FISA Fight: White House "Facts"

This is truly a hoot. We needed a little bit of levity in the FISA debate, and the White House duly obliges. Since screeching "Terror, terror!" didn't work to cow the Dems (this time) or even the traditional media, they decided to try their own brand of reason. Via Benen:

So, what did the vaunted Bush communications team come up with? Try this gem:

MYTH: If any new surveillance needs to begin, the FISA court can approve a request within minutes. In the case of an emergency, surveillance can begin immediately and FISA approval can be obtained later.

FACT: Reverting to the outdated FISA statute risks our national security. FISA’s outdated provisions created dangerous intelligence gaps, which is why Congress passed the Protect America Act in the first place.

Um, guys? In this case, the "fact" does not disprove the "myth." In fact, it’s a non sequitur. The White House presented a "myth," apparently in the hopes of disproving it, and then didn’t point to any evidence that actually undermined the veracity of the original claim, which, inconveniently, happens to be accurate.

Here's another one Benen highlights.

MYTH: The future security of our country does not depend on whether Congress provides liability protection for companies being sued for billions of dollars only because they are believed to have assisted the Government in defending America after the 9/11 attacks.

FACT: Without the retroactive liability protection provided in the bipartisan Senate bill, we may not be able to secure the private sector’s cooperation with current and future intelligence efforts critical to our national security.

I know the whole "law" thing has bypassed the administration for so long that they probably don't really even remember it's there, but anyway, there are actually things called "court orders" that can compel entities, even private ones, to do things that the government needs them to do. And there's this great bonus for the companies built in that we can call "liability protection." See, if they do it "legally," with a "court order," they're protected from suits. Wow, what a system!

There's more to the fact sheet, but really, what's the point. It's all pretty much summed up by Brian Beutler:

Myth: 2 + 2 = 4.
FACT: Democrats are terrorists.