Wow! More Than 80 Gitmo Lawyers Endorse Obama!

[MannyGoldstein]

"More than 80 volunteer lawyers for Guantanamo Bay detainees today endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama's presidential bid.

The attorneys said in a joint statement that they believed Obama was the best choice to roll back the Bush-Cheney administration's detention policies in the war on terrorism and thereby to "restore the rule of law, demonstrate our commitment to human rights, and repair our reputation in the world community." The attorneys are representing the detainees in habeas corpus lawsuits, which are efforts to get individual hearings before federal judges in order to challenge the basis for their indefinite imprisonment without trial.

The attorneys praised Obama for being a leader in an unsuccessful fight in the fall of 2006 to block Congress from enacting a law stripping courts of jurisdiction to hear Guantanamo detainee lawsuits. The constitutionality of that law, which was part of the Military Commissions Act, is now being challenged before the Supreme Court in one of the most closely-watched cases this term.

"When we were walking the halls of the Capitol trying to win over enough Senators to beat back the Administration's bill, Senator Obama made his key staffers and even his offices available to help us," they wrote. "Senator Obama worked with us to count the votes, and he personally lobbied colleagues who worried about the political ramifications of voting to preserve habeas corpus for the men held at Guantanamo. He has understood that our strength as a nation stems from our commitment to our core values, and that we are strong enough to protect both our security and those values. Senator Obama demonstrated real leadership then and since, continuing to raise Guantanamo and habeas corpus in his speeches and in the debates."

From Boston.com: http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/01/lawyers_for_git.html

via Blue Mass Group: http://www.bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10308

[usregimechange]

1. I am not surprised

[readmoreoften]

2. Wow, the first real reason I've seen to vote for Obama since the primary began.

I'll look into this. Thanks for posting.

[gateley]

3. THAT'S an endorsement that has meaning. nt

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

4. well deserved

[AtomicKitten]

5. They understand his roots in constitutional law and civil rights.

I'm very proud to have their endorsement. Obama has pledged to close Gitmo, stop torture and rendition, and restore habeas corpus.

[ursi]

6. When I saw Obama in Reno last year, the stuff he talked about related our Constitution blew me away

This is a great endorsement!

[izzybeans]

7. I'm expecting a thread about how these lawyers are lynching

Senator Clinton any moment.

[newmajority]

8. It's worse than that

I heard one of the lawyers once accidentally sat in the same movie theater as Donny McClurkin. :scared:

[izzybeans]

9. And Obama showed up to vote present.

Then left to photoshop a picture of Rezco and the Clintons in his Indonesian madrassa.

Let's stay focused on the issues people.

Seriously, this endorsement is the most important one for me at the moment.

[bicentennial_baby]

10. And one is my former professor!!

Buz Eisenberg!! w00t!

I <3 Buz. :)

[magatte]

12. Obama is a brilliant constitutional law scholar, he will KNOW how to protect us.

That's important.

[NYCGirl]

11. That is a remarkable endorsement. NT

[bagimin]

13. What the hell kind of credibility would

80 Gitmo lawyers have?? you obama people and your Gitmo Lawyers.
signed,
ben david




(ah ha! I beat him to it)