I just got off a conference call with Chris Dodd. Not surprisingly, he said he was "disappointed" by the outcome of the votes today. He said, "We’ve just sanctioned the single largest invasion of privacy in American history."
More after the jump...
Dodd clearly sees most of his caucus as against him as he was only able to pick up 20-30 votes for his amendments and against cloture. He explains the reasoning Democrats have to vote for retroactive immunity in stark terms:
"Those who are advocating this notion that you have to give up liberties in order to be more secure are apparently prevailing."
Nevertheless, Dodd seems unbowed by these defeats. Like myself and others in the grassroots, he is now looking towards the House to resolve this issue. The House's RESTORE Act, passed last year, includes no retroactive immunity and was passed 227-189 back in November.
Firedoglake has already picked up the call to put pressure on the house. Sign their petition and help make sure the House stands by their bill.
If the House caves and a bill with retroactive immunity is reported out of conference, Dodd said he again will use, "all the tools available to the single senator to delay going forward on this," including a filibuster.
All I can say is thank you Dodd, for standing up for the Constitution when so many others were willing to make that false choice between security and liberty. We're with you 100%.
(originally posted at The Seminal)
UPDATE:
Rec list in 15 minutes! Wow. Thanks folks.
Here's some quick background on the issue for those just getting caught up:
A rundown of the votes today and the roll call.
What we're looking at with the House.
UPDATE x2:
If you really want to thank Dodd for his leadership, help him retire his campaign debt!
UPDATE x3:
The final bill passed the Senate, retroactive immunity intact. On to the House, folks!