WSJ editorial board just can’t help itself

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Of all the various conservative voices arguing on behalf of telecom immunity, the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal has been the least coherent. Today, the far-right editors take on the 31 Democratic senators who voted for Chris Dodd's rule-of-law amendment, specifically targeting Barack Obama.

"We lost every single battle we had on this bill," conceded Chris Dodd, which ought to tell the Connecticut Senator something about the logic of what he was proposing. His own amendment — to deny immunity from lawsuits to telecom companies that cooperated with the government after 9/11 — didn't even get a third of the Senate. It lost 67-31, though notably among the 31 was possible Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama. (Hillary Clinton was absent, while John McCain voted in favor.)

It says something about his national security world view, or his callowness, that Mr. Obama would vote to punish private companies that even the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee said had "acted in good faith." Had Senator Obama prevailed, a President Obama might well have been told "no way" when he asked private Americans to help his Administration fight terrorists. Mr. Obama also voted against the overall bill, putting him in MoveOn.org territory.

The defeat of these antiwar amendments means the legislation now moves to the House in a strong position. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in the Dodd-Obama camp, but 21 Blue Dog Democrats have sent her a letter saying they are happy with the Senate bill. She may try to pass the restrictions that failed in the Senate, and Republicans should tell her to make their day. This is a fight Senator McCain should want to have right up through Election Day, with Democrats having to explain why they want to hamstring the best weapon — real-time surveillance — we have against al Qaeda.

(bangs head against desk)

This isn't about the Obama-Clinton match-up — as far as I can tell, Clinton, despite not voting yesterday, agreed with Obama's position on the issue — this is about a far-right editorial board smearing Dems for doing the right thing.

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/