FISA. Iraq funding. How confident are we that our Democratic majorities will do anything close to the right thing on those issues?
My fear is that they will cave to the new gestalt brewing that the surge is somehow achieving anything meaningful. They will fall into the trap and provide more no-strings-attached war funding.
As to FISA, they always seem to chicken out when the terrorism bogey-man spectre is raised. And to a very small degree, I have a bit of sympathy - they think they will be blamed if there is another terrorist attack for having denied the Administration some "vital" tool to catch terrorists.
Hillary Clinton just made the mistake of being too honest in articulating that foundational piece of Democratic "wisdom" on terrorism: That a terrorist attack would help the GOP. Well I'm no pyschologist and it might even be true, but damn it, let's stop cowering over possible future events.
Besides, why aren't the GOP cowering in fear that they would be blamed by the public for another terrorist attack? That Bush would bear the brunt of the responsibility?
Just like the funding dispute, Democrats too quickly accept that the public will blame them, instead of Bush for vetoing the funding. They're like co-dependents who always assume they have more to lose from their spouse leaving them than the reverse.
Finally, I don't want us to forget the lesson of the Alito debacle. We started organizing a senate filibuster too late. If we had started earlier, could we have gotten to 40? I don't know, but I hate the "couldawouldashoulda" left dangling in that one.
So I'm raising the question now: Is it time to try and organize 40 Senators willing to filibuster any renewal of the absurd FISA blank-cheque and any no-timeline Iraq funding bill?
Over at OpenLeft, Chris Bowers and Matt Stoller are doing great work in landing a few body blows against the "Bush Dog Democrats" in the House. I think an early filibuster strategy could bolster that. If the Bush Dogs were feeling the heat, that might give Pelosi more rope to do the right thing in the House. In Senate, if Reid knows there are 30+ Democrats willing to filibuster against FISA or Iraq funding, that will give him a stronger bargaining position to the Bush Dog Senators.
Remember, for the right thing to happen on both these issues, the only thing congress needs to do is nothing. There is no requirement for a 2/3 or 3/5 majority, or a veto override. Just don't pass a renewal. That's the Congressional trump card.