Carl Levin Bucks White House On Detainee Provisions

[Purveyor]

By MANU RAJU | 12/1/11 11:34 PM EST Updated: 12/2/11 12:01 AM EST

An unlikely thorn has been stuck in President Barack Obama’s side all week: Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin.

The liberal Michigan Democrat — who voted against the Iraq War in 2002 and typically votes with his party nine out of 10 times — rejected call after call by senior Obama administration officials to overhaul how his defense bill handles the treatment of suspected terrorists.

Setting up a high-stakes showdown, Levin teamed up with Obama’s 2008 rival, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), to push a $662 billion defense bill over the White House’s veto threat because of a highly contentious provision that could allow the military to indefinitely imprison suspected terrorists.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed the defense bill Thursday night, 93-7, after Levin agreed with critics to include language ensuring that nothing in the bill would affect current law for those arrested in the United States. But the administration’s most significant concerns — that the bill could impede sensitive intelligence investigations — don’t appear to be fully resolved, potentially escalating tensions between the White House and Capitol Hill.

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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/69585.html

[tabatha]

1. Carl Levin - I hope you see the light and soon.

[KT2000]

2. What is wrong with him?

This does not sound like him.
I can just see our local border patrol - 50 agents who have nothing to do - round up suspected "terrorists" just to justify their huge budgets. They are already required to work overtime even though they have nothing to do. Justifying budgets can create lots of havoc.

[laylah]

3. I am SO

disappointed in him. This makes NO sense at all.

[leftyohiolib]

4. section 1032

APPLICABILITY TO UNITED STATES CITIZENS AND LAWFUL RESIDENT ALIENS.—

(1) UNITED STATES CITIZENS.—The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States.

(2) LAWFUL RESIDENT ALIENS.—The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to a lawful resident alien of the United States on the basis of conduct taking place within the United States, States except to the extent permitted by the Constitution of the United.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. Levin needs to go and should have gone years ago

A DOMA yes voter, a man who never apologized for his bigotry, his support for hate law. Levin is not what I think of as a good citizen, and he should not hold office of any kind. It is high time for the main stream Democrats to note that those who oppose my civil rights also do not care a whit for their rights either, they'd all lock you up and toss the key, claim God is in the mix when they do it. You all need to stop accepting that shit prior to creating the path to a police state. Think it over.
The Senators who voted against this support my rights as well. See how it works? It is really simple, people.

[Freddie Stubbs]

6. Levin is a cosponsor of a The Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA:

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2011/10/20/levin-agrees-to-co-sponsor-doma-repeal/

[karynnj]

7. He is a cosponsor of the the act to overturn DOMA

The fact is that only 14 Senators voted against it - and only one of them who was up for re-election, as Levin was, did - and Kerry represented Massachusetts, where it would not hurt him. Even Paul Wellstone voted for it.

Gay rights are still not where they should be, but there has been a lot of positive change - and Levin is on the right side in pushing for the needed change now.

His action on this bill is more disturbing and I really don't get it fro his past positions. What is also odd is that Reed was with him on this. Reed is on the Armed Services committee and is a vet who went to West Point. He is usually a strong liberal vote. (For what it is worth, his fellow RI liberal Senator, Whitehouse was for it as well. ) Webb and Akaka, other vets (and Blumenthal) on the committee voted against it. It might be interesting to see if there were open hearings on this in the Armed Services Committee. (The Democrats fro that committee split - with Levin, Lieberman, Reed, Ben Nelson, McCaskill, Hagen, Manchin, and Shaheen for it; Akaka, Webb, Mark Udall(CO), Gilibrand and Bluenthal agaisnt it. Begich did not vote.

[Pirate Smile]

8. Once again, the problem is Congress.