For years we have had congressional intelligence committees for exactly this purpose. The NSA program was run by ranking members of this group, same as countless other secret programs, long before it became a political football. When Congress complained, the program was spelled out for the whole committee.

It's obvious that unless the entire NSA program is widely publicized, and hence destroyed, Democrats aren't going to be satisified. All they're looking for is a way to wreck it without their fingerprints on the corpse.

It's instructive to see how many Democratic politicians dive for the windows when someone actually calls them to account on this issue (see also the Feingold proposal). Nobody wants to actually do anything, they just want endless commissions and investigations that will allow them to bloviate for the media without any serious consequences or being called to account for actually holding a position on something.

Put the NSA program up for a vote, already. Then go on record.