Palin on Justice

[beamjockey]

I heard Governor Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention last night.

At one point, she listed contrasts between Senator McCain and "our opponent."

Victory in Iraq is finally in sight ... he wants to forfeit.

Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay ... he wants to meet them without preconditions.

And then she said:

Al-Qaida terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America ... he's worried that someone won't read them their rights.

This was met with cheers from the assembled Republicans.

I was disturbed.

Is Gov. Palin opposed to reading criminals their rights? Is McCain?

Comments

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised this surprised you. Reading criminals their rights has long been seen by some law and order types as coddling criminals.

Plus, the Bush administration has made it clear that they feel the only way to deal with terrorists is as a war, rather than as law enforcement, then there is no reason to read them Miranda anyway. Also, since al Qaida is not made up of American citizens, the Constitution doesn't apply to them.

[del-c.livejournal.com]

Some time ago I started to notice people using the phrase "civil liberty" with a sneer, and I asked some of them if they were against liberty? Expecting that this was a rhetorical question and they'd say they weren't. Turned out that, yes, yes they were.

This was years before I learned that some people are, yes, in favour of torture. I keep thinking I'm unshockable, and I keep being proved wrong.

[tlunquist.livejournal.com]

Sure. Of course, the flaw in this logic is the part where any American captured by enemy forces during this "war" is going to be subject to the exact same mistreatment. I mean really, who needs this Geneva Convention crap anyway?

That, and the bit where I thought the Bill of Rights was one of the things we waged this war on disembodied emotional states to defend.

I was actually surprised by the statement, because it was so baldly anti-human rights. I'd have thought they'd be more subtle than that, not pander to the base so blatantly.