Remember the full body scans that continue to be debated being permitted to go into airports? There was a vote last summer on an amendment to a Homeland Security appropriations bill banning just such a practice as a “primary” screening technique in airports.
Amendment prohibits the TSA from using Whole Body-Imaging machines for primary screening at airports; and would require the TSA to give passengers the option of a pat-down search in lieu of going through a WBI machine. The amendment also prohibits the TSA from storing, transferring, or copying any images resulting from going through a WBI machine.
The amendment died in the Senate, but despite hundreds voting in favor of it in Congress, including many Republicans (Forbes, Goodlatte and Wolf from VA), Glenn Thrush thinks it’s possible that Democrats like Tom Perriello and Gerry Connolly can still have the issue dog them:
The vote isn’t looking great just now, as the Obama administration considers increased use of the scans to detect precisely the type of hidden bomb used on Christmas Day. Experts says the scans are probably the quickest, most reliable way to find carefully hidden bombs and other dangerous weapons.
It’s hard to see how the national congressional committees could leverage such a broadly bipartisan vote in 2010 races, especially since the scans are nobody’s idea of fun. But as people become more resigned to the use of the scans over the next few months — and balance their embarrassment against their fear of being blown up — it’s easy to see how individual challengers could bash incumbents over the vote in battleground districts.
