Senator Graham as * shill (more danger if Alito is confirmed)

[crikkett]

Steve Brandt notes on the Huffington Post the * administration used Sen. Graham and Judge Alito to telegraph the GOP effort to create a unitarian executive branch.

This is scary stuff, hard to knock down to 4 pphs (he quotes dialog from day 2 of alito's hearings) so I obtained permission to post more. You will want to read the entire article, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-g-brant/what-are-george-bush-sam_b_13997.html

What Are George Bush, Sam Alito, and Lindsey Graham Up To?

Here's an exchange between Senator Lindsey Graham and Judge Sam Alito from Day Two of the Alito hearings, the first day when Judge Alito answered questions...

GRAHAM: Who is better able to determine if an enemy combatant properly held has ongoing intelligence value to our country? Is it the military or a judge?

ALITO: On intelligence matters I would think that is an issue -- that is an area where the judiciary doesn't have expertise. But we do get into this issue I was discussing with Senator Feingold about the degree to which the balance between the judiciary's performing its function in cases involving individual rights and its desire not to intrude into areas where it lacks expertise, particularly in times of war and national crisis.

GRAHAM: So, having said that, if we have a decision to make as a country when to let someone go who's an enemy combatant, I guess we've got two choices. We can have court cases or we can allow the military to make a determination if that person still presents a threat to the United States and whether or not that person has an intelligence value by further confinement. Do you feel the courts possess the capabilities and the confidence to make those two decisions better than the military?

ALITO: The courts do not have expertise in foreign affairs or in military affairs. And they certainly should recognize that. And that is one powerful consideration in addressing legal issues that may come up in this context.

...when I hear a United States Senator say "if we have a decision to make as a country when to let someone go who's an enemy combatant, I guess we've got two choices. We can have court cases or we can allow the military to make a determination if that person still presents a threat to the United States." and then I hear a possibly-soon-to-be-Justice of the United States Supreme Court say "The courts do not have expertise in foreign affairs or in military affairs. And they certainly should recognize that." that, boys and girls, gets my attention!

We've got powerful members of two branches of government agreeing that only the United States military has the "expertise" to determine who is an enemy of the United States. Judges should just bow to the superior knowledge of the military...which of course includes the military's "Commander in Chief."
<snip>
One -- The Republican party is just too disciplined for anything this significant to be discussed "by accident" in such a public forum.

Two -- As reported by The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire, it turns out Lindsey Graham was on the team that coached Sam Alito on how to perform during his hearings. This means Senator Graham was, essentially, a Republican "shill" during the hearings. Everything he said was planned.

<snip>
Graham and Alito have just laid the groundwork for a scenario in which President George W. Bush (or President Jeb Bush...or President Condoleezza Rice) can declare that John and/or Jane Q. Public is an "enemy combatant"...and in which the courts WILL AGREE that judges lack the expertise to challenge that determination.

Think that can't happen?

Does anyone remember the Japanese Internment during World War II?

[Punkingal]

1. I'm fed up with Senator Graham...

He is always featured in the media, with his Andy Griffin imitation drawl, and it is sickening to listen to him. He is just like McCain...sometimes he criticizes, but then he always falls in line like a true Bushbot.