Obama proves again he is a radical Muslim. He doesn't want telecoms to aid the Govt in preventing terror attacks on American civilians.
Senate passes spy bill with telecom immunity - The Crypt's Blog - Politico.com
February 12, 2008
Senate passes spy bill with telecom immunity
An attempt to strip lawsuit immunity for telecom firms that helped the government tap phone calls fell well short in the Senate Tuesday, leaving liberal Democrats on the losing side of what they believe is a fundamental civil liberties debate.
Only 31 senators — all Democrats — voted to take away retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies facing lawsuits over wiretaps carried out under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Sixty-seven senators — a mix of Republicans and Democrats — voted against the amendment.
With the immunity provision intact, the Senate voted late Tuesday afternoon to pass the bill, 68-29, setting up a tough negotiation with the House, which opposed telecom lawsuit immunity. The Senate vote amounts to a major victory for the White House, which had threatened to veto the bill if it did not protect telecom companies that aided spy agencies with wiretapping.
The vote also provided an opportunity to showcase the key differences on national security between presidential candidates,
as Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) voted against immunity for telecoms, and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), voted to keep immunity in the bill. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) did not show up for the vote. All three candidates were in the Washington area Tuesday morning for the region's three primaries.