One of the things Scott Brown criticized during his recently successful Senate campaign was Obama's decision to give Miranda Rights and Tax-Funded American Lawyers to terrorists. Brown feels terrorists should be held as enemy combatants, including the Christmas Day bomber. And that waterboarding is not torture. Can Brown's election have any effect on these policies? Probably not. The pResident has broad authority to make decisions about terrorist trials, as the Commander in Chief of the armed forces.
On the other hand, there might be a little problem with funding now that Brown has been elected. And it is not just about Brown himself. No Democrat up for reelection is sitting in a "safe" seat. The realization has finally hit home that ignoring constituents has serious consequences. And the majority of Americans disapproves of criminal trials for terrorists or bringing GITMO terrorists to the United States.
Obama’s plan to buy an Illinois state prison for use as a detention facility and site for military trials of some Guantanamo prisoners will require Congress to appropriate $150 million or more. White House officials have also said they want Congress to change current law so that some prisoners could be brought to the U.S. for indefinite detention without trial, if necessary.
Some analysts said that even before Brown’s victory Obama needed the equivalent of a triple-bank-shot to get Congress to agree to such moves. Now, they said, it could be all but impossible.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31758_Page2.html#ixzz0dFyPF7qk
There confusion in the halls of Washington in the wake of Scott Brown's victory. I dare to say that this is an improvement.
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