September 2006

Read it here. Some of the juicier bits:

By writing into law for the first time the definition of an “unlawful enemy combatant,” the bill empowers the executive branch to detain indefinitely anyone it determines to have “purposefully and materially” supported anti-U.S. hostilities. Only foreign nationals among those detainees can be tried by the military commissions, as they are known, and sentenced to decades in jail or put to death.

At the same time, the bill immunizes U.S. officials from prosecution for cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment of detainees who the military and the CIA captured before the end of last year. It gives the president a dominant but not exclusive role in setting the rules for future interrogations of terrorism suspects.

…

For more than 57 months after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Bush maintained that he did not need congressional authorization of such tools. But the Supreme Court decided otherwise in June, declaring the administration’s detainee treatment and trial procedures illegal, and ruling that Bush must first seek Congress’s approval.

Now Bush has received much of the authority he desired from party loyalists and a handful of Democrats on Capitol Hill. “The American people need to know we’re working together,” Bush told senators before yesterday’s vote.

…

Anticipating court challenges, the administration attempted to make the bill bulletproof by including provisions that would sharply restrict judicial review and limit the application of international treaties — signed by Washington — that govern the rights of wartime detainees.

The bill also contains blunt assertions that it complies with U.S. treaty obligations.

University of Texas constitutional law professor Sanford V. Levinson described the bill in an Internet posting as the mark of a “banana republic.” Yale Law School Dean Harold Koh said that “the image of Congress rushing to strip jurisdiction from the courts in response to a politically created emergency is really quite shocking, and it’s not clear that most of the members understand what they’ve done.”

I’ve got my blood up today. I feel a bit like a pissed off Roy Keane looking to tackle Alf-Inge Haaland.

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It’s official, torture/detainee bill passed the Senate last night. Several different amendments – to provide some kind of oversight program, to reinsert Habeas Corpus into the bill, and to put a five year sunset provision – all failed to pass.

The one thing Osama bin Laden couldn’t do – take away our freedoms – our Republican government enthusiastically did for him. Way to go, jackasses. And while many Democrats did vote against this, they were mostly absent from the discussion about this until voting day, and they were entirely too wishy-washy about the entire boondoggle. Way to go, jackasses.

As usual, Glenn Greenwald has a terrific summary of what happened, and what it means.

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Staff expands on his statements last night.

You simply cannot inoculate yourself from having a different voting record. And this triangulation BS that Democrats keep trying weakens them. It makes them wishy washy, untrustworthy. That then feeds into the whole narrative the GOP construct anyway.

Sherrod Brown didn’t avoid any of that yesterday. By constantly running from these issues instead of making a true case, once again Democrats look weak in the eyes of the voters. This vote was a net negative for Brown. Instead of worrying about how some swing voters might have voted he now should be very worried about how many in his base might not bother.

I think he’s right. I understand that many moderate voters are pro-torture. I understand that, regardless of Brown’s vote, this bill was going to pass. But I also understand that this bill in inherently un-American. And I also understand that, unfortunately, Democrats have not done a good enough job standing up and fighting this, despite the fact that they appear to be in the minority. Congressional Democrats continue to allow Republicans to not only frame the debate, but to set the agenda and define all the terms.

It’s past time to make a principled stand, attack the GOP on their clearly wrongheaded positions, and to stop worrying about being perceived as “whiney”. We are right. It’s time to act like it.

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An amendment – proposed by Arlen Specter (R-PA) and largely supported by Democrats – to insert habeas corpus protections into the detainment/torture bill failed to pass by a narrow margin today.

The Senate just killed an amendment to ensure federal courts could review the legitimacy of individual’ imprisonment on suspicion of involvement in terrorism. The amendment had been proposed by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “It is a fundamental protection woven into the fabric of our Nation,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who supported the measure. It was defeated 48-51, largely along party lines.

Former torture victim Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), portrayed as a “maverick” by earlier bucking the White House on the issue of detainee treatment, voted against the amendment. The White House also opposes the changes the amendment would make to the bill. Sens. John Warner (R-VA) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who had also challenged the White House over the bill, joined McCain in voting against the amendment.

Had Warner, Graham, and McCain voted for the amendment, it would have passed. So much for bucking the President and protecting the rights of Americans.

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The House today passed legislation that legalizes torture and prevents detainees from challenging their imprisonment in federal courts, voting primarily along party lines. The Senate bill is expected to pass tomorrow, sending the legislation to the President to sign before the Hill is vacated so politicians can campaign for the November election. John Boehner had something particularly vile to say prior to voting.

”Will my Democrat friends work with Republicans to give the president the tools he needs to continue to stop terrorist attacks before they happen, or will they vote to force him to fight the terrorists with one arm tied behind his back?” he asked just before members cast their ballots.

Especially upsetting was the fact that an amendment that called for an expedited judicial review of the constitutionality of the commissions and a three year sunset provision was soundly defeated, also along party lines.

You can check your Congressman’s vote here.

UPDATE: As BSB points out, Sherrod Brown chose to vote for this legislation. It’s very disappointing he did so, but as pointed out in the comments, this might have been a purely political move. The bill was in no danger of not passing, so this might put him in a position to win a few swing voters, as there is no way in hell that DeWine doesn’t approve the Senate version tomorrow. Sometimes I hate politics.

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