Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Conservatives would have you believe that they are the defenders of the Constitution. For many, this is bullshit.

In the days immediately following 9/11, many conservatives were quick to unquestioningly accept Dick Cheney's dark vision of the imperial presidency and the "unitary executive" theory under which neither coequal branch of the government had the power to check the executive branch during times of war. A cowardly Congress quickly abdicated its constitutional prerogatives and duties over war and spending to the president. Article III federal courts suddenly became deferential to overly broad presidential claims of national security and state secrets (with a few notable exceptions for which these judges were savaged by the conservative media). The principle of checks and balances of power between coequal branches of government was dismissed as a "quaint" notion that was outdated.

Civil liberties under the Bill of Rights were shredded by a president who declared that he was the "decider-in-chief" and that he alone could decide who is an "enemy combatant" (including U.S. citizens); order individuals detained indefinitely without charges or speedy trial, without access to legal counsel, the right to confront witnesses or to impeach evidence; subject that individual to repeated torture, and to transfer that individual from the jurisdiction of Article III federal courts by "extraordinary rendition" to disappear into black site Soviet-style Gulag prisons or those of foreign countries. The president ordered an unprecedented data mining spy program which sifts all electronic communications within the United States, including those of U.S. citizens. The USA Patriot Act, approved by a cowardly Congress, permitted "sneak peak" warrantless searches of homes, and national security letters for employment and financial records without presenting any evidence of reasonable cause to a court to obtain a warrant.

When Congress made feeble attempts to check the most egregious of these violations of the Constitution and civil liberties, e.g., torture, the president simply issued signing statements exempting the executive branch from the reach of the law. A cowardly Congress caved in to the executive branch by agreeing to military commissions under a legal process controlled by the executive branch rather than the judicial branch, and exempted telecommunications companies from civil liability for participating in the data mining spy programs and authorized the president's illegal spy program post hoc.

Anyone who objected to these gross violations of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights was savagely attacked by the conservative media as "un-American" and a "traitor" guilty of "treason" against the United States, and of giving aid and comfort to terrorists and America's enemies. Republican members of Congress repeated these slanderous accusations on the floor of the House and Senate to be inserted into the Congressional Record.

Many conservatives defended all of the above abuses, and questioned the loyalty of anyone who dared to object.

On January 20, 2009, conservatives suddenly rediscovered the Constitution and claimed that they were the defenders of the Constitution. Again, bullshit.

President Obama had not yet completed his oath of office before conservative media began asserting that the Constitution was under assault from an illegitimate usurper of "their" entitlement to govern, this socialist/communist/marxist/fascist/nazi/all of the above, and they openly advocated for armed insurrection against the government of the United States. The Governor of the state of Texas openly advocated for the long discredited pre-civil war notions of "nullification" of federal law under the Tenth Amendment and the "right" to secede from the United States.

Many conservatives seek to preserve the dangerous authoritarian precedents established under the Bush-Cheney regime for the next Republican president, in furtherance of Dick Cheney's dark vision of the imperial presidency and the unitary executive theory (in particular, the Cheney family).

So it should come as no surprise to anyone that conservatives are apoplectic over Attorney General Eric Holder's announcement Friday that the United States will begin to return to its Constitutional principles and the rule of law, and will try terrorist suspects in Article III federal courts. Accused 9/11 Mastermind to Face Civilian Trial in N.Y. – NYTimes.com

“New York is not afraid of terrorists,” said Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York. “Any suggestion that our prosecutors and our law enforcement personnel are not up to the task of safely holding and successfully prosecuting terrorists on American soil is insulting and untrue.”

According to a United States Department of Justice press release dated June 9, 2009, entitled "Fact Sheet: Prosecuting and Detaining Terror Suspects in the U.S. Criminal Justice System":

There are currently 216 inmates in Bureau of Prisons (BOP) custody who have a history of/or nexus to international terrorism. Sixty seven of these individuals were extradited to the United States for prosecution, while 149 were not extradited. Seventy two of these individuals are U.S. citizens (45 of them born in the United States, 27 of them naturalized). The "Supermax" facility in Florence, Colo. (ADX Florence), which is BOP’s most secure facility, houses 33 of these international terrorists. There has never been an escape from ADX Florence, and BOP has housed some of these international terrorists since the early 1990s. In addition to the ADX Florence, the BOP houses such individuals in the Communications Management Units at Terre Haute, Ind., and Marion, Ill., as well as in other facilities among different institutions around the country.

Among those convicted international terrorists currently serving sentences in BOP facilities are:

• Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
• Ramzi Yousef, convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
• Ahmed Ressam, the Millenium Bomber
• Wadih el-Hage, convicted of the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa
• Richard Reid, convicted of attempting to ignite a shoe bomb while on a flight from Paris to Miami carrying 184 passengers and 14 crewmembers
• Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, convicted of plotting to assassinate the U.S. President as well as attack and destroy civilian airliners
• Zacarias Moussaoui, convicted of conspiring with al-Qaeda to hijack and crash planes into prominent U.S. buildings as part of the 9/11 attacks

* * *

In addition to those inmates with an international terrorism history or nexus, there are approximately 139 individuals in BOP custody who have a history of/or nexus to domestic terrorism. These individuals include:

• Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber
• Terry Nichols, convicted accomplice of Timothy McVeigh in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing

For those of you who have never seen the inside of a maximum security prison, let alone the "supermax" prison, let me tell you it is a sobering experience. Just catch an episode of Lockup: MSNBC's prison documentary series sometime from the comfort and safety of your living room. These prisoners are a greater threat to one another and to prison personnel than they are to the communities living near the prison. No one has ever escaped from the supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. PolitiFact | No inmate has escaped from federal supermax prison

Senator John McCain issued this statement:

“I am extremely disappointed with the Obama Administration’s decision to try in U.S. civilian courts the Al-Qaeda terrorists who planned, supported, and conducted the September 11th attacks. These terrorists are not common criminals. They are war criminals, who committed acts of war against our citizens and those of dozens of other nations.

“Terrorists who have declared war against our country should be treated as war criminals and tried for their crimes through military tribunals…

“Today’s decision sends a mixed message about America’s resolve in the fight against terrorism. We are at war, and we must bring terrorists to justice in a manner consistent with the horrific acts of war they have committed.”

Senator Jon Kyl issued this statement:

“It’s an unnecessary risk to bring the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9-11 attacks to downtown Manhattan.

“Past trials of terrorists have proven that our civilian courts are not the appropriate venue to handle international terrorism trials. As a result of the trial of Omar Abdel Rahman, also known as the ‘Blind Sheik,’ al Qaeda obtained valuable information about U.S. intelligence sources and methods, thereby making the job of fighting terrorists tougher. Military tribunals – which have been used by Presidents dating back to George Washington – are the most appropriate, and secure, forum to try those who commit acts of war against the United States.

“It is a constant amazement to me that there are some who seem more concerned about extending legal protections to terrorists than security protection to Americans.”

It is important to keep in mind that our senators actively supported every abuse of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights by the Bush-Cheney regime outlined in the introductory section above (John McCain's vacillation on objecting to torture notwithstanding). What both of our senators are saying in essence is that they have no faith in our Constitution, the rule of law, our federal judiciary or our justice system. They want terrorist suspects subjected to extra-judicial rules that will guarantee their conviction, perpetual detention or summary execution.