On Tuesday sixteen Democratic Senators voted against the Udall amendment to the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, the AUMF. This amendment would have stripped out new provisions which allow the military to seize and hold anyone, anywhere in the world – including within the United States itself, and including American citizens – indefinitely. No trial is required, nor is there any mechanism for review. You – whoever and wherever you are – can be seized by American soldiers, taken to a secret military detention center, and held there.  Forever, as far as sixteen Democratic Senators (and, of course, virtually every Republican) are concerned.

No trial necessary. All it takes is that someone, somewhere in government – in perfect secrecy, if they so desire – issue a decision that you are in some way supporting terrorism. You could be sleeping in your bed at home, on US soil; it doesn’t matter.

The implications are so profound as to be staggering. The military will now be operating on US soil; posse comitatus is now effectively history, null and void. Where once the FBI operated, we will now have a military which is neither designed nor suited for domestic law enforcement (not that the FBI was showing any restraint in the wholesale violation of civil liberties!). This is a huge step towards solidifying the new American military/police state.

Now, I live in a liberal state: Rhode Island. So while I’ve watched the long fall of America into what can only be called a classic fascist state with dismay, there wasn’t much I could do about it; the people who represent me in Congress were on the right side of the issues. Which is why I was utterly shocked to see that my own Senator, Sheldon Whitehouse – a man I’ve met and spoken with – voted against the Udall amendment.

I had to write to him.

Subject: Your vote on the Udall amendment to the AUMF

Sir, I am stunned and shocked that you voted against the Udall Amendment. As an attorney and former state Attorney General, surely you realize the implications that the authorization of indefinite military detention has for habeas corpus – it effectively *ends* it.

What possible excuse can you offer? I find myself utterly dismayed and personally betrayed by your inexplicable and abhorrent vote.

I have supported you in the past, but I can no longer do so. I will inform my family and friends of the implications of your vote, and ask them to take that into consideration during the primary (if a challenger is available) and on election day.

It’s worth noting the other Democratic Senators who betrayed their oaths of office by supporting the effective elimination of habeas corpus:

• • Casey, Robert P., Jr. – (D – PA)
  • Conrad, Kent – (D – ND)
  • Hagan, Kay R. – (D – NC)
  • Inouye, Daniel K. – (D – HI)
  • Kohl, Herb – (D – WI)
  • Landrieu, Mary L. – (D – LA)
  • Levin, Carl – (D – MI)
  • Lieberman, Joseph I. – (ID – CT)
  • Manchin, Joe, III – (D – WV)
  • McCaskill, Claire – (D – MO)
  • Menendez, Robert – (D – NJ)
  • Nelson, Ben – (D – NE)
  • Pryor, Mark L. – (D – AR)
  • Reed, Jack – (D – RI)
  • Shaheen, Jeanne – (D – NH)
  • Stabenow, Debbie – (D – MI)
  • Whitehouse, Sheldon – (D – RI)

Lieberman is no surprise; we’ll have a party at my house when that miserable excuse for a human being finally leaves the planet (I’m originally from Connecticut, so I’ve had to put up with that bastard for a long time). Nor am I shocked by Landrieu’s vote. She’s a corporate tool and authoritarian if ever there was one. But I actually thought McCaskill and Shaheen might have had some integrity. And I’ve just realized that my other Senator, Jack Reed, also voted against the amendment!

This passes all comprehension – I am really and utterly shocked. It should now be clear to anyone not utterly brain-dead that the system is hopelessly corrupt. But I’ll participate in it just enough to vote against Whitehouse and Reed in the primaries and on Election Day, and to urge friends and family to do likewise.

Update: I had to write to Senator Reed as well. Some of the text is taken from the letter to Whitehouse, but Reed’s behavior is, if anything, MORE inexplicable, because his record in the Senate was longer and more distinguished.

Sir, I am stunned and shocked that you voted against the Udall Amendment. Although I was outraged at Senator Whitehouse’s “nay” vote, in your case I am simply at my wit’s end.

What possible excuse can you offer? I find myself utterly dismayed and personally betrayed by your inexplicable and abhorrent vote.

I have supported you in the past, but I can no longer do so. I will inform my family and friends of the implications of your vote, and ask them to take that into consideration during the primary (if a challenger is available) and on election day.

Your vote was an absolute betrayal of your oath of office. It belies your entire record of accomplishment in the Senate. I can conceive of no possible reason that would excuse your actions.

I am ashamed of you, and I am furious. I will NOT forget, and will certainly never forgive.