The politics of fear may be the next breaking point in the Republican Party. While Rush Limbaugh and Liz Cheney lead the charge among the fear-mongers of the danger of the rule of law, a handful of conservative leaders support closing Guantanamo:
[O]n Sunday, a group of highly respected conservative figures lent their support to the transfer, calling it necessary to "preserve national security" while simultaneously avoiding "sweeping and radical departures from an American constitutional tradition."
In a joint statement prepared by the Constitution Project, David Keene, founder of American Conservative Union, Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, and former representative and presidential candidate Bob Barr say moving suspected terrorists to the Thomson, Illinois prison facility, "makes good sense." Taxpayers, they note, have already invested $145 million in the facility, which has been "little used." And the surrounding community, they add, could benefit from increased employment once the prison becomes filled.
"The scaremongering about these issues should stop," they add, noting that there is "absolutely no reason to fear that prisoners will escape or be released into their communities."
A surprising recognition of reality from Keene and Norquist particularly, who are among the most powerful conservatives in the country. Maybe after losing two elections in which the fear card failed to sway voters, they're thinking it's time to rethink that. On the other hand, elected Republicans seem to be doubling down on pushing fear:
House Republican Mark Kirk of Northbrook called for a "Homeland Insecurity Impact Study" on the vulnerability of O'Hare International Airport and Willis Tower before funds could be spent on the transfer of prisoners, said Kirk spokeswoman Susan Kuczka.
Kirk, a GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate, wants the Government Accountability Office to conduct the study.
House Republican Aaron Schock of Peoria plans to introduce a measure aimed at prohibiting the use of federal dollars to move the detainees to Thomson, a Schock spokesman said today.
I don't know how Kirk's going to resolve that, having been one of 63 Republicans voting with Democrats in the House to pass a defense authorization bill that included a provision to transfer Guantanamo prisoners.