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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > June > 02 > Entry
Martin Gottlieb: Austria messes around; bids to be the un-Hobson
As you may have heard, President Barack Obama wants to close the American prison for accused terrorists and enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay (on the same island as Cuba). Actually, President George W. Bush said he wanted to close it, too. But Obama has set a deadline — in a year.
Gitmo, as it’s called, has become an international symbol of bad practices: holding people endlessly without trials, concrete charges or contact with the outside world, and, in earlier stages of the Iraq war, mistreating prisoners.
The Bush administration had hoped that by keeping the prisoners outside this country, it could circumvent laws pertaining to other prisoners. The conservative U.S. Supreme Court shot down that stratagem.
Some people have raised alarms about the idea of putting these dangerous prisoners in the states.
However, Obama notes that “Nobody has ever escaped from one of our federal ‘supermax’ prisons, which hold hundreds of convicted terrorists.”
He approvingly quotes Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-N.C.: “The idea that we cannot find a place to securely house 250-plus detainees within the United States is not rational.”
(The president’s speech on the subject, which disposes of many of the alarms raised about his plans, is available at www.whitehouse.gov. Go to “speeches,” then to May 21. The speech label mentions national security.)
But Rep. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, is rising above the rational. He has proposed legislation “to prevent the enemy combatants currently housed at Guantanamo Bay from being relocated to Ohio.”
Curiously, Austria’s press release (available at his Web site) does not explain what would be so awful about putting the prisoners here. Because nobody knows how to contain them? Because Ohio doesn’t have the right kind of prisons?
Instead, he settles for noting three times in a brief statement that the Obama administration has put forth no plan for where the prisoners would go.
But he also notes that the House Appropriations Committee has turned down the Obama request for $80 million to close Gitmo and move the prisoners, precisely because there’s no plan. The Senate has also balked, citing the same reason.
One might think that would be enough to handle the situation, eliminating the need for state-by-state bans.
But one must understand the political problems of a freshman congressman in a minority party. He’s not going to get much that’s real accomplished, except maybe to get some money or other federal actions on local projects.
And, as to that, Austria can’t compete with his predecessor, Dave Hobson, a master of the process. Perhaps Austria had that fact in mind when he opted out of the competition for local “earmarks” for this year.
Note: This year. Maybe later, when he gets the hang of things.
Meanwhile, you take the opportunities that present themselves to, at least, look like you’re doing something.
And who’s to say he’s really making no difference? Remember the fellow who said he was working hard to keep wild elephants off the streets? When told there are no wild elephants on the streets, he said, “You’re welcome.”
The thing is, though, a politician does pay a price for the job this way. You become known in Washington for just messing around, rather than keeping it real. You become the un-Hobson. It’s hard to imagine the all-business Hobson engaging in this sort of cheap stunt.
But maybe Austria is on to something. Maybe the state-by-state approach is the right way to handle national issues. Maybe, when we go to war, for example, we should let the states decide one by one which ones will be subject to having their reserve and National Guard units called. The liberal states could say, “Let the red states handle things, if they’re so gung ho.”
Taxes and environmental regulations? Let the blue states have them if they’re so gung ho; let the others opt out.
Austria didn’t invent the hyper-parochial approach to national politics, of course. And a couple of years ago, newly elected Gov. Ted Strickland said he didn’t think Ohio should have to accept Iraqi refugees. His point was that the president had caused this problem; let him and his supporters eat it. Strickland quickly backed off, though.
At that stage, it wasn’t really about where to put refugees. The state wasn’t going to have a say. It was about what kind of reputation a guy wants.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: Columns, Martin Gottlieb, Miami Valley Politics
Comments
By RWE
June 3, 2009 7:55 AM | Link to this
You know what Gottlieb? He’s doing what we want him to do. Being a liberal, you wouldn’t understand. (And NCR wasn’t going to move either)By Kay Lewis
June 3, 2009 5:06 PM | Link to this
Congressman Steve Austria is doing exactly what we sent him to Washington to do. We don’t want terrorists in the U.S. much less Ohio.By we got fooled
June 3, 2009 8:30 PM | Link to this
Gottlieb, you call keeping terrorists (captured on the battlefield) out of our State a “cheap stunt”? How small minded and ridiculous. It would have been laughable in WWII or even Vietnam for a US President to even publicly consider closing such a highly effective prison. You see, the sad, pathetic overture Obama is making to left wing extemists by promising to close a prison full of American enemies is the REAL political stunt. I hope Congressman Austria does not bother to read your pacifist blather.By Martin Gottlieb
June 4, 2009 1:21 AM | Link to this
Actually, German WWII prisoners were held at Wright-Patt.By we got fooled
June 4, 2009 10:22 AM | Link to this
Holding prisoners here was fine then because ther ewas nary a thought of conferring upon them constitutional rights. Thanks to the America- loathing ACLU, we can no longer trust our liberal-activist corrupted judicial system to use common sense.By dhampton100
June 5, 2009 9:21 PM | Link to this
Steve Austria was an empty suit while in Ohio and he’s an empty suit now. “Messing around” is what he always done. Pretending like he’s doing something when in reality he has accomplished nothing other than running his mouth and taking home a paycheck. The only people who continue to vote for him are the closet racist in his district. He’s a racist, they are racist and they deserve each other. He couldn’t care less about his constituents!By CU
June 6, 2009 8:48 AM | Link to this
Dhampton, there is always a common theme to your blogs; no substance. How do you know Steve Austria’s supporters are racist? Do you even know what the definition of racist is? If you want to make a point use examples, substance, and facts. Otherwise, all you are doing is showing every one of us how angry you are that things did not quite work out in life how you had hoped. And yes, we know, it’s all the Republicans fault.By David
June 6, 2009 6:48 PM | Link to this
Many German POW’s when released went back home and told people the negative stories they heard about Americans were not true.I wonder what the prisoners from this war will say when they go back home. I am no softy I thought the war was a tough call but right. I just hate the way we executed it. John McCain was right Rumsfeld was terrible.