Dems Pull FISA Bill

A bill which would have undone some of the nation's protections that were recently enacted in a previous FISA bill was pulled by the Dems when they realized the GOP had a trap set for them:

WASHINGTON — Republicans successfully maneuvered to derail a Democratic government eavesdropping bill Wednesday, delaying a House vote until next week at the earliest.

The bill, which seeks to expand court oversight of government surveillance in the United States, fell victim to a gambit by the chamber's Republican minority. Democrats were forced to pull the bill from the House floor with no certainty about how it might be revived.

A Democratic staff member said the bill will not be rewritten but substantive amendments may be allowed when it finally does come up for a vote, which is the Democrats' intention. ...

So, what was it about the bill the GOP didn't like:

Republican critics, however, said the blanket warrants would tie up intelligence agents in legal red tape, impeding them from conducting urgent surveillance of terrorist suspects. "Congress needs to move forward, not backward," President Bush said at a White House news conference as the debate in Congress began. Bush had vowed to veto the bill if it reached his desk.

The House's Democratic leaders pulled the bill after discovering that Republicans planned to offer a motion that politically vulnerable Democrats would have a hard time voting against.

The amendment would have said that nothing in the bill could limit surveillance of Osama bin Laden and terrorist organizations. While Democrats say their bill already provides that authority, voting against the amendment could make it seem as though a member of Congress were against spying on al-Qaida.

The Dems keep trying to weaken our defenses, but fortunately we have some guys in the GOP who know how to play the game very well and keep outmaneuvering them.

UPDATE: Senate agrees to the White House approved version of the FISA bill.