Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Rand Paul versus John McCain on the Terrorist Detainee Amendment

Senator Rand Paul has come out swinging against the bill that would define the whole of the United States as a “battlefield” and allow the U.S. Military to arrest American citizens in their own back yard without charge or trial.

Rand and John McCain battled on the Senate floor today over a proposed amendment to the pending defense authorization bill.

Rand argued the amendment, which is cosponsored by McCain, "puts every single American citizen at risk" and suggested that if the amendment passes, "the terrorists have won."

“Should we err today and remove some of the most important checks on state power in the name of fighting terrorism, well then the terrorists have won," he argued, "[D]etaining American citizens without a court trial is not American."

McCain responded by saying that
An individual, no matter who they are, if they pose a threat to the security of the United States of America, should not be allowed to continue that threat. We need to take every stop necessary to prevent that from happening, that’s for the safety and security of the men and women who are out there risking their lives ... in our armed services.
The amendment would technically allow the executive branch discretion on whether a terrorism suspect ought to be tried in civilian courts or the military tribunal system and would allow and arrest without charge.

18 comments:

  1. I think Rand is just the optometrist John McCain needs. Chipmunk Cheeks just can't see what he's doing to the good old US of A.

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  2. "An individual, no matter who they are, if they pose a threat to the security of the United States of America, should not be allowed to continue that threat. We need to take every stop necessary to prevent that from happening, that’s for the safety and security of the men and women who are out there risking their lives ... in our armed services."

    A rather bizarre argument if you break it down. It seems he's asking American civilians to throw their civil liberties out the window in order to protect the troops--those who are actually paid to [putatively] risk their lives to protect the civilians.

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  3. > An individual, no matter who they are, if they pose a threat to the security of the United States of America, should not be allowed to continue that threat.

    The man would happily and heartily dismantle every check and balance put in place to defend the republic from men just like him.

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  4. EPJ seems to be the only site concerned with this issue.We are a country of fat sheep and have been grazing too long.

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  5. Chris,
    Well, actually he's an ophthalmologist (M.D.).
    But your point is taken! :)

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  6. No John, its's not about the troops, its about your mates in the military-industrial complex raising the spectre "of sharia law and a-rabs'

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  7. If McCain hadn't been born just a few years before Hitler died, I'd swear he was Hitler's reincarnation. That is one evil mofo.

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  8. McCain is a terrorist.
    Obviously.

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  9. Listen to McCain's insane argument about anyone that presents a threat. Who or what group of angels does he think gets to make that determination? How about a room full of hard line left wingers in a future populist administration? Does he not realize that if the left takes complete control of congress and the executive branch again that and the Tea Party does what they did in 2009 and 2010 that they could be deemed a threat? For left wingers, do they not understand that OWS could be deemed a threat if right wingers get control? You have to be a complete mental midget afraid of your own shadow to support this.

    Its this kind of crap that encourages terrorists by showing them that the US is so afraid of their abilities that it is willing to take the rights of its people away in the name of security. This bill and legislation like it, will do more to further the cause of terrorists then an actual event of terror.

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  10. This website has become filled with tin hatters.

    This is to combat the enemy, the terrorist, which hapoen to be in some cases american citizens. Its clear this bill is to protect the americans not involved in terrorism and not to harm them. Preventative warfare is nesseccary during these times.

    If we need a few detentions camps on american soil, more tsa or military checkpoints, and hopefully recon drones occupying american skies to make us safer, its something that needs to be done.


    How many more underwear bombers do we need to have before you people wake up?

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  11. Section 1031 in part reads:

    (1) UNITED STATES CITIZENS- The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States.

    Doesn't this protect U.S. Citizens?

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  12. Who watches the watchmen?

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  13. Anonymous@ 5:17 PM,

    You may go back to sleep now....

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  14. 5:17 sounds alot like the commenter "Dan from ct" at Tom Woods' blog:

    http://www.tomwoods.com/blog/sen-rand-paul-speaks-against-indefinite-detainment/

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  15. Republican Congressman Justin Amash told the The Grand Rapids Press today, the language of the bill is “carefully crafted to mislead the public.”

    “Note that it does not preclude U.S. citizens from being detained indefinitely, without charge or trial, it simply makes such detention discretionary,” Amash wrote on his Facebook page.

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  16. Anonymous@6:26 PM,

    It is him. Good call.

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  17. Score another one for Al-Qaeda. OBL must be laughing from the grave over this. We have become a flock of scared little people.

    I would expect something like this from the left wing Dems given their unyielding belief in good government, but from Republicans it just shows how shallow and hypocritical they are in their professed belief in small non-intrusive government. Yeah, they're the party of small government -- what a load of crap! They have as much faith in government as the Dem's do. Its no wonder why they grow government so much when they are in power.

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  18. Anonymous 5:17 PM

    Thank you, Mien Führer...

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