FISA Bill On Hold

Harry Reid pulled the FISA bill at the last moment. Reid denies Christopher Dodd and the blogosphere had anything to do with his decision.

"He blinked," Caroline Fredrickson, director of the Washington office of the American Civil Liberties Union, said of Reid. "It's clear that this was not going to be easy. On the one hand he wanted to rush this process and think he could strong-arm everybody to giving up their rights as senators. They threw sand in the gears."

There is no other logical reason. The Senate voted 76 to 10 to vote on the bill. It would have passed easily with bipartisan support.

Matt Yglesias misses the point. It has less to do with the will of the Senate body than the lobbying power of the telecommunications industry. Notice how the other Democratic presidential candidates have failed to take the initiative on the FISA bill. Money makes the world and presidential campaigns go.

Dodd thanks his supporters.