As the Democratic presidential race careens towards what may be an ugly finish, liberals are increasingly outraged that superdelegates could frustrate the will of a majority of Democratic primary voters. To this I say: what’s the big deal? Liberals in the House of Representatives are doing it right now. Here’s the FISA state of play: the Senate yesterday soundly rejected an amendment by Chris Dodd to deny telecom companies legal protections for their good-faith cooperation with terrorist surveillance. Dodd and other liberals apparently want future requests to the telecom companies to sound like this: “Hi, I’m with the CIA and we want you to listen in on Osama bin Laden’s phone calls. It’s an urgent matter of national security, and you better have plenty to spend on lawyers because you’ll get sued out the wazoo.” The Senate rejected this approach 67-31, then passed the surveillance bill 68-29. This should effectively end the debate over whether to extend protection to these companies. That’s because 21 ‘Blue Dog’ House Democrats have written to Speaker Pelosi and told her that they support the Senate bill, and want to see it brought to the House floor promptly for a vote:
Combined with the 198 Republicans who support this approach, there is a clear majority in favor of telecom immunity, and of the Senate bill more generally. For those committed to majority rule, there’s no more need for discussion, right? The bill ought to come to the House floor, be approved, and sent to the president. But that’s not what House Democrats are doing. This afternoon they’re muscling through a 21-day extension of FISA, which they hope will give them breathing room to twist arms. Then they might pass a bill that takes the teeth out of terrorist surveillance, and which the president would veto. Why are Democrats throwing out the principle of majority rule just to wind up back where they started? Because that’s what MoveOn.org and their liberal base demands — regardless of how futile the effort is. And if you don’t intend to make laws that reflect the will of the majority, why select a presidential nominee that way either?
