FISA Fight: White House Compromise?

All I have to say is "don't hold your breath." While this is potentially good news from today's Wall Street Journal,

The White House, seeking to break a months-long standoff, has signaled to Democratic lawmakers it is open to negotiation over a proposal to expand government spy powers, according to officials familiar with the conversations.

we all know what the Bush administration's idea of compromise is. The article continues:

President Bush and his Republican allies on Capitol Hill have long called on the House to approve a Senate measure expanding warrantless surveillance powers in the U.S. and giving legal immunity to telecommunications companies that assist in the eavesdropping. House Democrats have repeatedly rejected the immunity provision, most recently last month.

Over the two-week spring recess, administration officials contacted Democratic leaders to suggest they were open to compromise on updating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. "We definitely want to get it done," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. "We've had some initial conversations with Congress about the need to get FISA reform done quickly." He added that Mr. Bush still prefers the Senate measure, which the White House negotiated with Senate....

The White House's more conciliatory posture reflects a recognition that the Bush administration's leverage on national-security matters has slipped since this past summer, a top Republican congressional aide said. "There's a recognition that if they're actually going to get a product they can support, there's going to have to be some new level of engagement," the aide said.

The rub comes in at the "product they can support."

The most encouraging aspect of this is that the administration played the fear card for all that it was worth, and failed. That is in large part thanks to the group of 16 Freshman Democrats in the House who were targeted directly with ads and robocalls. These folks, some of them in very tough districts, stood tough against those attacks, and rendered them toothless.

While the Democrats have gained critical ground, the fight is obviously not over. As emptywheel points out, "Mukasey and McConnell are still plying dishonest claims."

The WSJ story as well as an an article in today's Roll Call (subscription) point to Steny Hoyer as the lead negotiator and the "link to a deal." Sez Hoyer,

"I think, frankly, they were surprised" that House Democratic leaders were able to pass their preferred version of the bill, which would reauthorize and update the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, just before lawmakers left for the two-week spring recess, he said....

Specifics haven't been worked out, he said, but "it's a different environment than it was two weeks ago" given that House Democrats were able to narrowly pass their version of the FISA bill.

It's a vastly different environment, but that doesn't mean that the administration is going to give up on its grail, retroactive telecom amnesty. The House has provided a fair and responsible solution for this sticking point, and need to hold the line. If you haven't already thanked Steny Hoyer and the House Dems who stood tough on FISA, now is a good chance to do it, and to tell them to continue to hold the line.

We're winning this one, keep up the good work.