The thing about rights is everyone has them. That's what makes them rights, not options. We should lead by example or be honest about ourselves. Pretending to be holier than everyone and sinking to new lows is not going to make the problem go away. If you are right, you know it because you don't have to cheat the system. Any person detained should know why and a basic understanding of what they can expect. If we are so obviously right under the circumstances, what do we lose by playing fair?
Michele Bachmann: "This is one thing we know about Barack Obama. He has essentially handed over our interrogation of terrorists to the ACLU. He's outsourced it to them. Our CIA has no ability to have any form of interrogation for terrorists. When the bomber -- or the attempted bomber over Detroit, the underwear bomber -- was intercepted, he was given Miranda warnings within 45 minutes. He was not an American citizen. We don't give Miranda warnings to terrorists, and we don't read them their rights. They don't have any."
In fact, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the "underwear bomber" who attempted to blow up a plane on Christmas Day in 2009, was not told of his right to remain silent until after he had stopped talking to law enforcement officials.
As the Los Angeles Times reported in February 2010, "The source said that Abdulmutallab was not read his rights until he made it clear that he was not going to say anything else."
Conservatives have frequently criticized Obama for allowing suspected terrorists to be read their Miranda rights. But the practice is not exclusive to Obama: President George W. Bush did the same thing.
In December 2001, Richard Reid, the so-called "shoe bomber," was "read or reminded of his Miranda rights four times in two days, beginning five minutes after being taken into custody."
You don't deserve rights unless Michele Bachmann approves of you. What would happen if this troll of a woman ruled the country? If you don't like her religion, if you don't agree with her, if you don't meet her standards, do you deserve rights?
If you think being a terrorist makes it different, think again. It could also be people who are merely suspected of terrorism. Which, as the GOP has repeatedly shown, is anyone who doesn't fit their description of ideal. And if they don't have enough dirt on you, they can abuse the Patriot Act to dig until they get it. There's no layer to protect you or make sure your rights as a citizen are enforced. In fact, Bachmann makes it clear she views the ACLU as the enemy, and using the totally incorrect but trendy word "outsourcing" to discredit those who stand up for the little guy.
In other words, how she plans to treat terrorists does void our most basic declarations of justice, freedom and due process. The other news is it's also how she plans to treat the rest of us.
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