The Senate just voted to table the Senate Judiciary Committee (Leahy) amendment to the Intel bill. This is a bad thing. By a vote of 60-34, where a simple majority of “nay” votes was needed, the Republicans and a handful of Democrats struck down a single piece of legislation that would have produced a massively better outcome both when it comes to how the government handles surveillance at home and abroad, and not giving retroactive amnesty to the big telecom companies that helped the Bush administration spy on Americans without warrant.

Senators Clinton, McCain, and Obama were all absent from the floor of the Senate and did not cast a vote on this critical matter.

Here’s my list of Democrats who voted to table the very good SJC amendment:

Rockefeller Bayh Mikulski Pryor Salazar McCaskill Nelson (FL) Carper Nelson (NE) Landrieu Inouye Johnson

The Senate has moved on to debating amendments to the underlying Intelligence Committee bill. They will be splitting the debate and voting into two parts. First, they will address and debate amendments on Title I of the Intel Committee bill. This part of the bill pertains to the FISA law, what the government can and cannot do, how Congress has oversight, and how the intelligence community will ensure that they don’t accidentally spy on Americans without warrant. Second, they will move to Title II, which is where retroactive immunity resides in the Intel Committee bill. That’s where the Dodd/Feingold amendment to strip retroactive immunity will come up…and no filibuster will start until after that amendment is given a chance to pass.
As we’ve seen throughout this fight, the process and timing can change at any point. But I will keep you apprised of any updates as they happen.
Cross posted at the CREDO Blog.