What's a bigger national embarrassment

After his most recent display of malignant partisanship and disregard for our country’s security, people in the rest of the country are no doubt wondering, as one writer here speculated yesterday, whether Illinois Senator Dick Durbin has lost his mind.

If you missed the senator’s latest, his speech our treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo on June 14, 2005 on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

Let’s just call it the “Pol Pot or Rice Pilaf—it’s all the same” speech, or even better, the “U.S. Military Are As Bad As Nazis” speech. There they go again, supporting our troops.

Some may be so shocked by the Senator’s remarks that they will speculate about his motives. Is he trying to take the heat off of Howard Dean, or trying to appeal to the same moonbats in his party that greet Dean’s insane ravings with “You go, Howard!”?

No, wait, that is the Democratic Party today, the perfunctory statements by certain members of Congress notwithstanding. Those who search for the reasons behind such despicable remarks are unfamiliar with the Senator’s long and shameful record. Since it includes enthusiastic and vocal support for the George-Soros funded MoveOn.org, are the Nazi comparisons to American troops really a surprise?

In January, 2004, after CBS refused to sell MoveOn.org an ad on the Super Bowl, Durbin made a speech on the floor of the Senate denouncing this supposed crime against freedom of speech.

Flash forward to March 16, 2005, when the senior Senator from Illinois literally became a cheerleader for this left-wing outfit, ending a speech with a spirited “Right on, Move on!”

We here in Illinois are used to Senator Durbin making a total fool of himself, although I must admit that his latest leaves even those of us all too familiar with his embarrassing antics stunned, horrified and humiliated once again at the thought of being represented by this pathetic leftist hack. My listeners and I call Senator Durbin “Eddie Haskell” for his nauseatingly avuncular, soft-spoken demeanor, his constant sighing expressions of sadness over the dishonesty of Republicans, and his obviously phony earnestness. He does the fake sincerity thing almost as well as Diane Sawyer.

Senator Durbin hopes this act will mask his extremist left wing views and distract from his equally appalling voting record. Just to give you an idea of what I mean, in 2000, his ADA (Americans for Democratic Action, the gold standard for liberalism) was a 95. Just to put that in perspective, Barbara Boxer got an 85. Ted Kennedy got a 90.

I hesitate to do what I am about to do because most of us here in the Land of Lincoln are already mortified, but so the rest of the country can appreciate what a disgrace Sen. Durbin has been for sometime, let’s recall some of the other episodes in Sen. Durbin’s career:

Durbin claims the White House is out to get him In another episode of an on-going series that could be called “Democrats and Their Imaginary Friends,” Durbin claims that an anonymous White House staffer is attempting to spread rumors that some of his Senate colleagues want him removed from the Intelligence Committee because of his criticism the war in Iraq in general and that 16 words about Niger in the 2003 State of the Union speech in particular. Once again, Durbin is “sad” that evil Republicans are persecuting not only him, but that other radiant jewel of ignorance Joseph Wilson. (“Durbin Fights Leak Allegation,” The Hill, July 23, 2003)

Durbin Revealed to be a sock puppet for NARAL and People for the American Way, Demands to Know Who Let This Get Out Late in 2003, we got confirmation, in the form of internal memoranda from extreme left-wing groups committed to undo the results of the presidential election, of what we knew all along: Durbin’s claims to opposing judicial nominees like Janice Rogers Brown and Miguel Estrada out of legitimate concerns about “merit” and “judicial temperament” were baloney. He takes his marching orders from Ralph Neas and Kate Michelman. He and his leftist colleagues were determined to attempt to unilaterally amend the Constitution, or blow their collective noses on it, if necessary, to keep judges off the bench who will refuse to impose liberalism on the American people.

When these memos were discovered, rather than address the fact that he is a toady for these groups, Durbin went into outrage mode and demanded to know how this information was revealed. Since we are so fond of Nazi comparisons these days, here’s one: I suppose that if Durbin’s name had been found on a list of administrators at Dachau, he’d suggest that the fact that he marched people into ovens didn’t matter. What mattered was how that list got leaked.

Oh, and since we are so enamored of apologies these days, except for Sen. Durbin, who has said he won’t apologize for his slander of our brave military, perhaps he might consider an apology to Miguel Estrada, not for the racist remark in the November, 2001 memo which described Mr. Estrada as “especially dangerous” because “he is Latino,” but for wasting several years of his life.

Durbin, while railing against those fighting the war on terror, admits on national television that he does not know what he would have done to prevent 9/11. On his “Hardball” show on MSNBC on January 6, 2005, Chris Matthews asks Dick Durbin about his policy on torture in the context of questioning terrorist prisoners. Here’s the question:

“Well, let me give you an example close to home. We picked up Moussaoui, who many people believe was the 20th hijacker. We picked him up before 9/11. If you had been there, the commander on the spot, and you knew that this character knew that something was coming really bad, would you have turned the thumbscrews on him?”

And what does Mr. Accountabilty say? The guy who condemns every action by the adminstration to fight the war on terror? He must have a better idea, right? Not exactly. He replies:

What?! You don’t know what you would have done?! But feel free, Senator, to criticize those who are responsible for making the tough decisions. Isn't it nice to have the luxury of sitting back to point fingers at dedicated public servants, self-righteously pound the table demanding that our evil government respect the civil rights of our enemies, and wallow in narcissistic conspiracy theories in which one is the ultimate victim (see above). I am reminded of the memorable quip by the late Susan Sontag:

"I actually envy paranoids. They actually feel people are paying attention to them."

