Pick Your Poison Vol. 5: Will House Democrats choose Clinton or Sanders on Gitmo?

Hillary Clinton has failed in her quest to unify Democrats behind her, and now faces the prospect of a contested convention that will be decided by party insiders rather than voters. House Democrats now have a choice to make: Will they risk the ire of the liberal base and stand by unpopular FBI target Clinton? Or will they turn to socialist Senator Bernie Sanders and his extreme policies?

In this fifth of a series of pieces highlighting the pair of undesirable choices placed before Democrats, we will examine the Clinton and Sanders positions on the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, commonly known as Gitmo.

• President Obama has been pushing to close the terrorist detention facility at Gitmo since his 2008 primary fight against Hillary Clinton. The administration’s latest plan calls for the relocation to U.S. soil of nearly 60 terrorists who face trial by military commission or have been deemed too dangerous to release.
  • An Obama administration official has confirmed that prisoner transfers from Gitmo have already resulted in the deaths of Americans.
  • A recent poll showed that 56% of Americans oppose President Obama’s plan to close the facility.
• Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders support President Obama’s plan to close Gitmo and move the terrorists held there to U.S. soil.
  • As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton advocated for the closure of the facility, and she has expressed her support for Obama’s current plan.
  • In 2007, Bernie Sanders was one of only three Senators to vote against barring the transfer of Gitmo detainees to U.S. soil, and has praised the current Obama administration plan.
• Whether Democrats ultimately back unpopular FBI target Hillary Clinton or socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, they will be forced to defend a dangerous policy on Gitmo that most Americans oppose.

NRCC COMMENT: “Whether House Democrats stand with unpopular FBI target Hillary Clinton or socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, they will have to explain why they are backing a plan to bring dangerous terrorists to U.S. soil. Both Clinton and Sanders have been faithful supporters of President Obama’s misguided policy on the terrorists being detained at Gitmo, and have vowed to continue on the same dangerous course if elected.” – Bob Salera, NRCC Spokesman

Background:

Sanders: ‘It will be a contested convention.’ “Bernie Sanders predicted Sunday that Hillary Clinton would not win enough pledged delegates to claim the nomination ahead of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, and he delivered his most forceful call yet for superdelegates in states he’s won to consider throwing their support to him. Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the Vermont senator argued that Clinton ‘will need superdelegates to take her over the top at the convention in Philadelphia. In other words, it will be a contested convention.’” (Daniel Strauss, Politico, 5/1/16)

Pentagon’s Guantanamo closing plan lays out costs, savings. “The plan, which will be delivered to Congress Tuesday, is the administration’s last-ditch effort to make good on President Barack Obama’s campaign vow to close Guantanamo and convince lawmakers to allow the Defense Department to move nearly 60 detainees to the U.S…There are currently 91 detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Of those, 35 are expected to be transferred out by this summer. The rest are either facing trial by military commission or have been determined to be too dangerous to release but are not facing charges.” (Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press, 2/23/16)

Americans ‘Died Because of’ Released Gitmo Detainees: Pentagon Official. “Americans ‘have died because of’ detainees released from the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, a Defense Department official said Wednesday. The comments, from special envoy Paul Lewis, came during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, and may provide more fuel for critics of President Obama’s long-anticipated plan to shutter the prison, which he announced last month. During the hearing, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., asked Lewis how many people had died because of ‘terrorists who went back to their terrorist activity.’ When Lewis responded that he would prefer to discuss the matter in a ‘classified setting,’ Rohrabacher pressed him, asking if it was ‘over 10.’ ‘Sir, what I can tell you is unfortunately there have been Americans that have died because of Gitmo detainees,’ Lewis said.” (Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 3/23/16)

CNN/ORC poll: Americans oppose plan to close Guantanamo Bay prison. “Americans oppose President Barack Obama’s efforts to close the detention center for enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to the results of a CNN/ORC poll released Friday. The poll found that 56% oppose shutting the center, while 40% support the idea.” (Tom LoBianco, CNN, 3/24/16)

Hillary Clinton urged Obama to close Guantanamo Bay. “Just weeks before she stepped down as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton sent President Obama a memo urging him to close the Guantanamo Bay prison and offering strategies to do so, the Huffington Post reported. ‘I remain a strong advocate of your policy to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility (GTMO) responsibly and to ensure U.S. detention policy and practice for terrorism suspects are consistent with U.S. values and do not strengthen our enemies,’ Clinton wrote in the memo, which the Huffington Post obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. (Rebecca Kaplan, CBS News, 11/30/15)

Sanders praises Gitmo plan, takes shot at Clinton. “Bernie Sanders praised President Barack Obama’s proposal to shut down the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay on Tuesday, while attacking the voting record of Hillary Clinton, his former Senate colleague, in the process. The statement goes on to note that in 2007, Sanders was one of only three senators who voted against barring the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to U.S. soil. Clinton herself co-sponsored legislation in 2007 to close the facility and transfer detainees to the U.S. facilities, to international tribunals or to other countries, voting with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on a separate non-binding resolution that would prohibit detainees from being ‘released into American society.’” (Nick Gass, Politico, 2/23/16)