Republicans Would Kill Americans for Profit

Written by: Michael Kuykendall on Feb 20, 2008 2:30 AM EST

As astonishing as it sounds, if you follow the GOP "logic" on the Protect America Act expiration, this is the only truly logical conclusion. Do these guys actually listen to themselves?

It's an extraordinary headline, but what other conclusion can be drawn considering the GOP's current FISA talking points?

Let me explain...

Republicans say that if the massive data mining operatio- ahem, I mean Protect America Act expires, then Americans could be killed. The President himself started the ball rolling during his recent hissy fits over the expiration of the Protect America Act;

The House's failure to pass the bipartisan Senate bill would jeopardize the security of our citizens. As Director McConnell has told me, without this law, our ability to prevent new attacks will be weakened. And it will become harder for us to uncover terrorist plots. We must not allow this to happen. It is time for Congress to ensure the flow of vital intelligence is not disrupted. It is time for Congress to pass a law that provides a long-term foundation to protect our country. And they must do so immediately.

Indeed, Glenn Beck said it plainly on his show a couple of nights ago, as Think Progress recently noted. It was actually that piece that prompted this line of thought, to give credit where it is clearly due.

The House declined to take up a bill that would continue the program, while giving telecommunication companies extra-legal protections for their clearly illegal acts (courtesy the President and his finger-puppets in the Senate.) According to the GOP this endangers Americans. Yet when offered an extension sans immunity Bush turned up his nose. The House Minority Leader offers up the reasoning;

 

After Friday's meeting, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, defended Republicans' desire to give the telecommunication companies immunity.

"This issue of the carriers that work with our government are increasingly concerned about their liability and increasingly concerned about whether they are going to continue to work with our intelligence officials," Boehner said.

So let me get this straight- not passing the bill will kill Americans, yet the President was happy to forgo an extension to ensure big American corporations wouldn't be liable for damages due to warrantless searches.

Thus, as stated in the spectacular headline above, Republicans will allow American deaths to save big conglomerates some legal bills.

Regardless your political persuasion, the argument is flawed. Kevin Drum put it perfectly;

Look, if it's that important, there's a simple answer: pass the bill without telecom immunity. Then come back and introduce immunity in a separate bill. If you've got the votes for it, fine. If not, too bad.

'Nuff said.

So to those out scaring the bejesus out of folks with the ridiculous "American deaths" pitch, please shut up. Not only will the expiration of this bill start to heal the wounds to our civil liberties suffered under the Bush administration, it won't really even affect ongoing investigations. Just to belabor the point, here's the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, defiantly and meticulously laying out the point in a letter to the President;

Because I care so deeply about protecting our country, I take strong offense to your suggestion in recent days that the country will be vulnerable to terrorist attack unless Congress immediately enacts legislation giving you broader powers to conduct warrantless surveillance of Americans' communications and provides legal immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in the Administration's warrantless surveillance program.

Today, the National Security Agency (NSA) has authority to conduct surveillance in at least three different ways, all of which provide strong capability to monitor the communications of possible terrorists.

First, NSA can use its authority under Executive Order 12333 to conduct surveillance abroad of any known or suspected terrorist. There is no requirement for a warrant. There is no requirement for probable cause. Most of NSA's collection occurs under this authority.

Second, NSA can use its authority under the Protect America Act, enacted last August, to conduct surveillance here in the U.S of any foreign target. This authority does not "expire" on Saturday, as you have stated. Under the PAA, orders authorizing surveillance may last for one year – until at least August 2008. These orders may cover every terrorist group without limitation. If a new member of the group is identified, or if a new phone number or email address is identified, the NSA may add it to the existing orders, and surveillance can begin immediately. We will not "go dark."

Third, in the remote possibility that a new terrorist organization emerges that we have never previously identified, the NSA could use existing authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to monitor those communications. Since its establishment nearly 30 years ago, the FISA Court has approved nearly every application for a warrant from the Department of Justice. In an emergency, NSA or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may begin surveillance immediately, and a FISA Court order does not have to be obtained for three days. The former head of FISA operations for the Department of Justice has testified publicly that emergency authorization may be granted in a matter of minutes.

Can we all get past the fear-driven politics and try to use a little reason in our national discourse? Please?

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