FISA Deal Near, Now Including Dem Face-Saving Measure

It looks like the Dems might finally quit most of their games and pass the FISA bill so our intelligence community can go back to listening to bad guys like they could before the bill expired. The House Dems have come up with a plan that will allow some of their members to save face with the nutroots:

To break an impasse over legislation overhauling the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, House Democratic leaders are considering the option of taking up a Senate-passed FISA bill in stages, congressional sources said today. Under the plan, the House would vote separately on the first title of the bill, which authorizes surveillance activities, and then on the bill’s second title, which grants retroactive legal immunity to telecommunications companies that aided the Bush administration’s warrantless electronic surveillance activities. The two would be recombined, assuming passage of both titles.

In this way, Democratic leaders believe they can give an out to lawmakers opposed to the retroactive immunity provision. Republican leadership sources said their caucus would back such a plan because not only would it give Democratic leaders the out they need, it would provide a political win for the GOP. It remains to be seen if such a move will placate liberal Democrats who adamantly oppose giving in to the Bush administration on the immunity issue.

The retroactive immunity clause is an absolute necessity to keep the telecom companies willing to work with the government. Without it there would be too much risk to the telecoms for them to cooperate with government intelligence gathering plans.

This will be a blow to a big Dem constituency - no, not the anti-American nutcases that make up so much of their party, but the trial lawyers who will watch a whole bunch of lawsuits go *POOF!*. You always hurt the ones you love.