Facing The Facts
The Washington Post informs us that some members of the Republican party will be "seeking an advantage" in dealing with the outcome of the Hamdan decision. Will there be some of that one both sides of the political aisle? Doubtless there will. Will there also be some people caught in a trap of their own making? You bet.
Republicans yesterday looked to wrest a political victory from a legal defeat in the Supreme Court, serving notice to Democrats that they must back President Bush on how to try suspects at Guantanamo Bay or risk being branded as weak on terrorism.
In striking down the military commissions Bush sought for trials of suspected members of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, the high court Thursday invited Congress to establish new rules and put the issue prominently before the public four months before the midterm elections. As the White House and lawmakers weighed next steps, House GOP leaders signaled they are ready to use this week's turn of events as a political weapon.
House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) criticized House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's comment Thursday that the court decision "affirms the American ideal that all are entitled to the basic guarantees of our justice system." That statement, Boehner said, amounted to Pelosi's advocating "special privileges for terrorists."
Similar views ricocheted around conservative talk radio — Rush Limbaugh called Pelosi's comments "deranged" on his show Thursday — and Republican strategists said they believed that the decision presented Bush a chance to put Democrats on the spot while uniting a Republican coalition that lately has been splintered on immigration, spending and other issues.
"It would be good politics to have a debate about this if Democrats are going to argue for additional rights for terrorists," said Terry Nelson, a prominent GOP political strategist who was political director for Bush's reelection campaign in 2004.
Some Democrats have, frankly, been getting a free ride politically up to now. They have been able to criticize every single thing the White House has tried to do without having to bear any political heat themselves. That free ride is over. They will have to stand up and be counted now. That is , of course, the thing the WaPo article doesn't get around to mentioning. Some of the Democratic criticism has been over the top and consequence-free for the critics.
A senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the issue is still being debated internally, seemed to hint at the potential political implications in Congress. "Members of both parties will have to decide whether terrorists who cherish the killing of innocents deserve the same protections as our men and women who wear the uniform," this official said.
The House and Senate Armed Services committees and the Senate Judiciary Committee have called for hearings as soon as Congress returns from the week-long Fourth of July break.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) yesterday outlined his plan to conduct military tribunals in a manner consistent with the court's decision.
Under the Specter bill, a three-judge panel of military lawyers would preside. Defendants would be present in court with their lawyers, who would be granted the right to gather evidence, cross-examine witnesses and review classified information after it had been reviewed by a judge. Defendants would be granted the right to appeal verdicts to a court of military appeals and, ultimately, the Supreme Court.
"I would suggest that the rhetoric be cooled at least long enough for people to read the opinion," Specter said of the Supreme Court decision. "We're going to have to dot all the i's and cross all the t's on this legislation to make sure it passes muster."
I rather suspect some politicians will come to regret their earlier criticism when it comes down to appearing to support better rights for suspected terrorists than they are willing to grant our own men and women in uniform.
UPDATE: The Influence Peddler.
Other Links to this Post
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The Heretik » Blog Archive » Guantanamo for Dummies — July 1, 2006 @ 7:44 am
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The Right Nation — July 1, 2006 @ 8:14 am
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The Right Nation — July 1, 2006 @ 8:21 am
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A Newer World — July 1, 2006 @ 8:48 am
By Donna, July 1, 2006 @ 9:45 am
I am relieved that the Supreme Court re-asserted that we are a nation based upon the rule of law, and I am relieved that our government must follow the checks and balances laid out in our US. Constitution.
That good news [deserving of celebration by all patriots of either party] is already being dimmed by responses which are nothing more than petty rhetoric about political positioning.
By v, July 1, 2006 @ 11:00 am
The “ends justify the means” doctrine of you Rovian Kool Aid Drinkers-cum-opportunists, has been repudiated.
By Gaius, July 1, 2006 @ 11:09 am
THanks for demonstrating your firm grip on reality.