Dashboard

By Massimo Calabresi

WASHINGTON MEMO They may be dreaming of control over Congress and the White House in 2009, but Democrats on the Hill first have to deal with a recurring nightmare: a seemingly unwinnable political battle pitting civil liberties against national security.

At issue this time is the telecommunications industry. Several leading telecom companies have allegedly participated in President Bush's no-warrant eavesdropping on Americans since 9/11. In late January, the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary chairmen wrestled over whether the firms should get immunity from prosecution for whatever role they played. It's a fight that could get uglier soon if the House and Senate launch backroom negotiations for a final bill before the Presidents' Day recess on Feb. 18 as expected.

The key player will be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is against retroactive immunity for the telecoms but is being pressured to cave by moderate Democrats who face tough re-election battles this fall. "She's going to push very hard to not have immunity," says a top Pelosi aide, but "it just depends how much leverage she has." To outsiders, that sounds like a walk-up to folding, and civil-liberties groups are pressuring Democratic House chairmen to push back. "It's completely in her hands," says Michelle Richardson of the ACLU. "Nothing can force her to have the House vote on complete immunity."

Except political reality. Bush promises to veto any bill that doesn't provide immunity, and Republicans would love to prolong the fight. That leaves Democrats scrambling for a way out. One fix would be to say they changed their minds after seeing secret documents on the eavesdropping program the White House made available to select House members for the first time this week. A more palatable solution emerged midweek: extending last August's stopgap Protect America Act, which would allow them to duck the immunity issue until after the election this fall, when the Dems could have the same painful fight yet again.