Over in Oneida County, Michael Arcuri is in the awkward position of having the NAACP being so angry that it has withheld its support for his congressional campaign. In large part, the NAACP's opposition to the Arcuri for Congress campaign has to do with many allegations of police brutality and a lack of fair trials under Michael Arcuri's watch as Oneida County District Attorney.
Now, I'm not a resident of Oneida County, so I don't know what the truth is about these allegations. I can talk about the perception of this problem, however - and when Michael Arcuri decided to declare his support for George W. Bush's pro-torture, anti-freedom Military Commissions Act, boy did Mike Arcuri make the perception of this problem worse.
Put two and two together, now. As District Attorney, Michael Arcuri has been accused of using unfair and dishonest tactics to get people convicted. Michael Arcuri has also been blamed for excessive brutality in several arrests.
How do you think it looks, now that Michael Arcuri has endorsed a new law that legalizes torture as a tool for law enforcement interrogations? How do you think it looks, now that Michael Arcuri has endorsed a new law that destroys the constitutional standards that ensure a fair trial?
I don't know if the accusations against Michael Arcuri are accurate, but I do know this: Michael Arcuri's support for George W. Bush's Military Commissions Act makes these accusations against Arcuri a bit more credible.
By supporting the Military Commissions Act, Michael Arcuri proved that he's the kind of guy who thinks that torturing criminal suspects and interfering with the procedures that guarantee a fair trial is a good idea.
Think about this, Oneida County. Is that really the kind of guy you want serving as your District Attorney? Is that the kind of guy that should have the responsibility of prosecuting you if you're accused of a crime?
Trust Michael Arcuri to do the right thing? No, I don't think so.
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8 comments:
You know, has anyone ever thought about the law school Michael Arcuri went to? When I first read it, I thought it was one of those on line law schools, does anyone know?
Michael Arcuri is a joke. I have posted blogs on other sites indicating this hippocritical racist. The Democrats of Oneida county as well as the entire 24th district (that is the Democrat higher up) support police brutality against the minorities because they have no respect for them.
And you prefer meier?!?!
Publius--
Considering that it was founded in 1891, I sincerely doubt it's an online school. Why not do a little research before shooting off your mouth?
But, oh yeah, Meier went to that powerhouse of legal brainpower, Syracuse U.
This blog is degenerating. Can we get back to evaluating Ray Meier? That was way more fun.
Curious,
I'm sorry you're not enjoying the beating that Arcuri is taking at this blog. To tell the truth, I'm not enjoying it either.
I'd much rather be able to focus on a storyline that the Republican candidate is awful, and the Democratic candidate is a great choice, but I can't do that and be honest at the same time.
Both Republican Ray Meier and Democrat Michael Arcuri are bad choices.
I'm a Democrat, and so when my own candidate betrays what I have considered to be fundamental Democratic values (for example, that we should support the Bill of Rights and not give the President of the United States unrestrained power) I believe that it's the Democrat I need to focus on.
Here's the reason why: There Republican Party is complete out of reach. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, is the subject of an intense battle. That battle is over the identity of the Democratic Party.
One group, led by the likes of Harold Ford Jr. and Joseph Lieberman, wants the Democrats to be like the Republican Party - and believes, in fact, that progressive idealism is a problem. They'll do whatever it takes to win, including going along with legislation that rips the Constitution to tatters.
The other group, led by the likes of Senator Russ Feingold, believes that the Democratic Party has to be different from the Republican Party. They want the Democratic Party to stand up for basic progressive values such as keeping the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution intact. These Democrats are not willing to sacrifice those freedoms in order to win - because they regard such a victory as the most terrible kind of loss.
Michael Arcuri is in the first group.
I'm in the second.
I am no more willing to vote for Michael Arcuri just because he's a Democrat than I would be to vote for Joseph Lieberman just because he's a Democrat.
If Lieberman and Arcuri win,and convert the Democratic Party to their vision, oh yes, the Republicans will be out of power, but it won't make a lick of difference, because the Democratic Party will have become just like the Republican Party - and Americans will no longer have a real choice. Such a result is much worse even than the present circumstance, which is to have a minority party that stands up for what's right at least some of the time.
Oh, and Curious, I'll get back to Ray Meier when Michael Arcuri stops supporting the Military Commissions Act, and says so in public.
It's up to Arcuri when I start going after Ray Meier again, as I've made it clear that my condition for doing so is that Arcuri drop his support for the unprecedented pro-torture, anti-freedom legislation.
Arcuri just won't admit that he was wrong on this crucial issue. It's an issue so important that I can't compromise on it.
Jon--I completely agree with you about how truly awful a candidate Mike Arcuri is. I just think you were doing a public service by expressing the many reasons we should fear a Congressman Meier. Meier is both far smarter and far more radical than Arcuri. His views on Iraq, women's issues, and the role of government are diametrically opposed to mine (and, I'm willing to bet, to yours). He is not a benign Boehlert figure. Don't lose sight of that in your anger at Arcuri's continued spinelessness.
Yes, I am opposed to Ray Meier, because I don't agree with his agenda. So, the fact that Ray Meier is clearly more intelligent and politically able than Michael Arcuri doesn't make me sleep well at night considering the possibility of him gaining a seat in Congress.
However, the possibility of a Democratic Party infiltrated with unscrupulous, self-centered Democrats who are willing to support the most terrible of George W. Bush's plans to ruin America has me worried even more.
Imagine an America without a real opposition party. Imagine an America with a Democratic Party that goes along with whatever the Republican Party proposes, because Democratic politicians are afraid that if they do otherwise, they'll lose elections. That's the Democratic Party that politicians like Michael Arcuri would create - as shown quite clearly when Arcuri supported the Military Commissions Act.
Michael Arcuri is like our own Joseph Lieberman, and he will be a plague upon the 24th district Democrats for a generation if we do not stop him now. Even worse, he may be part of the effort to turn the entire Democratic Party that way - and then we'll have nothing to protect us from tyranny.
Just look around you - habeas corpus is rescinded, and the Democratic Party shrugs its shoulders. Mark Foley sends naughty emails, and the Democratic Party whips itself into a maelstrom of fury.
We Democrats are looking more like Republicans all the time, and that's got me very concerned.
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