But you do raise an implication on which I want to comment. Personally, I believe that Senator Specter is acting in good faith. He is trying to protect the legislative branch’s institutional prerogatives and evaluate a vital civil liberties issue while at the same time remaining sensitive to both legitimate national security interests and, of course, party loyalty. He could have chosen to just let the program proceed without challenging the President.  So he deserves credit for trying.

I don’t mean to question his motives, just the (apparent) result of his efforts. If the consolidation is what I believe it is, then the “compromise” is actually worse than the status quo, which at least involves some potential judicial review of the program through the efforts of EFF and many others.