[privacy] Senate Dems Reportedly Agree To Immunize Spying Telecoms

[Florian Weimer]

* Paul Ferguson:

> Via Threat Level.
>
> [snip]
>
> Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee will include retroactive
> legal protections for telecoms that helped with the government's secret
> surveillance programs after the administration handed over some of the
> legal documents about the program that the Congress has been asking for,
> according to the Washington Post.
>
> The deal worked out with the administration at the same time that House
> Republicans ran procedural circles around the majority party, who was
> forced to remove their FISA reform bill from the House calendar. The House
> hoped to move in time to send a message to the Senate.

Why do the Democrats need "deals" to pass laws?  I think they won the
last election.  And if they need deals, why can't they get one for
S-Chip?