Griper Blade: Harry Reid, Determined to Lose Another 'Can't Lose' Issue

Harry Reid continues to suck. As the renewal for a retooling of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act comes up for a vote, Reid is on the side of the Bush administration and against the American people. The issue in question is telcom immunity -- which would give telecommunications companies immunity against lawsuits for participating in illegal wiretapping of US citizens. The Bush administration argues that the wiretapping was legal, which kind of makes you wonder why this immunity -- which comes from that bad idea factory called "The White House" -- is even necessary. Clearly, the Bush administration believes that it isn't legal and worries that they'd be dragged into a court fight over illegal domestic surveillance. Telcom immunity is really Bushie immunity.

You don't have to look far to find a WhiteHouser trying to stoke up fear over the issue.

Agence France-Presse:

"A failure to enact a permanent FISA update with liability protections would have predictable and serious consequences," [Vice President Dick] Cheney said in a speech to the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

"Our ability to monitor Al-Qaeda terrorists will begin to degrade -- and that we simply cannot tolerate."

Given that we'll all freakin' die a horrific flaming terrorism-caused death if the FISA reform isn't renewed, Bush's threat to veto any legislation that doesn't include immunity is more than a little perplexing. And the administration's approach to this domestic surveillance program is pretty insane. Far from having a very narrow focus, they cast a wide net and get a little bit of everything...

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