Posted on 12/03/2011 8:51:43 AM PST by ventanax5
The Tea Party’s limited-government, constitutional heart is in the right place. But it needs much better guidance about how the Constitution works in wartime.
The defense-authorization bill currently under congressional consideration contains some unremarkable, largely redundant provisions about the treatment of enemy combatants. Naturally, the now-familiar alliance of leftists and libertarian extremists — self-proclaimed “constitutionalists” all — attacked with their signature “sky is falling” equanimity. On Wednesday, my column addressed some of the more hysterical arguments posited by Fox News analyst Andrew Napolitano. The real action, however, was taking place on the Senate floor, where Tea Party favorite Rand Paul (R., Ky.) squared off against John McCain (R., Ariz.), leader of the Republican party’s transnational-progressive wing. Sen. McCain, along with another tranzy, Sen. Carl Levin (D., Mich.), sponsored the detention provisions — which are thus collectively known as the McCain-Levin amendment.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
Andrew C. McCarthy, RINO pillow-biter from NRinO doesn’t like Rand Paul. Well, color me surprised.
Rand Paul Quote: The Democrats want to cut nothing. The Republicans want to cut next to nothing. Neither party understands the magnitude of the debt problem.
Sounds pretty extreme to me.
sorry Andy— don’t namecall and label extremist people with
questions about the 5th Amendment to the Constitution.
Sure, you are an “expert” and we should all rely on you....
Sorry I don’t trust you Andy.
I don’t trust the feds to determine
who is an enemy combatant.
Korematsu v. US anyone???
Japanese-American citizens were interned by executive order.
Same diff.
“Tea Party favorite Rand Paul (R., Ky.) squared off against John McCain (R., Ariz.), leader of the Republican party’s transnational-progressive wing.”
That alone makes Rand Paul sound pretty good. What’s happened to NR? It’s like it’s been taken over by Rockefeller Republicans.
“The quest to quell Islamists by democratic processes has only empowered them. It has done nothing to enhance our security against terrorism. It has wasted hundreds of billions of dollars during a time of economic strife. It has actually provoked our enemies, whose ideology — which partisans such as McCain urge us to ignore — calls for waging violent jihad against Western forces that try to implant Western principles in Islamic lands. It has enabled rabidly anti-American Islamists throughout the Middle East to market themselves as “moderate political parties” and bask in the legitimacy the “international community” confers on electoral success — no matter how fraudulently achieved. It has cheapened true Western democracy by accommodating it to authoritarian sharia.
Worst of all, the Islamic-democracy project has sapped the political will of the American people to take actions that are actually necessary to our defense.”
What a bunch of BS. al Qaeda is nearing collapse after just 10 years of American attacks. Even Pakistan is feeling the heat. The Islamists may be gaining ground as Arab nations feel the pressure to democratize, but isn’t that the what the liberals wanted? Isn’t that precisely the “nonviolent” segment of Islam that the liberals are so fond of? It has nothing to do with the war against violent Islam. And as far as the last point is concerned, I would say that it’s less the war that has sapped our will than it is the constant whining by the liberal establishment about the war. They need to be reminded that 911 would never have happened if they had done their job in the first place.
I love the drive by comments from folks who clearly have not read the article yet. I find it very unusual to disagree with Rand Paul - but McCarthy clearly deconstructs Paul’s arguments and those of Napolitano.
So if you have the courage to put preconcieved notions of NRO and so on aside, this is a well thought out argument. To admit it is not to never support Rand Paul - simply to understand that not everyone who quotes parcels of the constitution is doing so in proper context - and that
libertarianism cannot work in this world unless every government is libertarian. Think about it!
Everyone should read Sen. Rand Paul’s budget at:
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=41227
Is he an extremist? Maybe - I don’t want to see the National Park Service sold off, for example, but is he directionally correct? You betcha. Agencies have grown like weeds, losing sight of their original purpose and becoming ends unto themselves. I am more Libertarian than Republican these days, simply because the government has become so large, over-reaching, and intrusive that restoring personal liberty has become Job #1 in my view.
NRO.....When did they go liberal? I was never a huge reader but I was aware of them and that they were on “our side.”
I don’t have to read the article.
The title is “Rand Paul, libertarian extremist.”
And in the first paragraph quoted he tars all Tea Party people with
—we don’t understand the Constitution applied in war time.
By his title, (NRO or Andy’s choice) Andy has lost the debate with me.
Why name call your opponent? Extremist??
I don’t think Rand Paul and Andy McCarthy
disagree on every issue. If that’s how you treat your friends in an argument
why don’t we treat Obama twice as badly?
Korematsu v US (1944).
Enough said.
Was there ever a time when National Review wasn't run by Rockefeller "establishment" Republicans? My mother-in-law gave me a year's subscription to NR about 5-6 years ago. By about the 4th issue it got to the point where I realized there was so much establishment drivel in it that it wasn't even readable. I cancelled the subscription shortly thereafter.
I would say the author is "right on" here and sounding quite a bit like Ron Paul. Maybe you missed the Arab Spring? Google it and then reassess what the author is saying.
They want to be able to do anything they want in a time of war. Rand is right. Follow the constitution. If we trust those in Washington after seeing how they mismanage our fiscal health then we are more the fools for it. This country has operated through the challenges of multiple wars without resorting to the blanket legislation our demonstratively incompetent leaders want now. FDR managed to put a sizable population of Asian Americans in internment camps without any evidence of malfeasance. The last thing we can say from history is that this kind of thing will not be abused. Everyone wants to stop terrorists and our enemies but the stupidity and the outrageous spending on stupid approaches isn’t catching terrorists its harassing passengers at airplane terminals especially the elderly and little kids.
The world isn’t going to end without these frameworks which allow the govt to be even less competent and not have to answer for it. Excuse me but I don’t trust them and they have given us all good reason not to.
It has always been that way. You are just now noticing it.
BTW: When I decided to not renew my subscription, they hounded me and threatened me in an attempt to make me re-up.
Seriously threatened me with going to a collection agency, even though I merely wanted to not renew.
I don't trust them at all.
I have read the article (tried to do it by speed reading for once because it is so long) and I agree with you.
If you haven’t noticed there is an effort to return to the GOP status quo. They see the power within their grasp and are salivating to use/abuse it. The Democrat party is beyond redemption but the GOP establishment hasn’t been taken to the woodshed enough yet to get it through their thick skulls that we want constitutional governance and what the out of control spending to STOP.
Rand Paul is awesome. Best donation I ever made to a candidate.
He has all his fathers’ principles, but is better able to communicate them.
The subtitle of article on NRO is :
McCain-Levin is constitutional, Mr. Paul
That’s exactly my point.
In Korematsu v. US (1944), executive order interning Japanese-American citizens born here WAS DECLARED CONSTITUTIONAL BY THE SUPREME COURT.
STILL ON THE BOOKS AS IT WERE
So you are OK with the American military detaining and imprisoning US citizens indefinitely without due process? Wow.
And in the USA at that!
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