Stop Me Before I Vote Again

As expected, the Senate has overwhelmingly voted -- 69-28 -- to expand the scope of government snooping, and incidentally to give the telephone companies retroactive immunity from prosecution for their own role in illegal surveillance since 2001. Twenty-one Democrats, including Obama and Feinstein, joined the majority.

The vote on the bill follows equally lopsided votes on amendments:

An amendment sponsored by Mr. Dodd to strip the immunity provision from the bill was defeated, 66 to 32.

Two other amendments were also rejected. One, offered by Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, would have required that a district court judge assess the legality of warrantless wiretapping before granting immunity. It lost by 61 to 37. The other, which would have postponed immunity for a year pending a federal investigation, was offered by Senator Jeff Bingaman, Democrat of New Mexico. It was defeated by 56 to 42.

So it's fair to say, I think, that the results are conclusively in as regards the usefulness of electing Democrats. The Most Important Elections In History, held back in 2006, were supposed to put an end to at least the most glaring horrors of the Bush presidency and his Republican congresses. Instead, what we have gotten from our nice new Democratic Congress is the continuation of Bush's war, and the retrospective blessing of Bush's crimes.

Who said bipartisanship is dead?