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.

The same inconsistency is there when it comes to the relative power between federal and local governments. Right wing activists say that local governments should have power above the federal government’s power, when local governments want to deny people rights. When local governments seek to protect constitutional rights, however, the same right wing activists show no respect for local decisions.

It is in this spirit that yesterday, the following 39 Republican members of Congress signed their name to a legal brief urging a court to block D.C.’s legalization of same-sex marriage.

Under Congressman Sam Johnson’s system, if someone in the government with an axe to grind, or some law enforcement bureaucrat who made a simple error, accused you of being a terrorist, you would be doomed.

In Lamar Smith’s imagination, everyone who is accused of a crime is guilty, and constitutional rights are for wimps. Congressman Smith is betting that his constituents back in Texas agree with him, and will reward his blunt, get tough without trial, approach to the law.

Whether these bills, or new legislation like them that would prohibit Obama from moving forward with his Bush-style tribunal show trials, are moved out of committee will be the test of whether Democrats in Congress are willing to stand up for the Constitution or are content to acquiesce, and bring their political party in alignment with the Bush-era politics of fear.

Is Patrick Leahy right? Is enforcement of the law truly divisive? If so, why are ordinary criminal prosecuted for their crimes?

It’s plainly stupid for the American government to play hardball with people who have been mistakenly imprisoned – people who never had anything to do with terrorism in the first place. Restoring the right to habeas corpus helps our government to finally get smart, and start focusing its efforts on suspects who actually have some likelihood of being connected to terrorist conspiracies.

In order to prevent this constitutional erosion from continuing, responsibility rests with the American people to ensure that their representatives in the House and Senate reassert congressional authority over the Executive Branch. If the American people don’t care enough to demand that their representatives show a backbone, then Congress will continue to mimic their apathy, and do nothing to interfere with the growth of American autocracy.

The FISA Amendments Act is corrupt beyond amendment. So, Rhode Island, it’s time to call Sheldon Whitehouse at (202) 224-2921 and tell him that you want him to defend the Constitution and vote NO on the FISA Amendments Act.

The FISA Amendments Act completely unravels the fourth amendment to the Constitution. It makes protection from unreasonable search and seizure a mere privilege for those that please the government, not an inalienable right.