GOP opposes "basic principle of Western civilization" (again)
The GOP has refused to let habeas corpus (stripped away by them in last year’s Military Commissions Act) be restored; in fact, they won’t even let it come up for a vote. Here’s commentary from Steve Benen at Carpetbagger Report:
A year after lawmakers abandoned American principles on the rule of law and stripped detainees of their right to challenge their detentions in court, the Senate today turned back an effort to return some sanity to our rule of law. A bipartisan majority supported restoring habeas corpus, but Republican obstructionism wouldn’t allow a vote.[…]
…every Democrat in the Senate supported restoring habeas, including conservative Dems from red states who are up for re-election. There is a patriotic party that’s still willing to stand up for American principles; it’s called the Democratic Party.
Second, six Senate Republicans had the decency to break party ranks on the issue: Sens. Snowe (Maine), Sununu (N.H.), Specter (Pa.), Hagel (Neb.), Lugar (Ind.), and Smith (Ore.).
And third, Joe Lieberman supported the Republican filibuster and voted with the GOP. What a disgrace.
Keep in mind, this was just the vote to allow a vote. It’s one thing for conservatives to oppose habeas corpus, but these guys wouldn’t even allow an up-or-down vote on a basic principle of Western Civilization.
Indeed, it’s horrifying to think that supporting habeas is suddenly “old school” — as in Magna Carta in 1215 old school.
But that’s where we’ve come, thanks to the radicalization of today’s Republican Party.
This vote, while not unexpected, is simply appalling.
update (9/20 @ 9:41am):
Kevin Drum points out at Washington Monthly that this level of Senate obstructionism is unprecedented, despite the media’s reluctance to give any context to the votes:
Republicans aren't just obstructing legislation at normal rates. They're obstructing legislation at three times the usual rate. They're absolutely desperate to keep this stuff off the president's desk, where the only choice is to either sign it or else take the blame for a high-profile veto.As things stand, though, Republicans will largely avoid blame for their tactics. […] You have to read [the news] with a gimlet eye to figure out how the vote actually broke down, and casual readers will come away thinking that the bills failed because of some kind of generic Washington gridlock, not GOP obstructionism. […] Would it really be so hard for reporters to make it clear exactly who's responsible for blocking these bills?