Democrats Agreed to Roll Over and Play Dead

Latest on the Domestic Spying Scandal:

Spy Court Judge Quits In Protest
Jurist Concerned Bush Order Tainted Work of Secret Panel

By Carol D. Leonnig and Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 21, 2005; Page A01

A federal judge has resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases in protest of President Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program, according to two sources. U.S. District Judge James Robertson, one of 11 members of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, sent a letter to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. late Monday notifying him of his resignation without providing an explanation.

Two associates familiar with his decision said yesterday that Robertson privately expressed deep concern that the warrantless surveillance program authorized by the president in 2001 was legally questionable and may have tainted the FISA court's work.

Okay, here's what I completely fail to understand. Why did the Democrats in the House and Senate wait until the story broke in the New York Times - a year late and after the 2004 elections - to go public with their concerns about illegality? Senator John McCain rather cravenly made this same point in the Post article:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) suggested that [Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) ] should have done more if he was seriously concerned. "If I thought someone was breaking the law, I don't care if it was classified or unclassified, I would stand up and say 'the law's being broken here.' "

But Rockefeller said the secrecy surrounding the briefings left him with no other choice. "I made my concerns known to the vice president and to others who were briefed," Rockefeller said. "The White House never addressed my concerns."

Somebody help me out here. Why did the Democrats muzzle themselves on this one? What would the Administration have to do to actually get them to act - bomb Canada? Declare Bush King? I.just.don't.get.it.