Lot’s of people have ideas on what issues the Democrats should focus on when they assume control of Congress next January. For some, it’s investigations of the myriad of scandals propagated by this administration. For others, it’s a move to govern from the “vital, dynamic center” (whatever that means) and a return to bipartisanship (which I assume means agreeing to do something George Bush and the Republicans want done). For Speaker-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi, it’s her plan for the Democrats’ first 100 hours in power.
Well, those are other people’s priorities for the Democrats. Here are mine:
Ban Torture. No President, ever, gets to decide what conduct does and does not satisfy the terms of the Geneva Conventions. Period. End of story.
Restore the Writ of Habeas Corpus. The Constitution allows for the temporary suspension of habeas corpus only in times of invasion or insurrection. I think that gets it right, don’t you? No one holding the office of the President should be entitled to eliminate that right under any other circumstances. Period. End of story.
Provide a fair trial and independent counsel to everyone “detained” by the Government, for whatever reason. We had a revolution once to ensure these rights for everyone. And to make certain no government would ever hold someone for an indefinite time without providing them a fair trial, these rights were specifically added to the Constitution by the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. If the people who wrote and ratified our Constitution thought such rights were a necessary limitation on government powere, it should be good enough for us today. Period. End of Story.
Stop Government Spying on Americans Without a Warrant. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution (part of the original Bill of Rights) states that:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
I thinks that’s pretty straightforward, don’t you? You want to listen in to my telephone conversations, or raffle through my email messages, or just follow me around to see what sites on the internet I go to, get a warrant from a COURT OF LAW. And no avoiding this responsibility by hiring some private company to invade my privacy and then sell you the data they collected. Period. End of Story.
It’s a short list, so it should be pretty easy to accomplish. And its even a bipartisan agenda. And if you need a slogan to sell it to the public, try this one: “The Preserving America’s Freedoms Act of 2006.” That ought to do the trick, and it has the added benefit of being truthful, too.
