The surveillance reform bill also was filibustered. Perhaps this will finally puncture the libertarian & liberal fantasy that there’s a bipartisan coalition interested in measured reform.
Here’s the cloture vote breakdown:
The two independents voted Yea, as did all Dems save Bill Nelson. Four Republicans also voted Yea: Lisa Murkowski, Dean Heller, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz.
The usual suspects naturally were unhappy. As the vote neared, GG started out attacking his and Snowden’s detractors:
I wonder how pro-NSA liberals feel knowing that their most stalwart allies in the Senate are the GOP Senators they daily denounce as Satan— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 19, 2014
(Once again he fails to acknowledge that many that see him as a shoddy advocacy “journalist” and Snowden as a criminal have zero issue with reform efforts.)
Greenwald then became increasingly irritated with the floor debate:
One “small-government” GOP senator after the next, standing up to passionately defend NSA domestic bulk collection— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 19, 2014
If the NSA can’t collect all your communication data, then ISIS will kill you and your kids - Senate GOP #ISIS— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 19, 2014
These Senate debates have been the same for 13 yrs: 9/11, 9/11, 9/11! If you don’t let us have these powers, Terrorists will kill you. Next.— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 19, 2014
And the NSA “reform” bill - with Republicans screaming “9/11”!!! - dies for lack of 60 votes - the Senate continues to be as awesome as ever— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 19, 2014
Summary of the (non-tea-party) GOP argument against NSA reform: 9/11, ISIS, 9/11, ISIS, 9/11, ISIS, ISIS and 9/11.— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 19, 2014
I’m looking forward to seeing how Conor Friedersdorf spins this, since his hero Sen. Paul voted against too. Paul gave a reason that he felt the legislation didn’t go far enough, but it’s hard to see how he could possibly think the incoming Congress would bring a result more to his (claimed) liking.