Chris Dodd for President

Senator Dodd delivered the commencement address at Cardozo Law School in New York earlier today. The speech was titled "Restoring Our Constitution: Away From Vengeance, Toward the Rule of Law." Here is an excerpt of the speech, as prepared. The full text of the remarks can be read here.

Restoring our standing in the world starts with restoring our moral authority – it starts with restoring our Constitution. That is why I have introduced legislation establishing military commissions that will allow us to vigorously bring terrorists to justice while upholding our nation’s historic legal principles. History has shown us that even in the face of unprecedented horror, the two goals are not mutually exclusive. To the contrary, they are wholly dependent on one another. By insisting that suspected terrorists will be treated consistent with norms of our national law and the Geneva Conventions, to which we remain a signatory, I believe we can make the military commission process protect national security while upholding the international credibility so critical to securing America. If last century’s most heinous criminals could receive due process, there’s no reason in the world this century’s most heinous criminals should be denied it. That is why, this summer, I intend to make a major push to bring the Restoring the Constitution Act to a vote in the United States Senate and restore habeas corpus rights once and for all. It’s time we once again draw upon America’s historic principles and ideals to secure the country that created them.