Greg Sargent over at TPM has put up a post entitled Obama: I Might Be There For Dodd's FISA Filibuster. He might show up to defend the Constitution? That doesn't sound good. To my way of thinking you are either believe the Constitution is worth defending or you think it is "God dammed scrap of paper." There is no middle ground.
I went to TPM and followed the links over to FDL. Here is Obama's initial statement:
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. It's not clear whether he can return for the vote, but under the Senate rules, the side trying to end a filibuster must produce 60 votes to cut off debate. Whether he is present for the vote for not, Senator Obama will not be among those voting to end the filibuster."Sargent's characterization isn't far off. In summary Obama is saying "I am behind you all the way Chris, but don't count on me to have your back. My run for President is more important than the Constitution."
I am still looking for comments from Clinton and Biden, but like Obama, they were no shows when the chips were down. I sort of expected Clinton and Biden to take a pass, but if you haven't guessed, I am very upset with Obama. I thought better of him.
