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.
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.
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.
S.Amdt. 2669 to H.R. 2847 may be promoted as a measure to improve the security of our nation, but in fact it constitutes an attack against the very definition of what makes the United States of America a nation. If measures such as this legislation succeed, there will be nothing meaningful left of the USA to keep secure.
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.
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