It is a time of fear in the face of freedom, a time for the widening of previous roads and the opening of new paths, a time of an emptying country and swelling cities, yet a time when these paths are mined by knowing algorithms of the all-seeing eye. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.
 | Senator Susan Collins is too Extreme to Support Even Weak Habeas Corpus |
Let’s be clear about something: Senate Amendment 2022 — the Amendment voted down by all but 6 Republican Senators and voted for by every single Democratic Senator yesterday (remember, Joseph Lieberman is no longer a Democrat) — was hardly a robust reinstatement of habeas corpus rights in America. Read the amendment:
At the end of subtitle E of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1070. RESTORATION OF HABEAS CORPUS FOR THOSE DETAINED BY THE UNITED STATES.
(a) In General.–Section 2241 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (e).
(b) Title 10.–Section 950j of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
“(b) Limited Review of Military Commission Procedures and Actions.–Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or in section 2241 of title 28 or any other habeas corpus provision, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, no court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider any claim or cause of action whatsoever, including any action pending on or filed after the date of the enactment of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, relating to the prosecution, trial, or judgment of a military commission under this chapter, including challenges to the lawfulness of procedures of military commissions under this chapter.”.
(c) Effective Date and Applicability.–The amendments made by this section shall–
(1) take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; and
(2) apply to any case that is pending on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
The Military Commissions Act removed the policy of indefinite detention by the United States from any sort of review by the federal courts as part of a general strategy by the Republican Party to gut the power of the judiciary to maintain constitutional standards in America. Amendment 2022 doesn’t reverse this move in any regard but in that pertaining to individual habeas corpus petitions. The right of Habeas Corpus is important — it allows someone detained by the government to have a judge determine whether the government’s decision to detain is legitimate — but it’s not the only problem with the system of indefinite detention and military commission put in place in the United States today. Amendment 2022 continues to insist that the federal courts cannot review the constitutionality of the military commission and indefinite detention system. It is the weakest possible reform, only allowing courts to judge individual cases and not to consider the justice of the whole enterprise.
Senator Susan Collins of Maine voted against this, the most tepid restoration of Habeas Corpus rights possible. Senator Collins likes to refer to herself as a moderate Republican. But opposition to even the mildest Habeas Corpus restoration is not moderate. It’s extreme.
Senator Susan Collins is up for re-election in 2008. The people of Maine need to decide whether an extreme anti-Constitutionalist like Susan Collins fits their vision of a just America.
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