DEEDS, NOT WORDS….As near as I can tell, virtually every commentator agrees that George Bush’s decision yesterday to release 14 prisoners from CIA prisons and transfer them to Guantanamo was timed for political reasons. As Ronald Brownstein points out, he’s hoping to recreate the great Department of Homeland Security triumph of 2002, where he deliberately inserted into the bill some union-busting features Democrats would object to so that he could then go out on the campaign trail and claim that Democrats were “more interested in special interests in Washington and not interested in the security of the American people.”
Well, that’s an old trick, and who can blame Bush for trying it again? He doesn’t have many other arrows left in his quiver, after all. But I hope Democrats don’t get suckered this time around. How about just saying this?
In America you have the right to decent treatment and a fair trial, no matter who you are. We’ll be working closely with Republicans to craft a bill that shows the world we really mean it when we say this.
Why should Dems say this? Because it’s what they actually believe. Right? Please tell me I’m right.
