The Wall Street Journal is absolutely right that Lindsey Graham is tossing up an embarrassing air ball. Graham's effort to get the administration to abandon legitimate federal court trials for suspected terrorists in exchange for the funding needed to close Guantanamo Bay is headed nowhere fast, predicts the Journal.
This week marks the 30th anniversary of the Refugee Act of 1980, a landmark piece of legislation that changed the U.S. approach to refugee protection by creating the legal status of asylum and a formal process for resettling refugees from around the world. It affirmed the U.S. commitment to providing refuge to victims of religious, political and other forms of persecution.
The pressure is growing on the Justice Department to produce supposedly "deleted" e-mails that could reveal whether government lawyers during the Bush administration were instructed to devise legal justifications for torture.
We're about to witness the pretense of war lawyer hearings without the war lawyers (commonly known as torture lawyers by those willing to ignore their role in "legalizing" aggressive war). This may highlight for many observers the little-known fact that Congress no longer has the power of subpoena.
During 2007-2008 Democratic congressional committees subpoenaed dozens of Bush officials, who simply refused to comply. Although any committee has the undisputed power to use the Capitol Police to enforce its subpoenas, none did. They asked the Bush Justice Department to do it. They sued the Bush Justice Department in court. But, with the exception of a weird deal for partial and secret compliance by Karl Rove in 2009, not a single one of the scofflaws has been compelled to show up.
The clouds didn't open. A choir didn't start singing. A ray of sunlight didn't come shining down.
But I'm pretty sure I said, "HALLELUJAH!" when Barack Obama uttered those four divine words tonight, "Sam Stein. Huffington Post."
David Sirota aptly called this a movement moment. It was also, to be clear, a historic moment--and a legitimizing moment--for an online progressive community that's been years in the making and tonight had its first chance to ask a President of the United States a question at a news conference.
Sam's question was co-equal in status to the traditional talking heads. But unlike so many other questions, his question represented a concern on the minds of millions of Americans that the DC chattering class largely resists talking about: Should Bush Administration officials be held accountable for violating the American rule of law? Sam--a consistently great reporter and an avid biker--asked his question with composure and professionalism:
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy insisted on Monday in firm and passionate terms that a comprehensive investigation be launched into the conduct of the Bush administration, saying anything less would prevent the country from moving forward.
Speaking at a forum at Georgetown University, the Vermont Democrat suggested the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission to uncover the "misdeeds" of the past eight years.
Over the past month, I have placed four calls and an email to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's press department asking if, based on the Senator's calls for such investigations, what he would actually do in make such investigations come to pass. None of my contacts have been returned. So, I think I will ditch contacting Senator Whitehouse on this matter at all, and just inquire directly with the Judiciary chair's staff, and / or his committee staff.
I have contacted about a dozen Senators or their offices over the past month. Only Kerry and Whitehouse have failed to get back to me. Not sure if this is because of a different attitude toward online media, toward my relevant inexperience in such contacts, toward responding to constituents vs. non-constituents, or some other factor entirely. Whatever it is, the lack of responsiveness from Senator Whitehouse's staff is kind of frustrating.
So, this week we get our shot at the plate to restore one of the most fundamental American rights -- the right to challenge government detention before a fair and independent court.
Senator Leahy just introduced his bill, *The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act,* on the floor of the U.S. Senate and debate is well underway. The bill is co-sponsored by Senator Chris Dodd and the two are working together hand-in-hand to rally the grassroots in support of the legislation.
It's going to be a tremendously close vote, and this is one of those situations where your support could mean the difference between passage and failure.
Over the coming days we'll be rolling out a full suite of tools to arm yourself for battle. The first of which is a "Citizen Generated Whip Count" tool that will allow you to contact, record, and track responses from grassroots phonebanking taking place across the country.
Until then, please consider becoming a citizen co-sponsor of the bill as a first step.
Many organizations and people were concerned that partisan strategies to suppress the vote, such as voter challenges, illegal disinformation campaigns and misallocation of voting equipment, would influence the outcome of the 2006 mid-term elections. To counter these schemes, the Democratic Party and a number of groups independently set up hot lines that voters could call and seek help on any problems they experienced the polls.
(Congratulations to Matt, Chris, and Mike--and all that have worked so hard to get this site up and running--I am thrilled to be a little part of your big opening day.)
If events of the last week or so have not convinced congressional Democrats that the ball is in their court, I really can't fathom what will.
Perhaps, to some, at first blush, it doesn't look so sanguine. The President nullified a jury decision in the Libby case. The Bush-packed Supreme Court and the Sixth Circuit assumed the rubberstamping duties previously exercised by the last Republican congressional majority. The White House continues to discount and dismiss congressional inquiries and, now, subpoenas. The Pentagon continues to force-feed American troops into an Iraqi meat grinder while administration officials saber rattle in the direction of Iran. And it has become ever more clear that a vice president who considers himself above the law and outside the Constitution has unparalleled sway over an ignorant, incurious, and un-analytical president.
But look past the Beltway, and you might see something different. Call me a cockeyed optimist, but I see it. . . or at least feel it.
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