Sadly the Democrats are poised to once again snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.
They have alread let the Republicans frame the Hamdan case as an issue about being either for the terrorists or against them.
Ridiculous.
Hamdan was clearly a slap to BushCo and their Unitary Executive (e.g., King George) theory of government.
But the Dems have let a victory slip away. . .
For 2 days now I've advocated framing the Hamdan discussion around the torture issue.
(See my previous diaries Bush May Have Liability Under the War Crimes Act and Response to Republican Talking Points on Hamdan.)
Now the Saturday Edition of the WP reports that
House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) criticized House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's comment Thursday that the court decision "affirms the American ideal that all are entitled to the basic guarantees of our justice system." That statement, Boehner said, amounted to Pelosi's advocating "special privileges for terrorists."
If there is any chance at all to get this back on track, we need to see an all out assault over the holiday weekend -- talking about Bush and his torture memos and about how Secretary of State Powell and his attorneys were critical and pushing the Administration to accept that the Geneva Conventions applied to the detainees.
But I have little hope for success because people are on vacation and they aren't really paying attention to this right now.
Where is the leadership of this party? We need someone to step up. President Carter? Vice President Gore? President Clinton? I would accept any of the above.