Clinton, Obama to oppose FISA bill

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., the two leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination, both have stated they will vote against ending debate on a reauthorization of the Foreign Services Intelligence Act, or FISA, according to a report by Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake.

The reauthorization of FISA has come under heavy criticism from civil liberties activists, who oppose provisions that would immunize telecommunications firms that may have spied illegally on Americans, at the request of the Bush administration. The bill also has received significant criticism for not including enough safeguards to ensure Americans will not have their private communications  monitored.

Clinton and Obama had been reticent to make their position on FISA reauthorization clear, in order to avoid being tarred as “soft on terrorism” by conservatives. Nevertheless, with both in a fierce fight for the Democratic nomination, neither candidate can afford to alienate core Democratic supporters as we approach the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses.