Obama’s camp’s position on the FISA amendments* way back in October:
“To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.”
And December:
“Senator Obama unequivocally opposes giving retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies and has cosponsored Senator Dodd’s efforts to remove that provision from the FISA bill. Granting such immunity undermines the constitutional protections Americans trust the Congress to protect. Senator Obama supports a filibuster of this bill, and strongly urges others to do the same.
And today:
The Democratic-led Congress this afternoon voted to put an end to the NSA spying scandal, as the Senate approved a bill — approved last week by the House — to immunize lawbreaking telecoms, terminate all pending lawsuits against them, and vest whole new warrantless eavesdropping powers in the President. The vote in favor of the new FISA bill was 69-28. Barack Obama joined every Senate Republican (and every House Republican other than one) by voting in favor of it, while his now-vanquished primary rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, voted against it. John McCain wasn’t present for any of the votes, but shared Obama’s support for the bill. The bill will now be sent to an extremely happy George Bush, who already announced that he enthusiastically supports it, and he will sign it into law very shortly.
Prior to final approval, the Senate, in the morning, rejected three separate amendments which would have improved the bill but which, the White House threatened, would have prompted a veto. With those amendments defeated, the Senate then passed the same bill passed last week by the House, which means it is that bill, in unchanged form, that will be signed into law — just as the Bush administration demanded.
Even JJP, some of the most ardently pro-Obama folks in the blogosphere, are pissed about his decision here.
What could possibly justify excusing Bush and the telecoms for what everyone seems to agree were illegal actions? Terrorism? Since when did we start wiping our behinds with the Constitution? I didn’t know that terrorism meant that laws on the book just don’t apply no more. Did you know that? …
Barack Obama should be standing up for common sense and morality in this case. He would get more points for standing up for the law and for our constitutional rights against illegal search and seizure. It’s no wonder that on his own social networking website, the most popular group is that opposing his backwards stance on the FISA legislation being voted on today. …
It’s a shame. I must admit I am disappointed that Barack Obama is not taking a stronger leadership stand for our rights as American citizens to be free of warrantless wiretapping. It’s more than a flip-flop. It’s a betrayal of his own supporters who’ve been pretty clear where they stand on the issue. Guess he’d prefer to allow George Bush to pull a thin veil of deception under the guise of “fighting terrorism” over his eyes.
I’m back to sitting on the fence with this cat, and may keep my ass there on Election Day.
*For those of you haven’t been following: FISA for Dummies.