Yesterday I brought up the new, completely false narrative Republicans are using to attack Democrats on FISA. They’re accusing Democrats who’ve defended the rule of law as being in the pocket of trial lawyers (!!). This is wrong, as the cases being brought against the telecom companies are being litigated by lawyers for two not-for-profit organizations, the ACLU and the EFF. The lawyers working the case make only a fraction of what the lawyers defending the big telecom companies like Verizon and AT&T make.

Connecticut Republican Party Chair Chris Healy released a breathless attack on the Democratic delegation yesterday for their votes in defense of the Constitution. Healy, last seen doing a Dean Wormer impersonation, charged CT’s Democrats with being not merely in the pockets of “trial lawyers” lobbying Congress against retroactive immunity, but with having received donations from law firms throughout their career.

“It is easy to see why the Democrats oppose this reasonable tool to prevent attacks on America – special interest money from trial lawyers,” said Healy. “As they say ‘follow the money’ and the truth will be revealed.”

The following are records of the total amount each Connecticut Democrat has received in campaign contributions to date:

Larson : $329,000 in career receipts from law firms http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allindus.asp?CID=N00000575

DeLauro: $404,000 in career receipts from law firms http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allindus.asp?CID=N00000575http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allsector.asp?CID=N00000615

Murphy: $283,000. in career receipts from law firms http://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary.asp?id=CT05&cycle=2006 http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/sector.asp?CID=N00027566&cycle=2008

Courtney: $250,000 in career receipts from law firms: http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/sector.asp?CID=N00024842&cycle=2008 http://www.opensecrets.org/races/sector.asp?ID=CT02&cycle=2006&special=N http://www.opensecrets.org/races/sector.asp?ID=CT02&cycle=2002&special=N

“In case Democrats don’t know it, we are at world with an enemy that knows how to use modern technology to communicate,” said Healy. “The failure of Congressmen Larson, DeLauro, Murphy and Courtney to see it and act should give every Connecticut reason to be outraged.” [Emphasis & shoddy formatting in the original]

Healy’s claiming that law firms, not just lobbyists or lawyers currently working cases against the big telecoms, are the cause of the Democratic opposition to retroactive immunity. Sheesh. It’s almost as if Healy thinks the telecoms are sending their customer support technicians to represent themselves in court, not polished and expensive corporate lawyers.

A number of things stand out with Healy’s statement. First, rather than actually trying to make a specific charge correlating lobbyist contributions to Connecticut’s Democrats to their retroactive immunity stance, he just goes into Open Secrets and starts posting by industry. We already know that the trial lawyers aren’t lobbying Congress on retroactive immunity. Healy’s rhetoric is evidence of the lack of causation between the lobbying patterns and the Democratic legislative stance.

Second, Healy repeats another tired Republican FISA talking point – that FISA hasn’t been updated to reflect changes in modern technology. This is also patently false. FISA has been modernized many times since 1978, including post-9/11 to include changes in email and cell phone technology. To wit, in October 2001, following a FISA modernization passed by Congress, President Bush himself said:

This new law I sign today will allow surveillance of all communications used by terrorists, including e-mails, the Internet, and cell phones. As of today, we’ll be able to better meet the technological challenges posed by this proliferation of communications technology.

But Healy, like the rest of the anti-Constitution GOP, won’t let the facts get in the way of a fear-based argument.

The Republicans cannot win the retroactive immunity debate on the merits of the behavior of the telecoms and the Bush administration. They cannot justify their lawlessness or their requests for help from the telecom companies. All they can do is stomp around, making noise, and peddling in fear. Their arguments hold no water and their message is as unserious as can be.  Healy is just the latest incarnation of the moral and political failures of the Republican Party to uphold the rule of law and talk to the American public respectfully and with the regard our citizenry deserves.