One Party Rule

In a complete abdication of their duty as an equal branch of government the Senate Intelligence Committee caved beneath the pressure exerted by the White House and have agreed on new legislation, as opposed to an investigation, regarding the Bush administration's ILLEGAL wiretapping program. The rubber-stamp Republicans should be ashamed. Read on from the NYT:

Moving to tamp down Democratic calls for an investigation of the administration's domestic eavesdropping program, Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday that they had reached agreement with the White House on proposed bills to impose new oversight but allow wiretapping without warrants for up to 45 days.

The agreement, hashed out in weeks of negotiations between Vice President Dick Cheney and Republicans critical of the program, dashes Democratic hopes of starting a full committee investigation because the proposal won the support of Senators Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine. The two, both Republicans, had threatened to support a fuller inquiry if the White House did not disclose more about the program to Congress.

Senator Snowe even had the nerve to claim victory.

"We are reasserting Congressional responsibility and oversight," Ms. Snowe said.

This is a loss for the American people, left and right. At a minimum the Intelligence Committee needed to investigate. I can't even get angry because it's all so sad. Senator Rockefeller sums it up:

"The committee is, to put it bluntly, basically under the control of the White House," said Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, the West Virginia Democrat who is vice chairman of the panel.

The straight party-line vote out of the committee is yet another example of the dangers of one party rule. The president broke the law. He must be held accountable. And Republican lawmakers refuse to do their jobs. Again, they should be ashamed.

For more on the entire NSA issue I insist you pay a visit to Glenn Greenwald. And if you need a wiretapping refresher, the Booman Tribune takes us back to the early days when the story first broke.

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