What is with Dianne Feinstein these days?

A voice that played a pivotal role in outing the actions of Alberto Gonzales in the US Attorney firing scandal is now all of a sudden going the other way.

This week, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) voted in favor of Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey, despite the fact that Mukasey refused to say whether waterboarding was torture.  Now, Feinstein is backing immunity for telecommunications companies that handed over their customers' personal information to the NSA as part of the Administration's warrantless eavesdropping program:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein saidThursday that she favors legal immunity for telecommunicationscompanies that allegedly shared millions of customers' telephone ande-mail messages and records with the government, a position that couldlead to the dismissal of numerous lawsuits pending in San Francisco.

In a statement at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, whichis considering legislation to extend the Bush administration'selectronic surveillance program, Feinstein said the companies shouldnot be "held hostage to costly litigation in what is essentially acomplaint about administration activities."

Why are Feinstein and so many other Democrats scared of a President with a 32% approval rating?  Feinstein should know that there is a primary system -- and progressives will use it to oust certain lawmakers with a habit of being Bush lite.

Comments

[Pursey Tuttweiler]

Why is congress so afraid of a president with a 32% approval rating? Because they sold their soul to the company store. I think of the Bush administration as one huge J. Edgar Hoover. They have the goods on each and every single member and can get the votes they want anytime they want. That is the only thing that explains these folks.