The Scyphozoan Caucus

Above: Things with more spine than Harry Reid.

I know Thomas Paine and, to a lesser extent, Thomas Young have already addressed today's FISA votes, but I can't let today's insanity pass without comment.

First, let's take a moment and reflect on where we are today. Glenn Greenwald puts the slow legalization of Bush's warrantless wiretapping program, first revealed in Decemer 2005, in stark terms:

To be sure, achieving this took some time. When Bill Frist was running the Senate and Pat Roberts was in charge of the Intelligence Committee, Bush and Cheney couldn't get this done (the same FISA and amnesty bill that the Senate will pass today stalled in the 2006 Senate). They had to wait until the Senate belonged (nominally) to Harry Reid and, more importantly, Jay Rockefeller was installed as Committee Chairman, and then -- and only then -- were they able to push the Senate to bequeath to them and their lawbreaking allies full-scale protection from investigation and immunity from the consequences of their lawbreaking.

Think about that for a moment. The Democratic Senate is about to give the Bush administration something that a Republican Senate was not able to do.

What, in the name of all that is holy, could possibly explain this spineless, cowardly behavior?

Here's Our Fearful Majority Leader Harry Reid, putting forth the word to his caucus that shit's heading south and he's getting the fuck out of the way:

If, as appears likely, none of the amendments to strike or modify the provisions of the bill concerning retroactive immunity are adopted, we expect Sen. Reid to oppose cloture and oppose final passage of the bill.

He probably think that is a statement of leadership, that he is calling his caucus to stand with him. Via press release. This is some profoundly weak tea. To borrow the word's of Jesse Lacey, I've seen more spine on jelly fish and I've seen more guts in eleven year old kids.

The definition of insanity, per Benjamin Franklin, is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Harry Reid has repeatedly brought up legislation in contravention to his stated wishes for the policy course of the US government. On Iraq funding he allows weak-kneed suggestions for withdrawal to receive primacy over legislation with his (evidently worthless) name on it which sets a firm time table. On FISA, he says he opposes retroactive immunity, but puts forward a bill and a legislative course that guarantees immunity will pass. Either he thinks the rest of the Senate is going to magically over rule his procedural decisions and give him what he actually wants (but hasn't pushed for) or he simply doesn't want what he says he wants, what the Democratic base wants. In either event, the same behavior is not producing different results and Reid needs to drink a double espresso, pop a few NoDoze, and wake the fuck up.

Some people have argued that the Senate Democrats have Battered Wife Syndrome, in denial that their colleagues across the aisle don't share the same love for civil liberties and the rule of law that they do. Others think they might have Stockholm Syndrome, so used to being beaten by the GOP that they identify with the Republicans and seek to join them in their efforts. The reality is that the level of stupidity and ingrain failure is so high, one can only assume that Senate Democrats have a mental defect, courtesy of poor genes. Perhaps Down Syndrome is the best explanation, then, for the failures of Senate Democrats to do their jobs and defeat Republican efforts to shred the Constitution. Going a step further, I'd hazard that some Senate Dems were so captivated by the fun times the GOP was having with their paper shredder and the Constitution, that they rushed over to partake in the production of pretty confetti.

It occurs to me that it is both insensitive and politically incorrect to describe our cowardly Democrats as having Down Syndrome. I'd like to immediately extend an apology to the community of people with Down Syndrome. You are far better, smarter people than the Senate Democrats and I regret comparing you to them.

This is beyond pathetic. This is assuring the destruction of our Republic.