Republicans seem only able to accept one part of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision: The broad outline of racial equality. That’s only one part of what Dr. King was working for. Dr. King also had a vision of economic justice for all people, a world in which a hard day’s work would be rewarded with fair pay, in which war would come to an end, in which health care would be a universally recognized human right.

Yesterday, the mysterious hacker group Anonymous began releasing videos listing the members of the U.S. House who had voted to approve the unconstitutional imprisonment provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act, calling for accountability. Among the targets was Congressman Robert Andrews of New Jersey.

When he ran for President in 2008, Barack Obama promised to restore our constitutional rights and the rule of law. He has not done so. In fact, by signing the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 into law today, Obama has expanded George W. Bush’s attacks on the Constitution.

H.R. 3676 only protects American citizens. It would still leave non-citizens within the United States without the right of due process of law. That is unconstitutional, and unacceptable. Consider how Americans would react if Russia declared that Americans traveling in that country had no right to a criminal trial if accused of a crime. With the National Defense Authorization Act, that’s what the United States has stated about all foreigners traveling, working and living within U.S. borders – they can’t be expected to have their legal rights respected by the U.S. government.

Susan Davis, and far too many of her Democratic colleagues in Congress, have forgotten their oath of office – to defend the Constitution, from enemies both foreign and domestic. The National Defense Authorization Act is in opposition to the authority of the Constitution. Susan Davis had a duty to vote against it. She failed in that duty.

The National Defense Authorization Act gives the federal government power to throw Americans into prison for as long as it likes, without criminal trial, and without criminal charge. President Obama has declared his support for this totalitarian provision. As a result, protests against Obama and the Democratic Party have erupted across America.

The Democratic Party of Hawaii now stands against protecting the constitutional rights of American citizens. Hawaii’s top Democrats have voted in support of removing one of the first freedoms established after the Revolutionary War – freedom from arbitrary imprisonment.

A roll call of the names of 47 senators who voted to protect accused terrorists from being put on trial for their crimes is presented in this article.

Already, politicians in Congress, eager to take a posture of toughness, are proposing that the abandonment of fair trials be expanded. How far will these unjust, unconstitutional convictions go before someone in our government has the courage to stand up to them?

Peter Hoekstra may be afraid of what might happen if the American system of justice is allowed to proceed with the Guantanamo suspects, but justice is not something that should be altered in order to suit politicians’ fears.