mainstream media parses it. If they vote against it, they appear even weaker on national security than they already are. If they vote for it, their words and rhetoric are once again proven to be meaningless.

As for the Independents on whom it appears Election 2008 will hinge, words matter. Promises matter. And it’s becoming more and more apparent that the words and the promises of the Democrats’, and in particular Barack Obama’s, mean nothing.

Now, if McCain would just get right on this…