Hatfield-McCoy, or something more transitory? UPDATE from an ex-legislative aide on the Hill: This article reads like a novel, complete with foreshadowing at the end: It is unclear what difference a week will make in the surveillance debate. The positions of national security hawks such as McConnell and civil libertarians like Paul have barely softened, while a House-passed, White House-supported compromise measure — the only legislation offering a seamless transition — was unable to gain the 60 votes necessary to proceed. A procedural vote on the bill failed 57 to 42. “Sometimes things change as deadlines approach,” Paul said.