Today on The BradCast, it’s back to fighting about Gitmo, fighting about SCOTUS and celebrating a delightful birthday.
Seven years after his initial attempt to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, President Obama presented yet another plan to Congress in hopes of doing so on Tuesday. Investigative journalist and notorious “FOIA terrorist” (we explain on the show) Jason Leopold of VICE.com joins us to explain the new plan, its shortcomings and the political pushback against it from both Democrats and Republicans.
Leopold, who has covered the U.S. detention center there for years, and is just back from another visit, tells me how the law ties Obama’s hands in one regard, even as it requires him to present a plan to close the controversial prison.
“When [Obama] signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law in December, there was language in the NDAA that said that no Defense Department funds can be used by the Administration to transfer any detainees to the United States. It cannot be used to construct any new facilities or upgrade any facilities even at Guantanamo.” But, he adds, even though Congress tied his hands, they told him: “‘Even though you’re not allowed to do any of these things, we’d still like to see what your plan looks like.’ That’s essentially what Congress was saying. Democracy at work.”
Leopold joins both lawmakers and human rights advocates in his critique of the new plan, even while acknowledging the legal morass, political football and, as Obama mentioned when releasing the plan, the “stain” that the entire issue has become for the U.S.
Also today: As I predicted just after Scalia’s death almost two weeks ago, some Rightwingers are now pushing for Scalia’s votes on cases he’d already heard to be counted, even though he is now dead and, as is sometimes the case, Justices change their opinions before they are finally handed down. The White House floats a terrible idea for a U.S. Supreme Court nomination. And the NYTimes editorial board, years after it should have, describes Republican U.S. Senate leaders as “twisted” for their “deranged” attempt to block any nominee by Obama to the high court.
Finally: Desi Doyen joins us on her birthday with the latest Green News Report (and requests you stop by here with a gift!) and we tease the “progressive radio legend” currently booked to join guest host Nicole Sandler on tomorrow’s BradCast for GOP Debate coverage! 🙂
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[audio:http://bradblog.com/audio/BradCast_BradFriedman_JasonLeopoldGitmo_GOPScotus_022516.mp3]
(Snail mail support to “Brad Friedman, 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594 Los Angeles, CA 90028” always welcome too!)
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Happy Birthday Desi.
from Dennis Kern, Chris Farley’s original teacher. The heritage foundation von spakovsky transforms before your eyes. Happy birthday Desi love you guys 🙂
The effort by the Clinton campaign to suggest that Democrats cannot criticize the President is creepy. Obama has not only once again revealed that he is a horrible negotiator, but his and Biden’s floating of the idea that he’d nominate a Republican likely to maintain the oligarchic positions of the other right wing radicals in robes amounts to nothing less than a betrayal of those who elected him in 2012 by more than 5 million votes.
The need to fill the vacant seat over the remainder of his term pales in comparison to the profound impact that next appointment will have. We cannot remedy a bad appointment over the next election cycle or even the next generation. We deserve nothing less than a legal giant like Thurgood Marshall.
Now the White House says it is preparing to present Congress with a new plan to close the facility. That effort is welcome, but it will fully succeed only if the administration recognizes that the problem with Guantanamo isn’t just its location, but that the prison has become a symbol of a denial of due process.