MSNBC’s newest liberal darling Chris Hayes has just been given a promotion, going from weekend anchor to host of his own primetime show, All In w/ Chris Hayes. So how does he celebrate? By arguing that Guantanamo detainees should be paid restitution and allowed to live in the United States, with a path, ultimately to citizenship, of course.
In an article posted on MSNBC.com, Hayes criticized Guantanamo Bay’s continued existence in a piece entitled, “Time for radical action on Guantanamo.” Hayes, who railed against Obama’s failure to keep his promise to close the prison in Cuba, argues that:
The dozens of men who have been cleared by the United States government for release should be released immediately, should be paid restitution, and offered legal residence in the United States.
Hayes began his diatribe by sympathizing with the 40 or so detainees engaging in a hunger strike at the prison, comparing them to the hundreds of New York City fast food workers who walked off the job on April 4. Hayes argued that:
Of the 166 detainees left at Guantanamo over half of them have already been cleared for release, meaning that the government does not have a case against them and does not think they pose a threat to the United States. And yet they languish at the prison at Guantanamo.
Unsurprisingly, primarily blamed Republicans in Congress for Guantanamo’s continued existence:
And he did, to his credit, try to close the facility, only to be met with the most craven of political opposition from Republican—and then fellow Democratic members of Congress. But faced with that opposition, he and the Democrats—and frankly all of us as citizens—have fallen into accepting complacency.
Hayes ignored the obvious fact that most countries from which the detainees originate do not want these men to return to their county, for obvious reasons. If numerous countries do not want to accept these inmates back into their home country, why would the United States? Hayes not only wants these detainees to receive restitution, but also offer legal residence in the United States, a policy that is far to the left of President Obama.
The issue of what to do with detainees at Guantanamo who have been found not guilty is a sensitive and tricky issue, but Hayes’ reactionary response ignores the seriousness of the war on terror.
Hayes decides to end his liberal plea the following way:
If that sounds radical or outside the boundaries of political feasability, I would say that shoving tubes up the noses of men a few times a day to force them to stay alive in our prisons, even though we readily admit we have to no reason to continue to keep them, is pretty damn radical, too.
Hayes’ extreme liberalism is what we can expect on a nightly basis from the new primetime MSNBC host. Unfortunately, such outrageous statements are not foreign to Hayes, who, you may recall, admitted that he's “uncomfortable” with calling U.S. military servicemen and women who are killed in action, "heroes."
