Political Victims
April 2nd, 2007The world is killing off the seahorse. Another victim of pollution and overfishing. Terrible.
Let’s take a look at a couple of other endangered animals. The Republicans and the Democrats.
Despite the threats, Democratic lawmakers expect to open new fronts against the president when they return from their spring recess, including politically risky efforts to quickly close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; reinstate legal rights for terrorism suspects; and rein in what Democrats see as unwarranted encroachments on privacy and civil liberties allowed by the USA Patriot Act.
“I suppose there’s always a risk of going too far,” said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), “but the risk of not going is far greater.”
Backed by a unified party and fresh from a slew of legislative victories, Democratic leaders appear to believe there is hardly any territory they cannot stray onto, a development that has Republican political operatives gleeful and some Democrats worried. Rep. Tom Cole (Okla.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, warned of a “political price” at the polls: “If they let their constituents and their ideology drive them past the point where the American people are comfortable, they will find how quickly the voters will react.”
I’ll buy that. If the Democrats, say, pass a bill legalizing gay marriage and pledge to give money to terrorists, they’d be homosexual Ronald Reagans — and out of work come 2008.
If you noticed, I boldened “reinstate legal rights for terrorism suspects” and that’s because I believe it’s the riskiest and perhaps the faultiest. I’ve got no problem taking away a terrorist’s rights that we find on the battlefield, in which case he should be treated as a Prisoner of War rather than an American Criminal. If they’re going to ensure that Osama bin Laden has access to the most expensive, most accomplished defense attorneys in America, the public will revolt and rightfully so.
Beyond that, I can see mild political problems in closing down Guantanamo Bay but I don’t imagine it being as explosive. Make sure you point out that there are plenty of prisons to hold them at, and the public won’t care in a month, let alone by the next election. Nor should they because that’s the true. Guantanamo Bay is utterly unnecessary and beyond that, it’s a hypocritical institution.
We’ll detain people in Cuba. But otherwise, we won’t deal with that evil country.
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In other news, it’s opening day for my Chicago White Sox today. Happy day!