Quote of the Day II

[Lindsey]

"The power of the executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him judgement by his peers for an indefinite period, is in the highest degree odious, and is the foundation of all totalitarian governments whether Nazi or Communist."

--Winston Churchill to British Home Secretary Herbert Morrison, expressing his approval of Morrison's decision to release the fascist Sir Oswald Moseley and his wife Diana from dentention, 21 November 1943

[Judy G. Russell]

Winston Churchill: "The power of the executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him judgement by his peers for an indefinite period, is in the highest degree odious, and is the foundation of all totalitarian governments whether Nazi or Communist."...or Republican...

[Lindsey]

...or Republican...
Andrew Sullivan included that quotation in a recent blog post (http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/04/cheney_vs_churc.html). He and Glen Greenwald (http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/04/01/romney_giuliani/index.html) both had excellent posts this weekend on the subject of the Republican party's position on habeas corpus.

Sullivan, who is himself a conservative in the original meaning of the word, and formerly a firm supporter of the Republican party, concluded: "Until a leading Republican commits to the full restoration of habeas corpus for American citizens, whether the executive considers them an 'enemy combatant' or not, no one who loves freedom can support the GOP. In fact, any lover of freedom should consider it a duty to defeat them."

Greenwald led off with a quotation from a blog post by the National Review's Ramesh Ponnuru reporting on the response of GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani to a question posed to them by Ed Crane of the Cato Institute:

Crane asked if Romney believed the president should have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens with no review. Romney said he would want to hear the pros and cons from smart lawyers before he made up his mind.


and

Crane said that he had asked Giuliani the same question a few weeks ago. The mayor said that he would want to use this authority infrequently.

Greenwald was appalled at how casually Ponnuru seemed to accept these positions.

It would be as if there were a blog item on the American Prospect blog by Ezra Klein along these lines:

Spoke to both Clinton and Obama today and asked whether they intended to seize and nationalize all American industries after they are inaugurated. Clinton said she would have to consult first with lawyers and decide only after a full debate, and Obama said he would likely only nationalize some industries, perhaps not all.


Or:

Spoke to both Edwards and Clinton today and asked whether they intended to shut down conservative Christian churches. Edwards said he would want to hear the pros and cons from smart lawyers before he made up his mind, and Clinton said that she would want to use this authority infrequently.

--Lindsey

[Judy G. Russell]

Greenwald was appalled at how casually Ponnuru seemed to accept these positions.Errr... he did notice that Ponnuru reports for National Review, right?

[ndebord]

...or Republican...

Originally Posted by Lindsey View Post
Winston Churchill: "The power of the executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him judgement by his peers for an indefinite period, is in the highest degree odious, and is the foundation of all totalitarian governments whether Nazi or Communist."

Judy,

Or The Decider, who is neither Republican nor democratic. This man thinks God listens to him. Perhaps divine right of Kings is his delusion and he thinks himself yet another King George.

[Lindsey]

Errr... he did notice that Ponnuru reports for National Review, right?
Well, yes, but that makes it all the more appalling. National Review is a mainstream publication, not some cultist proto-Nazi rag.

--Lindsey