Conservative commentators continue their war on the Constitution this week with increasingly shrill rhetoric of how our laws and civil liberties are endangering us. Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly, however, achieved a remarkable low by declaring “I don’t care about the Constitution” on air in a discussion of Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to try five detainees in New York.
I am always struck by anti-American rhetoric that comes from such figures. The Constitution is the very thing that defines who we are as a nation. It is the thing that we have sacrificed lives and treasure to protect. Yet, people like O’Reilly have little reluctance in trashing it. I am less surprised by Karl Rove, who has shown little personal commitment to the rule of law and barely escaped an indictment in the Plame matter. Rove declared that giving a fair trial to terror suspects is a “long-standing plot” by “left-wing lawyers who do not love America.” America, it seems, is something other than our values and founding documents. It is, I suppose, Fox News.
I have no delusion about O’Reilly, but I am still struck by the dismissive contempt shown this common article of faith between citizens, the Constitution. While we have considerable political, religious, and cultural differences, that document is something of a covenant of faith between us as citizens. One cannot love this country without loving that document. What is less is land and “lifestyle.” O’Reilly’s statement is every bit as offensive as those of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whom I also denounced. Yet, it was met with acclaim rather than condemnation from conservative viewers.
Flipkid:
The Judges personal opinion dosent matter as a matter of law, of course it dosent.
The Judge did not want to opine on this issue.
“But, make no mistake, this is mostly political theater. If Obama/Holder can successfully prosecute these terrorists in New York City when Bush was too afraid to do it, it’ll score incredibly powerful political points just before the 2010 elections.”
*GASP!* You’re suggesting that there are blatantly political reasons behind this???? LOL!!!!!!
“I think O’Rielly was asking for the Judge’s personal opinion and not the Constitutional law.”
And the Judge’s response was that it didn’t matter what his personal opinion was; the Constitution has the final say in this country(for now, anyway).
Well, at least someone on the right has finally admitted it. Conservatives’ contempt for the Constitution has been well documented, but rarely so openly vocally.
Obviouly, Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales don’t care much for the Constitution either given their acceptance of torture, illegal searches and siezures, Gitmo, suspension of posse comitatas and habeus corpus, but they never came out and said it. I also remember Newt Gingrich a couple of years ago declaring freedom of speech may have to be curtailed, that we have too much freedom.
But, make no mistake, this is mostly political theater. If Obama/Holder can successfully prosecute these terrorists in New York City when Bush was too afraid to do it, it’ll score incredibly powerful political points just before the 2010 elections.
Definitely a cartoon theme to today’s posts: Tweety, Shrek, Xenu, and Bill O’Reilly.
what did you(pl) think about what Judge Napolitano said?
He is a civil libertarian and someone who appears to follow the Constitution.
I think O’Rielly was asking for the Judge’s personal opinion and not the Constitutional law. He could have posed it differently though, if he meant it anoter way it was an egregious statement.
“O’Reilly’s words, again, were taken out of context. The two gentlemen were talking about terrorism, not the Constitution. Of course, think what you want … Professor Turley wrote it, so it must be true. Now, that’s smart … no matter how you look at it.”
Out of context, John? I think not.
Here’s a direct transcript of the exchange between Bill-O and Fox’s News’ very own legal analyst, Judge Andrew Napolitano:
Napolitano: ‘There was no declaration of war.’
BO: ‘All right, so because there was no declaration of war, you say that any terror-and it fits the bill, right? Surely 9/11 gits the bill of a terrorist act…’
Napolitano: ‘But it is not I who is saying it. It is the Constitution that is saying it.’
BO: ‘I DON’T CARE ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION.’
Napolitano: ‘I do.’
BO: ‘The Constitution isn’t here. You’re here. Don’t be a pinhead.’
Was the subject of conversation terrorism? Most surely. Was the comment taken ‘out of context’? Absolutely not. By his own admission, in his own words, Bill-O does not care about the Constitution or what it says. But you say it was taken out of context, so that must be true. Now, that’s smart… no matter how you look at it.
If one says they don’t care about the Constitution, context is irrelevant.
Jeremiah Wright is a Patriot in comparison to Bill O’Reilley. Equating the two is bogus, imo.
O’Reilly’s words, again, were taken out of context. The two gentlemen were talking about terrorism, not the Constitution. Of course, think what you want … Professor Turley wrote it, so it must be true. Now, that’s smart … no matter how you look at it.
Mespo,
Artfully stated…..
MIlo:
“Your career seems to be based on the defense of America’s enemies.”
