March, 02 2010, 02:41pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Drew Courtney or Josh Glasstetter,Phone: 202-467-4999,Email:,media@pfaw.org
Has Liz Cheney No Sense of Decency?
WASHINGTON
In an ad today, Liz Cheney's group "Keep America Safe" implies that
lawyers who defended the constitutional rights of detainees at
Guantanamo Bay to seek habeas corpus relief sympathize with terrorists,
and dubs DOJ lawyers who defended those individuals as "The Al Qaeda
Seven."
People For the American Way President Michael B. Keegan issued the following statement:
"The content of this ad is repugnant. To imply that people who
defend the Constitutional right of detainees to seek habeas corpus
relief are aligned with Al Qaeda is preposterous and offensive. All
Americans have a responsibility to defend the core values of the
Constitution, and that some of the lawyers who stood up for those
values are now in the Department of Justice is a credit to President
Obama and Attorney General Holder.
"If Liz Cheney wants to talk about 'keeping America safe,' perhaps
she should be reminded of the fact that her father, as Vice President,
led the spectacularly flawed response to 9-11, which profoundly
imperiled our safety and our international reputation. She has done
little but attack others to defend his disastrous legacy. Her
credibility on this issue is virtually non-existent.
"Joseph McCarthy himself couldn't have done a better job of using
fear and insinuations to smear his political enemies. Most Americans
understand that McCarthyism was a shameful chapter in American history,
but the Cheney wing of the Republican Party seems to have embraced
Senator McCarthy's utter lack of shame.
"Senator McCarthy's campaign of smears and fear mongering ended when
Joseph Welch asked 'At long last, have you left no sense of decency?'
Someone should ask Liz Cheney the same question."
People For the American Way recently released "Rise of the New McCarthyism," a report on the resurgence of McCarthy-like tactics among right-wing activists.
People For the American Way works to build a democratic society that implements the ideals of freedom, equality, opportunity and justice for all. We encourage civic participation, defend fundamental rights, and fight to dismantle systemic barriers to equitable opportunity. We fight against right-wing extremism and the injustice it fosters.
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