The Republicans successfully filibustered Joe Biden’s attempt to restore habeas corpus, the only protection against wrongful imprisonment or indefinite imprisonment without charge, to "enemy combatants." Keep in mind that Our Dear Leader has proclaimed his power to declare an American citizen (that would be you, dear reader) an "enemy combatant" and detain you indefinitely if he wants to (just like happened to Jose Padilla and his ever-changing criminal charges).
You have to trust that your government, the folks who brought you the FEMA response to Katrina, will never make a mistake, because there is no addressing of mistakes without habeas corpus. You also have to trust that your government, and your president, will never abuse this power. If, say, a bug falls into a printer somewhere and the wrong name gets printed, you could end up rotting in a brig for the rest of your life, tortured, wrongfully charged, given no access to lawyers or ability to contest your charges in a court of law. Maybe they’ll at least let you write a little thank you note to your favorite Republican congressman.
I used to say, "Yes, it can happen here." I think it’s time to say, "It has happened here." Since conservatives generally are all for preserving the institutions of democracy, one must wonder what on earth they think they’re conserving here.
Here’s most of Sen. Biden’s statement:
“Habeas corpus was conceived to prevent someone from being locked up illegally, with no chance to contest his/her imprisonment. It is not a get out of jail free card. And it will not result in the release of dangerous terrorists,” said Senator Biden. “As I’ve said before, the terrorists win when we abandon our civil liberties. The way we win is to show them that we can fight this war without changing our character as a nation. I hope the Senate reconsiders this issue once again.”
In 2006, Congress severely curtailed habeas review for detainees when it passed the Military Commission Act. Senator Biden fought against the provisions in the Military Commission Act that deprived detainees of habeas corpus and has been a strong proponent of measures to restore habeas corpus to detainees, especially in the years since 9/11.
Today’s amendment would have made clear that all detained terrorism suspects held by the United States could invoke habeas corpus to challenge their classification as an unlawful enemy combatant and their conviction by a military commission of a war crime.
“The position urged by the Administration, that we must choose between Constitutional rights and fighting terrorism effectively, is simply wrong. Our strength as a nation, and our status as a world leader, is based in part on the fact that Americans do not choose between national security and liberty; we demand both,” said Sen. Biden.
