GOP Seeks To Take Advantage Of Hamdan Ruling

Posted on July 1, 2006

Interesting…the GOP are trying to take the lemon delivered in the Hamdan case and turn it into lemonade.

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.

Mindful of this thinking, Democrats were measured in their comments about how to respond to the ruling, which held that Bush’s policy was not authorized by law and violated the Geneva Conventions.

Brendan Daly, Pelosi’s spokesman, said Democrats “want to work with” the administration in fashioning new rules for terrorism suspects, and he dismissed Boehner’s comments as a sign of desperation. “[Bush] is not a king — he has to follow the law,” Daly said. “That’s all we’re saying.”

The question boils down to whether or not terrorists should be afforded the same rights under the Geneva Conventions that are afforded to those that actually follow the rules of the Geneva Convention. While some seem to think that the rules should apply across the board, common sense tells us that the other side doesn’t play by the rules. It is my opinon, and one shared by many, that if you don’t play by the rules then the rules shouldn’t apply to you. It would only cause a burden and an unneeded spectacle to try these terror suspects in American courts. Our courts are not built to deal with these kinds of trials.

The GOP’s decision to take advantage of the opportunity left open by the Supreme Court is an interesting turn of events. It will bring about a debate that Americans need. If the democrats are so confident that terrorists should be tried in American courts instead of military tribunals, this will provide them with the opportunity to stand by those convictions and make their case. I don’t see any reason democrats should complain about this. If they believe terrorists should be tried in military tribunals then they get to go on record saying so, if they believe differently they can also say so. The only reason this would be a disadvantage for the democrats is if they can’t stand on their true convictions. Perhaps that is the case?

» Filed Under ACLU, News, War On Terror

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3 Responses to “GOP Seeks To Take Advantage Of Hamdan Ruling”

The Thinking Man on July 1st, 2006 12:21 pm

Common sense tells us? Or does a desire for retribution regardless of whom we hurt and what the consecenses are… tell us?

And by saying “if you don’t play by the rules the rules shouldn’t apply to you.” Are you suggesting that this applies to us too? Since we aren’t playing by the rules? We’re not obeying the Geneva Convention rules established… so are you suggesting that this means that our enemy is justified in torturing our soliders?

And really… what do you mean “our courts are not built to deal with these kinds of trials.”… … What? I’m really not sure what to say. That’s just… ignorant.
gfactor on July 1st, 2006 1:08 pm

“Interesting…the GOP are trying to take the lemon delivered in the Hamdan case and turn it into lemonade.”

Shocking. The war on terror used for partisan purposes?
kerwin_brown on July 2nd, 2006 5:43 am

Treaties are contracts. If you do not enter into a contract with someone then neither you or they are bound by that contract. If someone violates a contract then it allows you out of that contract. Since Congress has the power to declare war they also have the power to get out of a treaty any time they want. We the people have the duty to hold them accountable. That is why the United States is supposed to be a Republic and not an Oligarchy ruled by a council of nine non-elected despots.
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