Democrats,
ATTACK!
Today is a perfect day to go on the offensive in Congress and demand that the Bush Administration shut down the Guantanamo internment camp and put these people on trial in the civil courts. If the day goes by without Democrats in both houses calling for a resolution to bring these people to trial, in conformance with the law, they will have lost the best opportunity to go on the offensive that they've had in years.
This is a free ride. Sure, the Republicans will try to paint them as traitors for being weak in the war on terror. Let's parse that, shall we?
"Traitor": That would be someone who undermines their country by strengthening the enemy. No one has done more to weaken the United States in its history than George W. Bush. He's mounted up the worst national debt and ticked off the greatest number of people in the international community, while simultaneously presiding over our economic decline as manufacturing capability is catapulted overseas. Anyone calling me a traitor for asking the President to uphold the law will have to defend his record.
"Weak": Republicans are weak. They are afraid of the courts. The courts! Give me break. There's only one kind of person who's afraid of court: criminals. Democrats have a strong belief in the judicial system. (Well, as long as it's not undermined by a government that only appoints trolls to the bench.) You can't claim to be strong on anything if you hide from the law.
"War on terror". What is that? It's a sham intended to prevent us from remembering that protection from terrorists is a normal part of the function of the government, a function that the Bush Administration failed in when terrorists attacked us in 2001. It's an Orwellian term.
Now, let's see what the Democrats are really made of. Before the Republicans can get together a bill to try to reinforce the President, they should put up a resolution that he immediately comply with the Court's opinion and put these people on trial. And Democrats should be specific that this needs to be in the civil court system, not the military system. No sham trials in military tribunals, like some two-bit dictatorship would do.
And, we need to be clear about what happens to any Democrat who backs the President on this, even in a minor way. They should be ostracized (or, in the case of Joe Liebermann, ostracized again). Democrats should withhold all future money and votes from anyone who breaks ranks on this issue. This is a defining issue for the Democratic Party. You are either for us or against us.