Partisan Rancor Places Common Good in Harm’s Way

Partisan wrangling has long been a part of the American landscape. Maybe it is natural, but it looks more and more to me like a blight threatening the healthier parts of democracy.

Today, Senator John McCain led his fellow Republican Senators in criticizing the Obama administration for deciding to let the federal courts charge the man accused of trying to bring down a passenger jet bound for Detroit on Christmas Day. I am assuming Senator McCain would prefer the accused be hauled off to Guantanamo without a trial. McCain called the decision to prosecute suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in civilian courts a “terrible, terrible mistake.”

Justice served is never a mistake, Senator.

Listen, I want the bomber to pay a price for his crime. Like Senator McCain, I also want all the other idiots out there who are in league with the bomber to know we are coming after them. To that end, I want to give our military, law enforcement and courts the tools they need to bring these guys to justice when they catch them. And, let me be clear, I am talking about justice as the word is defined, not as the loaded word it has become because Senator McCain and the cowboys we see in movies see justice as synonymous with revenge.

Justice; 1) fairness or reasonableness, especially in the way people are treated or decisions are made 2) the legal system, or the act of applying or upholding the law

Revenge; 1) the punishment of somebody in retaliation for harm done 2) something done to get even with somebody else who has caused harm

We Americans have developed a system of governance based on fairness and respect for human rights. Granted, we often fall short in carrying this out, but we still tend to a better job than everybody else in the world and we should never stop trying to do better. If we give up pursuing justice and abandon our legal system because we are angry and want simple revenge, the terrorists will have stolen one of our most valuable possessions. We will have taken a step closer to being like them, zealots who believe they have the right to kill, maim and imprison at will in the name of their cause.

The United States courts are perfectly capable of handling the underwear bomber case and meting out justice. They did so in the case of Richard Reid. In 2003 the so-called shoe bomber and self-admitted member of Al Qaeda was convicted by a U.S. federal court and sentenced to life without patrol for attempting to destroy a commercial aircraft in-flight by detonating explosives hidden in his shoes. The underwear bomber deserves the same, but my opinion on that doesn’t matter. What matters is that our courts have the ability to do the job. Senator McCain needs to climb down off his political soapbox and let them do so.

The reason Senator McCain and other Republicans who were silent about the federal court handling the trial of the shoe bomber in 2003 are voicing objections in this case is to score political points against a Democrat President. This political game playing is disappointing coming from men and women who so proudly wear patriotism on their sleeves and it tarnishes America’s image. Let’s cut the politics, embrace justice and focus our efforts on rooting out the evil people who are out to do us harm.

The best course to beating the terrorists and tyrants of the world is the one that seeks justice and steers clear of retribution without righteousness.

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.