Sep 17th, 2008
Posted by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) at 11:30am

Constitution Day 2008

On this day in 1787, our founding fathers signed the Constitution, making us a nation of laws, not of men. The basic concepts of justice, liberty, and inherent human rights outlined in that founding document, are at the very foundation of our strength as a nation.

But 221 years later, the United States is facing one of the darkest chapters in its Constitutional history. The Bush administration has treated the Constitution and rule of law with disrespect unparalleled in our nation's history. The list of this administration's assaults on the Constitution is breathtaking: it includes the warrantless wiretapping program, its interrogation policy and justifications for the use of torture, its extreme positions on the legal status of detainees that have been repeatedly rejected by the Supreme Court, and its refusal to recognize and cooperate with Congress' constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight. This is a shameful legacy that must be undone in the years to come.

On Constitution Day, we should also recognize that supporting the rule of law here at home can help to strengthen democratic institutions around the world that are critical to peace and stability — and, in turn, to our own national security. Right now, countries like Pakistan and Zimbabwe are grappling with their own constitutional crises. But we cannot be a credible example for nations like these if we allow our own Constitution to erode. The disparity between our words and our actions undermines our ability to defend the rights and freedoms of peoples around the world.

Our next president will face a difficult challenge. He must repair the wreckage the current administration has left, which means renouncing some of the powers the current President tried to amass as he turned a blind eye to the rule of law and separation of powers. No president will want to limit his own power. But if we are to be the nation our founders envisioned when they gathered in Philadelphia more than two centuries ago, we must work together — across party lines and at all levels of government — to protect and defend our Constitution and restore the rule of law.

Permalink |

Tags: Civil Liberties News, constitutionvoter

1. Brett Bellmore Says:
   Sep 17th, 2008 at 11:38am

   But if the ACLU really thought we were a nation of laws, not men, it would admit that sometimes the laws are not to it's liking, (Such as the Bill of Rights guaranteeing a civil liberty the ACLU disapproves of.) but still the law. Rather than abrogating to itself, per the Strossen doctrine, the right to declare what is and isn't a civil liberty, utterly disconnnected from what the Constitution might actually say.

   "The ACLU Board of Directors" day might not have the same ring, but until you face reality on Heller, it's all you're really celebrating.

2. Ben Says:
   Sep 17th, 2008 at 12:05pm

   At least SOME people are still talking about this sort of stuff:
   (podcast link)
   http://dancarlin.libsyn.com/media/dancarlin/cswdcb29.mp3

   "Re-balancing" the system is not going to be easy!

3. KipEsquire Says:
   Sep 17th, 2008 at 12:23pm

   Um, we were a nation of laws before the Constitution -- ever heard of the Articles of Confederation?

   And of course the Constitution did not take effect until it was ratified by the requisite number of state legislatures (June 21, 1788).

   And while we're on the subject, the second to last person in America who has any standing to celebrate the Constitution is Russ Feingold, co-conspirator in Congress' war on the First Amendment. (The last person is of course his accomplice, Senator "so-called First Amendment rights" McCain.)

   Keep selling your soul, ACLU. Keep selling your soul.

4. ondelette Says:
   Sep 17th, 2008 at 1:02pm

   Thank you for your tireless service to the country, Senator. I really mean that.

   Senator, there are currently approaching 40,000 persons under U.S. military direct or indirect control: 21,000 by the Pentagon's own estimates in Iraq, and between 10,000+ (ICRC) and 15,000 (human rights groups estimates) in Afghanistan. The conditions for many, especially in Afghanistan, are horrible, and the treatment abusive, amounting to torture in some places. It is still unclear whether the key Supreme Court decisions you cite apply to these people, since they were mostly narrowly focused on Guantanamo.

   These people will continue to languish, damage will continue to occur to their psyches and their bodies, while the months go by until the next president comes in to fix everything. If he does. NO attention has been paid to their plight in any presidential campaign or debate, and the next president may very well wash his hands of everything after GITMO is closed.

   As long as those prisons are in existence, as long as prisoners from the fragile democracies you named, Pakistan, for instance, are kept incommunicado in violation of international law, as long as we never see an Article 5 hearing or a whiff of due process anywhere beyond our borders for prisoners under our control,

   No one is going to look to us as a model of the rule of law.

   Please plead with your colleagues in the Senate to do something sooner than January.

5. Bob Soper Says:
   Sep 17th, 2008 at 4:26pm

   Thank you, Senator Feingold for being one of the last remaining fighters (in the US Senate) for what's left of our constitutional freedoms.
   Those who heap scorn upon your efforts (and those of the ACLU) are blind to the tide of tyranny which is slowly drowning our republic.

6. Daniel Jacobs Says:
   Sep 17th, 2008 at 7:57pm

   Dear Hon. Senator Feingold,

   When the smoke from the explosion of President Bush's Administration clears, this year, we will see the destruction of our basic rights, reputation, and worth. Has there ever been so many horrific events in one man's watch? That he has trampled the United States Constitution is now history. What is critical is what we are willing to DO now to stop, condem, and repair the damage. Why can't we act after 9-11, Enron, CIA Betrayal, Iraq, three hurricane missmanagements, and now the economic collapse? Will this be another fixed, Madison Avenue election, so the corporations can have time to hide their booty in international banks? I can't believe I'm writing this paranoid sounding letter, but the entire congress and legal system defies anything I could have dreamed of. I'm with the previous writer Tim Rieger, he's right on.