Michael Arcuri made a big mistake when he endorsed the Military Commissions Act, a piece of legislation favored by George W. Bush and right wing Republicans. This new law legalizes torture. It repeals the Geneva Conventions, repeals the right to habeas corpus, gives George W. Bush the power right to imprison anyone he wants to without a trial or criminal charges, merely by officially designating a person an “enemy”. It gives amnesty to war criminals. It sets up kangaroo courts that railroad defendants through to conviction without a fair trial.
Michael Arcuri Made a Mistake Audio Podcast.
Don’t believe me? Maybe you’ll believe Senator Russ Feingold from Wisconsin. He said, “The trials conducted under this legislation will send a very different signal to the world, one that I fear will put our own troops and personnel in jeopardy both now and in future conflicts. To take just a few examples, this legislation would permit an individual to be convicted on the basis of coerced testimony and hearsay, would not allow full judicial review of the conviction, and yet would allow someone convicted under these rules to be put to death. That is simply unacceptable. We would not stand for another country to try our citizens under those rules, and we should not stand for our own government to do so, either.
Not only that, this legislation would deny detainees at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere — people who have been held for years but have not been tried or even charged with any crime — the ability to challenge their detention in court. Among its many flaws, this is the most troubling—that the legislation seeks to suspend the Great Writ of habeas corpus.”
Michael Arcuri admits that he supported the Military Commissions Act even though he never actually read the bill himself. Someone told Michael Arcuri that it would be a good idea to support the law, and he went along with it.
I have a simple standard, as a Democrat in the congressional district that Michael Arcuri wants to represent. It’s a moral standard. I cannot support any politician who supports the Military Commissions Act. In fact, I believe that I have hte moral obligation to oppose any politician who supports the Military Commissions Act. For that reason, I must oppose the campaign of Michael Arcuri.
Michael Arcuri has abandoned the mainstream of the Democratic Party, and he has thrown his lot in with George W. Bush and the most radical of the Republican Party. I don’t want it to be this way, but how can I trust Mike Arcuri, so long as he supports a law like the Military Commissions Act? What other horrific laws to give more power to President Bush would Arcuri support if he were in Congress?
Michael Arcuri can do one simple thing to prove that he is worthy of trust. He can admit that he was wrong to support the Military Commissions Act.
Every sane Democrat can agree that Michael Arcuri made a big mistake the day when he supported President Bush’s power grab. Now, it’s time for Michael Arcuri to acknowledge his mistake.
If Michael Arcuri will make a prominent public declaration that he no longer supports the Military Commissions Act, I will drop my opposition to his campaign.
That shouldn’t be hard – unless, like George W. Bush, Michael Arcuri is the kind of politician who can never admit it when he makes a mistake.
