Mc****: Supreme Court Ruling on Gitmo "one of the worst decisions in the history of this country"

[Dharmacrat]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080613/pl_nm/usa_politics_mccain_guantanamo_dc_1

PEMBERTON, New Jersey (Reuters) - John McCain on Friday lambasted the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to grant greater rights to prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, aligning himself with George W. Bush at a time when the unpopular president is seen as a political liability to his would-be Republican successor.

McCain, the Arizona senator who has wrapped up his party's White House nomination, has sought to distance himself from Bush, highlighting their differences on climate change policy and the administration's initial handling of the Iraq war.

But both men essentially condemned the top court's ruling on Thursday allowing Guantanamo Bay prisoners, who now number about 270, to go before U.S. federal judges to challenge their years-long detention.

Bush said he disagreed with it, and McCain -- sharpening his original reaction -- said it would make U.S. citizens and military personnel less safe.

"The United States Supreme Court yesterday rendered a decision which I think is one of the worst decisions in the history of this country," McCain said to applause from a crowd of supporters in New Jersey.

"Our first obligation is the safety and security of this nation and the men and women who defend it," he continued. "This decision will harm our ability to do that."

The court ruled that the detainees, some of whom have been held for six years, had rights under habeas corpus, a long-standing legal principle by which people can challenge their imprisonment. The 5-4 decision, welcomed by human rights groups, was seen as a setback to Bush's war on terrorism.

McCain said the prisoners did not deserve the legal protection afforded to U.S. citizens.

"These are enemy combatants. These are people who are not citizens. They do not and never have been given the rights that citizens of this country have," he said.

McCain highlighted Democratic rival Barack Obama's support for the decision and, acknowledging the likelihood that the next president may appoint new justices to the court, knocked the Illinois senator for not supporting Chief Justice John Roberts at his confirmation hearings.

"Senator Obama applauds this decision and he supports it. I argue against it and will do what I can to at least narrow down some of the wide-open aspects of this Supreme Court decision," he said.

[indepat]

1. Our first obligation is to preserve and protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,

not tear it asunder, you twit! :D

[Dharmacrat]

2. he truly is the king of the ass-hats

[RC]

3. That's ok, I read it as McCain anyway before I clicked on it.

[Dharmacrat]

7. that proves it, it's a keeper! - Not!

[dailykoff]

4. I thought he didn't like torture?

Guess you can get to like anything. :shrug:

[Raineyb]

15. I guess he only hates torture

when it happens to him.

He really ought to know better but since he seems to have the brains of an amoeba I guess that would be expecting too much.

Regards

[G_j]

22. when it happens to him.

well put, that seems to be the case...

[MaineDem]

5. Yes, it's offensive.

I suggest you read the rules or change your title before it's removed.

[Dharmacrat]

9. Done, I change it to **** that way, we can fill in the blanks depending on our mood....

...mine, after I read his comments... is not so good.

[City Lights]

6. I suggest you edit your thread title to remove the offensive spelling

of McCain's name.

[Kolesar]

8. yeah. we are better than that

[Dharmacrat]

11. done.... he is suuuuuuch a little weasle, I couldn't help myself

[City Lights]

12. I've got a few choice words for him, but thanks for editing.

:hi:

[dailykoff]

10. No doubt he'll sponsor more detainee "legislation"

to get around the ruling just like he did last time. :mad:

[TexasObserver]

13. this is what happens when one party completely abandons the constitution

The GOP is the Fascist Party now.

[mikehiggins]

14. I finally have to agree--the GOPukes are fascists n/t

[ladjf]

18. Republicanism is a cult of greed, stupidity and death.

[moriah]

16. And he wants justices who will be "strict constitutionalists"....

Here's a few things from the Constitution.

"The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."

The 6th Amendment:

"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."

It says in ALL criminal prosecutions. Not just prosecutions of citizens.

The "enemy combatants" are not a Rebellion or an Invasion.

McCain is showing that he would be very happy for the Supreme Court to "legislate from the bench" when it suits him.

Not only that, but he's essentially saying that, as a former POW himself, that he doesn't think he should have had the right to contest his captivity when he was in the Hanoi Hilton, that it was right for them to hold him without a trial.

Hypocrite.

[OwnedByFerrets]

20. ...

"Not only that, but he's essentially saying that, as a former POW himself, that he doesn't think he should have had the right to contest his captivity when he was in the Hanoi Hilton, that it was right for them to hold him without a trial."

AND FOR FOREVER.

[ladjf]

17. That statement alone should be enough to doom McCain's

run for the Presidency. It shows ,beyond a shadow of a doubt. that he is in the company of thugs
like Anthony Scalia and is unqualified to serve as President of the U.S.

[OwnedByFerrets]

19. No, McAsswipe......

you are just proving what a fucking moron you are. The first obligation is to the law and the constitution. You fucking jerk. I will be dancing in the streets the nite you are defeated soundly.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

21. It is both infuriating and depressing

to realize that anyone, let alone a candidate for the Presidency, could possibly believe that it's OK for anyone -- no matter what crimes they are suspected of committing -- to be imprisoned indefinitely without even the right to know the charges and the evidence against them, let alone a lawyer and a fair trial.

How in the world does affording the Gitmo detainees the basic protections of habeas corpus endanger anybody? It won't set them free; it doesn't guarantee an acquittal; it just means they get to know what they're accused of. Why are the wingnuts so afraid of a process that has existed in our legal tradition for eight hundred years? It just proves how truly medieval, in the literal sense, these idiots are. They had habeas corpus in 1215, fercripessake!