Dayton to Oppose Gonzales Nomination
Well we hope it's true: Senator Mark Dayton (D-MN), last seen taking the stage to loudly oppose Barbara Boxer's support of the Congressional Black Caucas in the Ohio electoral confirmation, has said that he will probably vote against the nomination of Alberto Gonzales for attorney general:I'm extremely troubled by his record based on what I've read so far. I'm strongly inclined to vote against his confirmation, but I'm not going to make a final determination until the record is complete.Dayton went on to say he was disturbed about Gonzales' opinion that Geneva Convention protections for POWs did not extend to suspected terrorists
What causes me greatest trouble so far is his role in condoning and providing a legal framework for the United States to renounce the Geneva Convention, and its proper treatment of prisoners...It's a pretty gutsy move for Dayton, because he's vulnerable in 2006, and his Republican co-senator -- Norm Coleman -- has already said he will support Gonzales.
For the United States to be in the position of not upholding those principles and practices is not only immoral but also puts our own troops and citizens at risk...
It sets the standard that we want to be applied to our own citizens and troops in those situations. We don't have any ground to object if we're not following those practices ourselves....
But it's good news for dispirited Gonzales opponents, who were forced to watch and wonder as one Senator after another at the confirmation hearings weenied out before the cameras with the notable exception of Lindsay Graham, who has steadily opposed the efforts of BushCo. to plant the roots of a totalitarian state in Guantanamo Bay.
posted by Jane Hamsher @ 1/11/2005 01:51:00 PM
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