AP News, December 18th, 2007
While his Democratic rivals campaigned in Iowa and New Hampshire, Sen. Christopher Dodd took to the Senate floor on Monday in hopes of pumping new energy into his presidential bid.
Dodd, D-Conn., spoke for several hours, seeking to block a bill that would shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits for their actions helping the government tap American communications after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"So here we are facing a final decision on whether the telecommunications companies will get off the hook for good," Dodd said. "The president's allies are as intent as they ever were on making that happen. They want immunity back in this bill at all costs."
Dodd threatened to filibuster, vowing to use "all the tools" at his disposal to prevent passage. But Democratic leaders eventually pulled the bill, putting off consideration until next year.
Dodd has trailed far behind the front-runners in the Democratic pack. The Senate debate over updating the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act provided an opening for Dodd, who is often eclipsed in news coverage by his better-known rivals.
He called on Congress to stand up to the Bush administration on a vital civil liberties issue, a move Dodd backers hoped would play well among the liberal voters who tend to dominate Democratic primaries.
Dodd abruptly canceled his scheduled events in Iowa, where he and his family have temporarily moved for the state's leadoff caucuses less than three weeks away, and returned to Capitol Hill.
"It was important enough to him that he left the campaign trail," said Colleen Flanagan, a spokesman for Dodd. "He decided to go back and fight this."
The Senate is considering whether to shield the telecommunications companies from the roughly 40 pending civil lawsuits alleging violations of communications and wiretapping laws. The White House says if the cases go forward they could reveal information that would compromise national security.
