Cui Bono?

by digby

Hilzoy disagrees with my post just below, pointing out rightly that Democrats are not known for their fealty to their leader and positing that they may have sandbagged Obama on this. That’s certainly possible. But the reason I’m almost positive that this was an agreed upon strategy is that the House brought this to the floor when they didn’t have to. Sure, the Republicans were whining about it, but the Democrats had successfully fought that back in 2006. The politician who is most worried about attacks on his national security credentials and who has a stake in not having this be a thorny issue during his first term and who would possibly want to have these powers at his own disposal isn’t Nancy Pelosi. (He’s also the guy who has to exert his power in the Party after a very close primary race. He can’t put up with being sandbagged on something he really cares about)

Anyway, this is how Democrats always run for national office. Republicans are action, Dems are reaction, particularly when it comes to national security. They’ve already pounded Obama very hard for his debate statement that he’d talk to foreign dictators and the campaign knows that’s just the beginning. The “Muslim terrorist” drumbeat is all about making people feel uncomfortable with this exotic new guy’s ability to keep the country safe. Reacting to that by showing “strength” on issues like this is a choice I think the Democrats probably don’t have to make this time out — the Republican party is so damaged that I think their usual schtick isn’t going to work — but it’s hardly surprising.

This FISA compromise was orchestrated by Pelosi and Hoyer personally. It was not a conspiracy of Blue Dogs, as much as Hoyer may want people to believe it. There’s too much at stake in this election for the Dems to be doing end runs around the nominee and they know it.

Besides, they like to wait until we have a Democratic president before they start openly stabbing him in the back. They get a lot more credit and cachet from the Village press when it’s obvious that they are taking sides with the Republicans against their leader.

.