Nancy Pelosi has known for months that the FISA bill needs approval by midnight on Saturday to ensure the national security provisions remain intact. The current act expires on Saturday. The House Democrats have continued to seek extensions to the old act rather than work out details in the new proposal, which has cleared the Senate.

A key provision House Democrats oppose would provide immunity to telecom companies that have assisted the government in efforts to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists. Democrats argue that providing immunity for past acts shouldn't be necessary to future national security. Why would a company work with the government in the future when it is currently being sued or at risk of suit for past cooperation?

In bed with trial lawyers who want to be able to sue telecom companies that cooperate with government efforts to monitor terrorist activity, Pelosi just couldn't let the FISA bill come to a vote. Of course not, because it would have passed with bipartisan approval, as it did in the Senate. This is political and Pelosi should not be so arrogant as to believe the American people will not see through these antics.

So while Pelosi stands in the way of voting on the FISA bill, the House Democrats voted to issue contempt citations against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolton and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers. (click here to read article from The Hill) What did Bolton and Miers do? They refused to provide documents to and testify before Congress about the firings of several U.S. attorneys- which the Democrats believe were politically motivated.

NEWS FLASH: U.S. Attorneys are in fact political appointees. They have their jobs at the whim of the President. If the country elects a Democratic President in November, you can be sure that a new round of U.S. Attorneys will follow shortly thereafter. The poor U.S. Attorneys who will be terminated because of their connection to the Bush Administration should not be surprised if and when this occurs.

Both of these situations demonstrate the ways in which political fighting has led to the deterioration of the service we the people get from our congressional representatives. The work on behalf of the country and the people has fallen by the wayside as the work that Pelosi thinks benefits Democrats takes center stage.

The Congress should be aware that its approval ratings continue to hover between 20 and 25%. (click here for poll results) while the President's approval ratings hover between 30 and 35%. (click here for poll results) While few elected officials should be proud of their approval ratings, many should take note. For people who like to claim the President is very unpopular, Congressional Democrats should consider what their numbers mean comparatively.

I hope Pelosi and the Democrats who refuse to hold her accountable have a nice weekend!