Monday, January 25, 2010

ACLU Slams Four GOP Senators

These Republicans must have something against the Constitution.

aclu Four U.S. Senators are pursuing legislation they believe would fix the "mistake" President Obama made with the man who allegedly failed to blow up a Christmas Day flight into Detroit.

That "mistake" was treating him like a serious criminal, tossing him in jail and planning a trial.

Nevertheless, Senators Joseph Lieberman (R-CT) [traitor party affiliation corrected], Susan Collins (R-ME), Robert Bennett (R-UT) and John Ensign (R-NV) are pushing legislation that would require civilian authorities to consult with intelligence leaders when taking an accused terrorist into custody.

"[This] legislation would not deprive the President of any investigative tool," Sen. Lieberman's Web site claims [traitor delinked]. "It would not preclude a decision to charge a foreign terrorist in our military tribunal system or in our civilian criminal justice system."

In a response, Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, fired back: "It is extremely disturbing that members of the U.S. Congress are essentially calling for Obama administration officials to discard the Constitution when a terrorist suspect is apprehended – as if the Constitution should be applied on a case by case basis."

In the Lieberman press release, Sen. Ensign explained that he believes informing Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of his Miranda rights before condemning him to possible life in prison is "as perplexing as it is dangerous."

"This more clearly illustrates that this Administration is more concerned with gently prosecuting terrorists than it is with extracting important intelligence from them that would help prevent future attacks and protect the citizens of this country," he claimed.

"Terrorism is a crime, and to treat terrorism that takes place far from any battlefield as an act of war is to propose that the entire world is a battlefield, to give criminals the elevated status of warriors and to invest whoever the current president may be with the authority to imprison a broad category of people potentially forever, without ever being afforded an opportunity to defend themselves," noted ACLU's Romero… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Raw Story>

Warning!  Prepare a barf bag before watching video!

 

Now, I know that LIEberman claims to be an independent Democrat.  He is, in fact, a Republican.  If a farm animal says nothing but “Oink”, don’t believe anyone who tells you it isn’t a pig.  Contact your Senators today, and tell them, “Traitor Joe must go!”

15 comments:

Jack Jodell said...

I'm with the ACLU. It's bad enough we've become the Corporate States of America, but we do not need to become a police state as well. Paranoia on Capitol Hill is at a fever pitch even higher now than during the red scares of 60 years ago. These frightened little, namby-pamby, authoritarian Senators like LIEberman have got to GO! They, along with the Supreme Court, have transformed me into an American Dissident!

Leslie Parsley said...

Lieberman really is a schmuck and so are the rest of them schmucks. The only difference is that they haven't done the two-step. Maybe I don't know enough about her but I am a little surprised at Collins.

Vigilante said...

Yes. I don't fly 100% with the ACLU, but I'm aboard this flight! Good post, Tom!

Mike said...

I'm just a Canadian observing U.S. affairs, but it seems to me that saying the U.S. Constitution shouldn't be followed in the U.S. is traitorous to the U.S.

Lisa G. said...

Stimpson, you are absolutely correct. Saying that we shouldn't follow the Constitution in this case puts us all at risk for having our rights taken away. What if they decided that you or I were terrorists and threw us into a military brig without access to counsel? As an American citizen, my first call would be to the ACLU, something I've been a member of since 1985.

Whatever comes out of Lieberdouche's mouth is completely irrelevant; neither side believes anything that he says. I, too, am surprised by Collins though; I like to think of her as being somewhat rational (for a Republican at least), but she really is off base on this one.

Lisa G. said...

Oh, and I guess the rules change when there's a Democrat in the WH. Didn't Bush through Reid (aka the shoe bomber) in jail and try him in civilian court, where he was convicted? I'm sure the intelligence agencies will get a crack at him once he talks to his lawyer.

WTF is wrong with these people?

TomCat said...

Amen, Jack.

Tblib, in recent years, Collins has goose-stepped with the worst of them. If she is truly more moderate, she's afraid to show it.

Neither do I, Vig, but I'm proud to be a member.

Stimpson, in GOP-speak, following the Constitution is treason.

Lisa, under the misnamed PATRIOT Act, you wouldn't get to make the call.

TomCat said...

Sorry, Lisa. We were typing at the same time. The GOP has a unique ability to claim that they have the only truth on a matter, make a complete about-face, and claoim with equal fervor that the exact opposite is true.

Lisa G. said...

Sue, you tie them up and I'll shove them. We'll make it a group effort!

Cellophane Queen said...

"Animal Farm" by Orwell has popped into my head often these last couple of weeks.

I hope everybody who has not read it will do so. It's probably available free somewhere (going to go look). Here's a link:

http://www.george-orwell.org/Animal_Farm/index.html

Sue said...

OK Lisa, you grab Liebermann by the feet and I'll take the arms, we should be able to toss him pretty easily!

Leslie Parsley said...

Lisa: I don't think the rules change simply because there's a "Democrat" in the house. There have been Dems there several times but they haven't met with such a concerted effort by Republicans to block every single thing the president proposes - whether or not it's good for the country.

If you take Lieberman's feet and Sue takes his arms, I'll goose him.

Tom Harper said...

But I thought Dwarf Tossing was illegal. I assume LIEbermann would qualify as a dwarf; he's certainly a mental midget if there ever was one.

Holte Ender said...

Dwarf tossing and mental midget tossing is highly illegal, so is riding roughshod over the Constitution.

TomCat said...

Sue, Lisa, Tom (welcome), and Holte, the things that I'd like see afflicted on traitor Joe are not fit fror discussion in mixed company, but that gorilla would have a big smile afterwards. ;-)

Thanks, Glenda.

Marva, I've read it, but 1984 seems a slightly better fit.