Bush Appointees Bucking Obama On Terror Policies

Politico:

President Barack Obama's claims of broad executive authority to carry out the war on terror are drawing fire from an unexpected source: federal judges nominated by President George W. Bush, who asserted the sweeping powers in the first place.

In recent weeks, three different Bush appointees considering cases relating to war-on-terror detainees have rejected arguments from Obama's Justice Department, which adopted virtually unchanged the positions the Bush administration had staked out.

Read the whole story: Politico

Comments

[Artos]

I like how the writer of the story in Politico asserts that it is interesting how Liberals are so quick to defend Obamas claims to More Presidential authority as though to say Liberals didn't assert Bushs right to do so. Well that to me is not what is so interesting. The Writer made the point that when it came to Bush the judges weren't so quick to set him straight, but with Obama they came out very quickly against extraordinary Presidential Powers. That is the interesting point, Why did it take so long for these Judges to step on Bush. Why, because they were Conservatives who were in favor at the time, but now it's a Democrat, That is why. I'm willing to bet that when Bush was in charge they were all in favor of his taking liberties with his authority. Their regret is that they couldn't make the most turning America into a facist state. I give them not one iota of credit for what seems on the face of it to be the right decision. What I want to know is why weren't they impeached for allowing Bush to usurp almost assume dictatorial powers. They deserve no acclaim, they deserve to be thrown out on their ears.

[CherokeeGirl]

The DOJ has lost everyone's respect because it APPEARS they don't do anything.

There's gonna have to be a public flogging by the DOJ on a crime of this or that before we sit up and pay attention.

These guys are gonna thumb their noses cuz they think this administration doesn't have a spine.

I'm wondering myself, what the DOJ has been up to lately. Don't see them prosecuting the many crimes that have been committed over the last 8 years.

All I've seen them do is get Ted Stevens off. COME ON!!!!! Let's see a little but t kicking around here.

[ladybastet]

looking for YOU you still here? =)

[getoffmedz]

Psst - want to save billions of tax dollars, return lost Constitutional Rights and eliminate counterproductive governmental redundancy? Repeal the Patriot Act (into which a lying administration duped Congress with fabrications) and get rid of the DHS.

[abouttime]

“Even Republican judges are seeing through the arguments and the idea that the war on terror justified depriving prisoners of constitutional protections,” said Jonathan Hafetz of the American Civil Liberties Union.

About time!

[mick7191]

Can't they be impeached or recalled?

[amdezurik]

for what?

[mdbmama]

You only have broad powers if you are a Republican. Even if you are saying the exact same thing W said. the hypocrisy is overwhelming.

[BurtonOerney]

There is a difference in the positions of bush and obama. Obama allowed cases to be brought before federal judges. Under bush they ruled in the abstract. Putting a detainee's claims before a judge forces the claims to be reviewed and it forces judges that would perpetuate imprisonment without charge to uphold by precedent the executive power to do so. Apparently, obama thought the constitution would prevent judges from granting him that power when ruling on a case's merits. I wonder if he thought a couple steps ahead, legally speaking?

Wasn't the the plot of the bad news bears movie? A coach can force his team to focus and act by becoming their foil.

[amdezurik]

yes and now those arguments that otherwise would have lurked in the background for decades have been ruled against...

[MadCroation]

And do you think this has happened by accident? I don't think it is wise to under estimate our new President.

[SurrealPumpkin]

Reading Comprehension Time:

1) Bush was brought to court by various rights groups about his policies
2) Bush's term ended
3) "Everyone" expected Obama to withdraw from the cases
4) He didn't and he continued with the Bush arguments
5) Liberals went nuts
6) The Federal Judges just said "No Way! Mr. President" to the Bush arguments.

It's a winner for the Constitution, checks and balances and the American People.

[Hank10303]

Maybe is time for a judical review to see if these appointees were making "political" judgement in favor of George Bush. I believe there would be grounds to removed them if that is and can be proven. Lets clean up justice, NEXT STOP! ALL ABOARD

[AmericanWarrior]

Agreed. This must be investigated.

[BurtonOerney]

Bush did not ask the courts for permission to expand executive power. During the last years of that administration and into this one, the legal trend has been to cut into the expanded powers. So I don't know which judge you'd investigate, other than Bybee. This does seem like an easy way to get solid precedent against illegal detention and torture: let the courts continue to do what they've already been doing.

