If you've been to Daily Kos, Firedoglake, Digby and other sites today, you will read an excellent letter signed by these and other bloggers, the ACLU, Free Press, MoveOn and other organizations and sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, (D-NV).  It asks him to honor Senator Chris Dodd's hold on FISA legislation that grants Bush's demands for retroactive immunity for telecoms and to stop this terrible anti-constitutional rights and anti-rule of law bill.  Please sign this important letter.

Having said that, however, it's dismaying that we Democrats must plead with the Senate Democratic Majority Leader to carry out his responsibilities as a senator, a majority leader and, most appalling, as a Democrat to protect constitutional rights, rule of law, and uphold senate tradition invoked by another Democratic member of the chamber.  If Harry Reid were a true Democrat, there would be no need for this letter."

On December 14, I wrote a post, "Will Real Democrats Stand Up And Take Charge" which included this:

"Glenn Greenwald writes about two Senate committees' competing FISA bills, one from the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by (telecom donor recipient and then ranking member of the committee in 2002 who knew about waterboarding then and kept silent) Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WVA) which, unsurprisingly, includes retroactive telecom immunity.  The other from the Senate Judiciary Committee (chaired by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) does not contain immunity.  Reid is ignoring the Senate Judiciary Committee's bill and bringing the SIC bill, which meets the president's demands, to the floor as the "base" bill.

"Are Reid and Pelosi really Democrats?  Reid, who is blatantly screwing the American public and disregarding the Constitution, is not. Pelosi may be a Democrat but not a solid Democrat and she is weak and ineffective.

"It's time for the Democratic grassroots to begin identifying, promoting, and supporting real Democrats to challenge the current spineless Senate and House leaders (including Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD) in primaries in their states or districts when they are up for re-election.

"Current Democratic Party honchos on Capitol Hill are acting like Republican lackeys not Democratic leaders..."

Nothing has changed.  The FISA debate including the terrible retroactive immunity for telecoms which Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) plans to filibuster continues on the floor of the Senate at this moment.  None of this had to happen.  It was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's fault.

As Glenn Greenwald explains,

"Harry Reid -- who has (a) done more than any other individual to ensure that Bush's demands for telecom immunity and warrantless eavesdropping powers will be met in full and (b) allowed the Republicans all year to block virtually every bill without having to bother to actually filibuster -- went to the Senate floor yesterday and, with the scripted assistance of Mitch McConnell and Pat Leahy, warned Chris Dodd, Russ Feingold and others that they would be selfishly wreaking havoc on the schedules of their fellow Senators (making them work over the weekend, ruining their planned "retreat," and even preventing them from going to Davos!) if they bothered everyone with their annoying, pointless little filibuster.

"To do so, Reid announced that, unlike for the multiple filibusters from Republican colleagues, he would actually force Dodd and company to engage in a real filibuster. This is what Reid said:

[I]f people think they are going to talk this to death, we are going to be in here all night. This is not something we are going to have a silent filibuster on. If someone wants to filibuster this bill, they are going to do it in the openness of the Senate.

"That is what Democrats have been urging Reid to do to the filibustering Republicans all year -- in order to dramatize their obstructionism -- but he has refused to make them actually filibuster anything, generously agreeing instead that every bill requires 60 votes. Instead, he reserves such punishment only for the members of his own caucus trying to take a stand for the rule of law and the Constitution, those who are trying finally to bring some accountability to this administration."

Harry Reid suffers from permanent minority syndrome and no spine. He is too willing to accommodate Bush and Bushite Republicans by ignoring the Constitution and the American people.   He should cancel his travel plans to Davos which seem to be more important to him than upholding the Constitution and rule of law and relinquish his position as majority leader.   Reid is not a leader and, in my opinion, not a true Democrat.