I’m patient and pragmatic. I don’t freak out everytime the Obama administration says something I don’t agree with. But their achilles heel is civil liberties, and on that score, they are failing miserably. Here’s Feingold (via email):
Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
On the Obama Administration’s New Policy on the State Secrets Privilege
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Obama administration released details about its new policy on invoking the state secrets privilege. Senator Russ Feingold, a cosponsor of the State Secrets Protection Act, legislation to provide guidance to federal courts considering cases in which the government has asserted the state secrets privilege, made the following statement:
“The Bush administration’s approach to state secrets was wrong-headed, causing significant public distrust and potentially shielding government wrongdoing and embarrassing mistakes behind a questionable legal doctrine. While I am pleased that the Obama administration recognizes that the Bush approach was a mistake, its new policy is disappointing because it still amounts to an approach of ‘just trust us.’ Independent court review of the government’s use of the state secrets privilege is essential. I urge the administration to work with Congress to develop legislation that sets reasonable limits on the privilege and will not be subject to change under each successive president.”
The state secrets privilege was invoked several times by the Bush administration in cases that challenged several controversial programs including the warrantless wiretapping program, rendition and interrogation programs. The Obama administration continued to invoke the privilege after taking power, which Senator Feingold has criticized.
I don’t mind slow-walking reforms to minimize the political opposition. But Obama must fix these policies because our privacy rights and our rights to know what our government is doing are too important to let them atrophy. Even if I have some trust in this administration, I don’t have complete trust. No one should ever place complete trust in their government. But, even more important, I definitely don’t want these tools left in the toolbox for the next Republican president.
You’re too generous BooMan. I give them an F-
yeah, I’m with OCD. F-, with a 0 for effort.
I agree, and we need to rattle our cage loudly on this one..!
That’s a really good metaphor.
I must have read a different story than Feingold. What I read in the NYT today indicated that the new policy DOES involve court-review, though the article does not spell out what happens if the court disapproves.
Incidentally, there is a pattern with this administration of moving slowly on campaign-promises, but I don’t believe it necessarily means anything in the long run. For example, in early February, Eric Holder declared an end to raids on medical-marijuana labs, indicating that the change would occur once the Bush holdovers were replaced.
A few weeks ago, though, more raids occurred. Since this promise seems like a pretty easy one to keep, I still suspect it will be kept. And maybe the excuse today is the same: i.e., the Bush people still have not been replaced.
This slow-moving approach is somewhat inexplicable, but appears to pop up every now and then. I’m not sure that, when it comes to the state secrets privilege, that we’re not just seeing more slow-action. I would not be surprised if, at the end of the day, the policy really is significantly different.
The state’s secrets claim by the gov’t in court has shut down cases in the past. It was one of the favorite methods of the Bush Administration to prevent release of wrongdoing by allowing a case to proceed.
This is separate from the Patriot Act.
It was through court cases and Supremes decisions that the detainees finally began to see the light of day.
The suppression of rights during the Bush years was rubber stamped by the Republican Congress.
When a decision by the courts, esp. the Supremes comes down on the side of civil liberties, it is a lot harder for a President in the future to deny those same rights again.
The Obama Administration has been very adept at getting the court to decide against the Bush policies of denial of human rights.
Legislation would be nattered to death and it would water down the ability to bring cases of this nature to court.
The Republicans would be screaming 9/11 even more than they are now.
It is the courts that help us not go down Totalitarian
Road. The panicked Congress after 9/11 got us into two wars, a removal of civil rights, allowing private contractors to bleed us dry and commit crimes without any consequences.
It is a long hard slog to regain the rights that were lost in such a short time.
Obama is doing the right thing. Curtailing executive power has a long term benefit to our rights.
It is also the courts that, in the end, will decide torture cases. Congress sat by and did nothing.
Nice post. I agree Congress sat on their collective ass and did nothing. The Republicans are becoming more and more a national disgrace. About time the voting public showed this group the door.