*************
America’s enemies are those who would tear down its institutions and values. The most insidious do so for profit rather than misguided principle. Patriots aren’t those who talk tough or stupidly, but those who speak out against the fools and charlatans who think what makes our country great is force of arms rather than force of law. Once you accurately define the terms you’ll see just what kind of man Professor Turley is and just how foolish your remarks truly are.
“is a cheap”
“much better than”
Thankfully, I can resume coffee soon.
Nal,
If you are caffeine dependent for your excellent editing skills, I suggest you look to another Turlee for a kidney. While the liver is still available, don’t forget it comes with a caveat.
The true nature of the neoCon oozes out. Gonzales called our Supreme Law “quaint” …
They have become corrupt by having no clue about the wise nature of our nation.
We are a wise people who understand that power corrupts, who designed a constitution that could grow with us as we grow in civil liberty wisdom, and who spread power out so that its corrupting influence would not be too much for those serving the people to handle.
The neoCon realm among us eschew the wisdom clinging instead to the toxins of power that have utterly corrupted them.
http://powertoxins.blogspot.com/2009/11/greatest-source-of-power-toxins.html
“Your career seems to be based on the defense of America’s enemies. Any chance that you’ll defend a patriot one day?”
‘Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.’– Bertrand Russell
Milo Divincenzo 1, November 18, 2009 at 7:26 am
Mr. Turley,
Your career seems to be based on the defense of America’s enemies. Any chance that you’ll defend a patriot one day? After all, there wouldn’t be such a thing as constitutional law without them.
*******************
Milo? Are you really Billy? Did you reincarnate?
Even enemies are entitled to a fair trial. Heck even Nuremberg was a fair gathering of the sort at the time. Would you want a relative of yours treated the way that we have treated these people? Think America, Cherokee, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Trail of Tears, infested blanket, property….you see the list could go on and on and this is just two tribes on one Nation. We have not gotten into the various bands that had been wiped out.
Milo,
Questioning someone’s patriotism is cheap ass right-wing nonintellectual tactic used by trolls and propagandists.
You’ll have to do much than that not to get eaten alive around here.
My response to Swill-o?
I don’t care about fascists.
Why?
Because you have not learned to heed the call of Ezra Pound “to be men not destroyers”.
You have not learned the valueless nature of materialism.
You are not fully aware and, ergo, not fully human, but rather just another dumb animal stupid enough to run off a cliff.
Fascist and people who back them like O’Reilly are not just a stain upon the Constitution and this country’s history, but an offense to humankind. They don’t care about anything but themselves and it shows in their every action.
Slaves to their own ego and the idiotic delusion that money and what car you drive defines you as a person, blissfully ignorant that most people intuitively are capable of following Dr. King’s (and my grandfather’s) advice to judge people by the content of their character first even if they can be temporarily blinded by bullshit.
This is why corporations and fascism must be crushed. Fascists will kill the world so YOU can’t have it. Theirs is a mantra of greed.
People like Bill O’Reilly are nothing more than physically mature but emotionally disturbed and spoiled children.
And just like spoiled children, they will only be successful in ruining the party if We the [Adult and Awake] People don’t rise up and stop them by any means necessary. Much of this can be accomplished peacefully with persistence, but time is a luxury we are rapidly running out of and we cannot buy more. Our politicians of both parties are all graft swilling criminals and ultimately fascists because of the nature of campaign finance and lobby. This is why it’s not just the GOP that must go, but the whole two party system. Two choices are not a choice when both are malfunctioning and ultimately suicidal in their greedy myopic narcissistic pathologies and slavish devotion to the legal fiction that is a corporation. You could be richer than Croesus and not one more minute could you buy once the nukes start going off or the plague is released or the water had become poisonous or famine set in or some drug company pushes something into wide release that causes mass death or we all go sterile from synthetic hormones released into the environment or any of the many other ways some jackass will kill us all so “he can make a profit”. The sad part is they’ll kill us all with the help of our “elected” officials. The ones they bought.
There is going to be no other choice but violence before much longer. When the inequities become too large, the 1% will be destroyed by the rest of humanity. No amount of security will be able to protect them. They will not be able to buy enough loyalty to survive. Washington & K Street will have brought it upon themselves, all the while decrying “don’t hurt us” after DECADES of screwing with the collective We and our Constitutional and human rights. It will be too little, too late and exactly what they deserve.
I don’t care about fascists.
They all will eventually eat each other if they don’t kill the rest of us first.
I just think it’s time we helped them set the table.
Bon appetite.
Mr. Turley,
Your career seems to be based on the defense of America’s enemies. Any chance that you’ll defend a patriot one day? After all, there wouldn’t be such a thing as constitutional law without them.
All of those right-wing zanies claim to “love” the Constitution… until it’s inconvenient for them to do so.