First Principles

So I’m pretty busy these days studying Arabic, but I wanted to get this post out there before the issue is over. I keep hearing that Dems might cave to Republican pressure to throw out habeas corpus for people turned in to US forces in exchange for money and subsequently detained without trial. The rationale is that in an election year, Dems don’t want to look “soft” on terror. The implication is that it’s better to be soft on morality, soft on justice, soft on human rights, soft on democratic principles, hell, soft on principles of any kind.

So I want to talk about First Principles. In this instance, the fundamental reasons we are having this discussion. Somehow no one seems to talk about the situation that got us talking about whether or not detainees should be treated as human beings. The fact that the White House has managed to frame the discussion in this light is a major victory, and I cannot fathom how it happened.

The Trinity Administration has, from the beginning, sought to expand the reach of Executive power. This is their guiding principle. In the terms of the current debate, the detainees are not the primary concern for this Administration. The real issue is staking their claim to the right to trample over all the safeguards on Executive power that were put in place after Watergate. That’s the real battle being fought. The Administration lost that battle in the Supreme Court, so now they need to retool their argument. They have crafted this compromise that remains vague enough to give them the ability to continue their extra-legal machinations away from the purview of our legal system. Let me state this again to make myself perfectly clear: The President and Vice President want to codify in law their right to act outside the law. They want to formally negate the system of checks and balances put in place specifically to prevent people like them from doing the things they are doing.

As usual, the Democrats have allowed the real issues to be co-opted from them. Rather than stepping out and taking a leading role in the discussion, they are left to defend their positions on the terms given to them by Republican talking points.

I’m fairly confident this is a strategic move. The Dems want to lay low until after the elections and then unleash hell. But by trying to play everything sooo safe, they risk giving the Republicans ammunition for their campaigns. This is seriously some Theo Epstein shit. Look at the numbers, determine that the course of action that on paper looks best is to do something stupid, and then be shocked when shit goes down in a totally predictable manner. WTF? We need LEADERS NOT SHEEP. Take the initiative and lead for once. Don’t just follow the poll numbers around like you’re their bitch.

The fact that for days every mention of the detainee treatment bill has involved only the names of Republicans is an indictment of the Democratic Party. They SUCK. The lone glimmer of hope in this mess? Bill Clinton. He so masterfully outlined the myriad problems with the President’s agenda it was breathtaking. You can hear his comments by listening to the interview NPR did with him last week. Peace.

Tags:
Detainee Abuse, War on Terror, Bill Clinton, Bush, Politics, Torture