[dieselis]

911 was real we were caught asleep at the wheel. bush administration had plans to attack afhganistan because the taliban were'nt accomodating bush's energy policies. you want to try bush and company for war crimes and give jihadist a platform to come after us legally. i think its unwise to say the least. everyone wants a pound of flesh so long as its not their flesh. it would hurt the country and weaken it. we john q. public know very little about the inner sanctum of our government. from the nsa to the cia and all the other bodies in between. we are a people once known to put our differences and grievences aside to fight a common enemy. the bush administration is possibly guilty of some terrible things. however, it does'nt make jihad any less of an enemy. i did'nt say islam as a whole is our enemy just the jihadist. so government is'nt going to tell us a whole lot. i do see considerable progress. war is ugly always has been and that my friends is'nt going to change. so keep our troops in your prayers.

[dynwitch]

Golly, Wally. Thanks for this info. With love from the Beav.

[AmericanWarrior]

I am a veteran. So was my father and so is my oldest son. I have a secret for you. Most soldiers know the American people are behind them. But your reasoning for letting Bush and the Bushies off the hook smell of neo-conspiracy to me. When the Commander-in-Chief is a deceptive, war-monger that caused the death of over 4000 soldiers, what exactly do you think should happen to him? How can you suggest prosecuting Bush, would enable the Jihadist, while the GOP and neo-cons nutz, try to make Obama appear weak to our enemies everyday? Your argument is tainted... Your ulterior motive is clear... Somebody need to tell you that the HuffPost bloggers are educated and most of the time informed. You might want to try your experiment on CNN.COM.

[ObamAtomic]

I thank your family and you for the services rendered,and your points to refute a
war monger.

[LeLoup]

Is that supposed to qualify as a surprise?
Bush also had several problems with his own appointees.
Turns out that some people respect and follow the law, Republican or not.

[jsgaetano]

Very few Republicans respect or follow the law. Open contempt for the law is one of the cornerstones of modern conservative ideology.

[FrozenNorthObserver]

So I guess O is in the wrong party

[FogBelter]

Impeach the Judges, they are obviously tainted.

[mjb5406]

Typical Republican hypocrisy... Do as I say, don't do as I do.

[FrozenNorthObserver]

VIDEO: Before Ob a ma's Seven Signing Statements Altering Laws, His Promise Never to Do So | AfterDowni­ngStreet.o­rg
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/44077

[Lark817]

Right on. Do you believe this cr4p? I'm all for paring back the authority of the Exec Branch but what the heck was going on when Bush was President. It's not like they were doing most of it behind closed doors. Some of the Bush Admin's most outrageous acts happened right in our faces. These judges should all be fired. I mean the ones who allowed the Bushies to run the country as if it were the victim of a hostile takeover.

[oregonbird]

This is Off-Topic, but I am attempting to rally some voices -- and comments, and direct contact with HP -- regarding a difficult, verboten subject on the site:

"A strange, Austrian sadism has surfaced as Schwarzenegger reaches the waning period of his first venture into politics."

That is a line from an article entitled, "Arnold Schwarzenegger: Sticking It to "America's Best", available on this site. It was written by Joseph A. Palermo, Associate Professor of History -- at some unnamed school, presumably.

This sentence is inserted into what is otherwise an argument against the financial choices made by the California governor. There is no other mention of the governor's place of birth, no explanation or excuse offered for using his heritage as an adjective to an attributed kink for receiving pleasure from dealing out pain.

This is r.a.c.ism, pure and simple. Please let HP know that, in these times, it is not something that you will accept. News reports of r.a.c.ism, the people involved and responsible for such things, are the responsibility of any legitimate news source. But in an opinion piece, blatent hatred of a naturalized citizen -- or a foreign national, for that matter -- based on his place of birth, is not acceptable. Please help make that clear to HP.

This article should be removed from the site, and the author advised as to the reason.

[james4truth1066]

Sadism and masochism, in the sense, describe psychiatric disorders characterized by feelings of sexual pleasure or gratification when inflicting suffering or having it inflicted upon the self, respectively. Sadomasochism is used in psychiatry to describe either the co-occurrence of sadism and masochism in one person as separate disorders, or as a replacement for both terms, depending on the theory used. Definitions of sadism and masochism in medicine have been modified repeatedly since they were introduced by the (Austrian) psychiatrist Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing in the 19th century (Krafft-Ebing 1901).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadism_and_masochism_as_medical_terms

[dynwitch]

Yup, those Austrians are so racially oppressed.

[jsgaetano]

Don't they understand that, as they've been telling everyone who will listen for the past eight years, that the role of every good US Citizen is to walk in lockstep with the Commander In Chief... ESPECIALLY during A Time Of War (tm)?

All conservatives do these days is betray their own stated values, and treasonously provide Aid And Comfort to the eneimes of America.

Why does the GOP hate America?