David Kurtz is absolutely right in his post on talkingpointsmemo.com that Bush's threat to veto the surveillance bill over immunity for ATT really exposes the lie behind this being about threats to American lives.

If Bush's previous statement that not having this surveillance ability will cost American lives is true, then it means that the President is willing to see Americans die to protect ATT from liability.

Actually, it's worse than that. Bush has the ability to pardon ATT as president. So he's really just holding out for immunity so that he doesn't have to take the political hit for pardoning corporations for unknown activities, leaving everyone wondering exactly what he was up to that he felt the need to do that.

We should NOT wait for Democratic politicians to make these points. We need to be screaming the outrageousness of it from the rooftops. We need to get mad!!

We need to start building the public case right now that if Bush vetoes the bill to protect ATT, then he, not Democrats are responsible for any deaths that occur as a result. If we can make this case strongly enough, then it gives our vascillating Democrat politicians the cover they're looking for against the possibility that of another attack being blamed on them.

They know full well that an attack wouldn't probably be successful because of a lack of this surveillance bill, but they also know the GOP would claim it was. If they can turn it around on them, say that Bush and the GOP are the ones that ILLEGITIMATELY killed the bill, not Dems, then they --- the Dems -- might be more willing to not offer a new bill giving Bush what he wants. In fact, they should go for an override on the existing extension plan arguing that any GOP member who doesn't help extend it is putting American lives at risk to protect ATT's balance sheet. Get all Republicans on record as opposing extension of surveillance, and thus risking American lives, to protect ATT.