I’m leaving out some other ridiculous stunts, like his recent self-righteous, and easily disproven, denial of religious prejudice against Bill Pryor to his call to investigate Jeff Gannon, but I think the reader can now understand why the only way that the Senator could shock his constituents would be to announce that he has decided to reverse his long-standing procedure and begin to actually honor his oath to uphold the Constitution. What many of us don’t understand, and find very discouraging, Is our junior senator Obama’s statement during that famous Democrat convention speech,

Oh, I don’t think so, Senator Obama. In fact, since Dick Durbin will not apologize for his treasonous remarks, perhaps we in Illinois should apologize for Dick Durbin.

"On one occasion, the air conditioning had been turned down so far and the temperature was so cold in the room, that the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold. ..... On another occasion, the [air conditioner] had been turned off, making the temperature in the unventilated room well over 100 degrees. The detainee was almost unconscious on the floor, with a pile of hair next to him. He had apparently been literally pulling his hair out throughout the night. On another occasion, not only was the temperature unbearably hot, but extremely loud rap music was being played in the room, and had been since the day before, with the detainee chained hand and foot in the fetal position on the tile floor. If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime--Pol Pot or others--that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners. (2005; Supporting the Troops) "

From Aljazeer.Net

US senator stands by Nazi remark

Thursday 16 June 2005, 21:38 Makka Time, 18:38 GMT

The US holds about 520 detainees at Guantanamo Bay

Related:
Cheney defends Guantanamo prison
US lawmakers split over Camp Delta
Guantanamo closure not ruled out
US rejects calls to shut Guantanamo
US senator: Shut down Guantanamo

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A US senator has refused to apologise for comparing the actions of US soldiers at Guantanamo Bay to those of Nazis, while others have decried or defended the mandate and method used to hold prisoners there.

US Senator Dick Durbin on Wednesday refused to apologise for comments he made on the Senate floor referring to Nazis, Soviet gulags and a "mad regime" like Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

Illinois Republican party chairman Andy McKenna had demanded he apologise.

"Senator Durbin's comments come as a great disservice to our military personnel in Guantanamo," he said.

"They are also a great disservice to all US soldiers and veterans who have fought, and continue to fight, to overcome evil regimes and spread democracy around the world."

Durbin did not plan to apologise for the comments, spokesman Joe Shoemaker said.

"This administration should apologise to the American people for abandoning the Geneva Conventions and authorising torture techniques that put our troops at risk and make Americans less secure," Durbin had said in a statement on Wednesday evening.

Attack

During a speech on Tuesday, Durbin, the Senate's number two Democrat, quoted from an FBI agent's report describing detainees at the naval base in Cuba as being chained to the floor without food or water in extreme temperatures.

"You would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that had no concern for human beings"

US Senator Dick Durbin

"If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that had no concern for human beings."

Durbin is not alone in his criticism.

Human-rights groups have long accused the administration of unjustly detaining suspects at the prison camp. Amnesty International last month called the detention centre the "gulag of our times".

Rebuttal

President George Bush and other administration officials, however, have strongly resisted such comparisons and questioned Amnesty's objectivity.

"It's difficult to explain to a mom and dad who's lost their son or daughter how you can have someone in Guantanamo Bay, release them and then they kill your son and daughter"

Alberto Gonzales,
US attorney-general

"I take strong exception to any characterisations that try to
diminish what our military is doing and the standards and values that they adhere to," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

The Bush administration calls the Guantanamo prisoners enemy combatants who are entitled to fewer legal protections than those afforded to prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.

Defence

According to US Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales on Wednesday, the US government often considers whether it would be better to stop detaining prisoners at Guantanamo.

Gonzales (L) has defended the
right to hold enemy combatants

"That's a question that is evaluated, I would say, quite often," he said in Sheffield, England, where he will attend a meeting of G8 interior ministers on Thursday and Friday.

On Wednesday, he had said "there will of course be an end", but did not specify when.

He also pointed out that about a dozen of those who had been released had returned to fight against the US.

"It's difficult to explain to a mom and dad who's lost their son or daughter how you can have someone in Guantanamo Bay, release them and then they kill your son and daughter," he said.

Since the camp was set up after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US, 167 detainees have been freed and 67 others released to the custody of their home governments.

About 520 detainees from about 40 countries remain at Guantanamo. Only 12 have been handed over to military commissions for investigation of possible war crimes and four have been charged.

Debate

In a three-hour hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, legal experts from the US military and the Justice Department said the US had a right under the Geneva Conventions to hold enemy combatants.

But committee chairman Senator Arlen Specter suggested lawmakers would have to clarify what he called a "crazy quilt" of laws and regulations governing the detentions.

Some lawmakers want the facility closed, saying it has become a liability that inflames Muslims against the United States.

"Guantanamo is an international embarrassment to our nation, to our ideals and it remains a festering threat to our security," Senator Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said.

Survey

A Pew Research Centre poll, taken over the weekend, indicated most Americans agree that reports of abuse at Guantanamo are isolated incidents, and 39% think the news media is paying too much attention to the issue.

The poll found a sharp partisan divide on the issue - Democrats believing the abuses to be systemic and Republicans saying they were isolated incidents.

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