100 Days to Restore the Constitution: Assessment by the Center for Constitutional Rights

[Better Believe It]

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.

CCR uses litigation proactively to advance the law in a positive direction, to empower poor communities and communities of color, to guarantee the rights of those with the fewest protections and least access to legal resources, to train the next generation of constitutional and human rights attorneys, and to strengthen the broader movement for constitutional and human rights. Our work began on behalf of civil rights activists, and over the last four decades CCR has lent its expertise and support to virtually every popular movement for social justice.

In the 2008 elections, the people of the United States resoundingly rejected the Bush administration legacy of torture, warrantless surveillance and a seemingly endless expansion of executive power under the rubric of the “war on terror.” What remained to be seen, however, was the political willingness and commitment of the Obama administration to not only promise hope and change, but to take concrete action to free the United States, its people and the world of the attacks on civil liberties and other human rights over the past 8 years – and beyond – and to restore the Constitution and the freedoms and rights it promises.

The intention of this report on the first 100 days of the Obama administration – tracked against CCR’s 100 Days goals for President Obama – is to assess where it has made progress and where it has merely paused or even sustained Bush policies and to provide a guide to moving real change forward. The Obama administration can indeed fulfill its promise – by creating a historic precedent for the rule of law, reestablishing the Constitution and clearly acknowledging – despite 8 years of assertions of imperial power – that presidential power does not include automatic immunity for criminal acts.

Please read the report at:

http://ccrjustice.org/100daysassessment

[dgibby]

1. This is a damming assessment, especially for a Constitutional scholar.

I realize it's early in his presidency, but if these problems aren't addressed and resolved sooner, rather that later, it will not help Obama retain either his base or independents.

[lostnotforgotten]

2. Obama Has Already Lost This Independent That Voted For Him And Contributed

eom

[jenmito]

8. That's obvious. n/t

[pleah]

3. I hope everyone reads this.

K&R

Bookmarked.

[polichick]

4. Thanks for the post - it's helpful to see all these issues and actions in one place.

k&r

[depakid]

5. I'm going to give the DOJ about another year or so before I'll say for sure

whether I regret my vote (not that there was a Green last time out to have voted for). Thus far, I'm thoroughly disappointed with the DOJ's decisions both in this area and with respect to banksters and other decisions to proceed- or not proceed on certain sorts of cases.

[bvar22]

6. Overwhelming to see this all on one page.

Time for The Center for Constitutional Rights to get thrown under the bus.

[Robb]

7. Seems like good stuff to me, no reason for the bus just yet.

Although, on that "all on one page" bit, the report does take Obama to task for not "Holding the Torturers Accountable" at the top, then give him mild props near the bottom for "Recognizing that the Attorney General, and not the president, has the authority to make the decision whether to prosecute torturers."

Seems a bit of a contradiction. Unless CCR is saying there's another way to hold them accountable besides prosecutions? :shrug: