Where the Dems "Broke Ranks"

The political blogs have been stirring over last weekend’s passage of a bill that expands the government’s authority to eavesdrop on Americans. The administration began pushing for the new legislation in order to better gather information on foreign terrorists. But opponents of the bill say it goes beyond the small fixes that were initially sought.

By changing the definition of “electronic surveillance,” the new law allows the government to eavesdrop on international phone calls coming or going from the United States without a warrant. However, this is only permitted when the government’s target is a foreigner.

Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, stressed this point by saying that the objective of the new law is to give the government greater flexibility in focusing on foreign suspects overseas, not to go after Americans. “It’s foreign, that’s the point,” Mr. Fratto said. “What you want to make sure is that you are getting the foreign target.”

But the left isn’t satisfied with that rationale. And they’re expressing their frustrations with the Democrats.

Kevin Drum, a Washington Monthly blogger, feels the “Democrats pretty clearly got steamrolled on this.” He writes that negotiations were going smoothly until the language was changed in the final hours. “Democrats weren’t ready for it, and with Congress about to adjourn and no backup strategy in place, they broke ranks and caved in. The only concession they got was a six-month sunset in the bill.”

Jack M. Balkin, a constitutional law professor at Yale, who writes for The Balkinazation blog, places more direct blame on the Democrats. “The passage of the new FISA bill by the Senate and now the House demonstrates that the Democrats stand neither for defending civil liberties nor for checking executive power. They stand for nothing at all.”

If those frustrated with the Democrats want to focus their displeasure, they should take a look at the following map. It displays the locations of the 41 Democrats who voted in favor of the bill.

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