Chris Dodd for President

Today Senator Dodd will speaking at a rally in support of restoring habeas corpus, reversing the Military Commissions Act, and restoring the Constitution. It's being brought together under a coalition of organizations, including the ACLU, Amnesty International, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. It looks like there will be a crowd of over 3,000 people outside the Capitol this afternoon. Senator Dodd has been a strong supporter of restoring the Constitution since the onerous day that the Military Commissions Act was passed last fall. Dodd understands that the roll-back of rights and protections under the Bush administration has made us less secure. Senator Dodd's Restoring the Constitution Act would reverse the MCA, restore habeas, and ensure that America does not allow torture. Learn more at http://restore-habeas.org and join the more than 12,000 people who have become citizen co-sponsors of the the Restoring the Constitution Act. Senator Dodd will be speaking at the rally at 12:45. I'll be going and will report back later this afternoon. Christy Hardin Smith of FireDogLake has a run-down of current efforts to restore the Constitution. She's whipping her readers to get their representatives on the right side of the issue today: "Please take some time to call your elected representatives and tell them that you want to see the full restoration of habeas corpus. And that actions speak much louder than words — so you would like action on this now." Bob Geiger has more. Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft has two great posts up on efforts to close the prisons at Guantanamo Bay. First she draws attention to Senator Harkin's bill to close Gitmo -- Senator Dodd was the first co-sponsor to this legislation. Merritt writes, "For every day that the U.S. continues to hold detainees at Guantanamo without charges, the U.S. loses credibility with the world and violates our long-established and cherished standards of due process and adherence to the rule of law." Merritt also evaluates differing arguments for the procedure set up by the MCA to handle military commissions; it's a great piece that makes clear why these commissions are antithetical to America's spirit and history of moral leadership in the world.