In a statement today, Senator Obama pledged to help remove the retroactive immunity section of this awful House bill.
It does, however, grant retroactive immunity, and I will work in the Senate to remove this provision so that we can seek full accountability for past offenses.
But he's a wanker? I don't -- huh?
UPDATE: Sargent and Greenwald think that Senator Obama is just being theatrical and isn't really serious about doing anything.
I disagree. Reason the first: the same could be said if he had outright opposed the whole bill. In other words, critics could lament, Oh, he's just saying that. He'll work to oppose it and when it passes anyway, he can still say that he opposed it. Reason the second: brushing it off as political theater and, as such, predicting doom is just being defeatist.
Look, I wish he had taken a stronger position on this bill. But I also think that certain liberal bloggers are unfairly, and at an inopportune time, dragging Senator Obama into the epicenter of this fight.
Sheesh. Let's get him elected first.
Attacking the Democratic presidential nominee and lumping him in with a pack of weakling House capitulators is a really, really bad idea, especially given the fact that he has -- in writing -- pledged to try to remove the retroactive immunity provision. So I'm taking him at his word on this pledge because, at this point, I don't think we're in any position to turn our noses up.
UPDATE THE SECOND: I think everyone needs to calm down a little re: Senator Obama's statement. By "everyone," I mean some of us in the liberal blogosphere who are wringing our hands in disgust over the fact that he didn't outright poo-poo the bill (though he still pledged to try to kill the immunity part).
There's especially quite a bit of, "He's moving to the center! RUN AWAY!" Let's all take a deep breath here. The alternative is that we get more and more worked up until, come November, we're running off and voting for Nader or whoever the Nader-ish guy is this year. And we know what happened eight years ago when we all began to believe the bogus hype: "Gore and Bush are the same -- I'm voting for the other blah blah blah."
Remember why you embraced the Obama campaign in the first place. Hang with him -- he'll make us proud.
Meanwhile... This is a terrible bill and the House Democratic leadership ought to be ashamed. But I honestly believe the Senate will put up a more serious fight when it comes to telecom immunity.