Thanks to Howie Klein, we now have an (if not "the") answer to why the 28 Senators of the Democratic Party (1 Independent) DIDN'T capitulate on FISA. I credit Klein because without his article, it would probably have have been totally overlooked.
The answer of "why" was given by our own Sen. Russ Feingold, so, follow me...
Here is the excerpt from a speech given by Sen. Feingold and I will highlight in bold the pertinent part:
"I sit on the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, and I am one of the few members of this body who has been fully briefed on the warrantless wiretapping program. And, based on what I know, I can promise that if more information is declassified about the program in the future, as is likely to happen either due to the Inspector General report, the election of a new President, or simply the passage of time, members of this body will regret that we passed this legislation. I am also familiar with the collection activities that have been conducted under the Protect America Act and will continue under this bill. I invite any of my colleagues who wish to know more about those activities to come speak to me in a classified setting. Publicly, all I can say is that I have serious concerns about how those activities may have impacted the civil liberties of Americans. If we grant these new powers to the government and the effects become known to the American people, we will realize what a mistake it was, of that I am sure."
So, there you have it. Sen. Feingold knows what is going on, but, because it is "classified", he won't tell us. But, he let the cat out of the bag; if the American people find out what has been going on, Democrats and Republicans both better watch out.
Now, I have documented how the GOP was spying on Democrats in Congress as far back as 2002 and 2003, so, I am still not totally convinced that blackmail isn't still part of the equation; especially in the case of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. However, given what Sen. Feingold alludes to in his speech, it seems to be exactly as others have claimed; the Democrats are merely burying their own complicity in these programs so the public never finds out and the blackmail is literally "if one goes down, everyone goes down".
Do you feel totally sold out now? I do. This means that instead of righting a wrong created by the GOP, the Democrats are willing to kick the can down the road of history while our government abuses its powers to the point they are afraid the public might find out while they are still in office.
This wasn't Dick Cheney telling all of us to go f*ck ourselves; this was from the leaders and politicians we have looked towards to be the savior of our country and our principles.
Still don't think that this FISA capitulation affects you? Sen. Feingold thinks differently. Still don't believe that the immunity clause for the telecoms wasn't an intentional blockade to keep the public finding out what was going on? It is. Still believe that you'll find out when President Obama gets into office and that he'll bring the people to justice when he voted for the bill? Yeah, right.
Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse did this diary that analyzes the immunity clause. Kagro X has tracked this issue relentlessly. mcjoan wrote about the whistleblowers who told us what was going on.
There will be no criminal prosecutions because that would do exactly what Republican and Democrat alike don't want; the information on the program(s) to be exposed to the American people.
You ask, "well, if it was soooo bad, why didn't they just tell us when it started?" Here is where one person was convicted and jailed for leaking classified information. Here is where the two Downing Street memo whistleblowers were sent to prison for leaking classified information. Do you think Sen. Feingold was going to trade his promising political career for a jail cell?
There it is in black and white. The Democrats in the Senate and House sold the entire country down the river because they are afraid of what would happen if we, the people, ever found out exactly what is going on. The Republicans can smirk all they want now because they know if they go down, everyone goes down with them.
UPDATE:
Oh, btw, doesn't this just put a whole new light on why our Congress is dragging its feet on hearings? On why impeachment was off the table from day 1? On why Rove and others can thumb their noses at the Democrats with impunity? Think on that...