Krazy Bill Kristol, un-American, says Fort Hood killer should be put to death without a trial

By Michael J.W. Stickings

On Fox News the other day -- where else? -- Krazy Kristol, discussing Nidal Malik Hasan and the Fort Hood massacre, came out against due process, the rule of law, the U.S. Constitution, and, well, America herself:

I was very struck also by Janet Napolitano's comment, I hadn't read it before to see her say that, that the number one priority is to bring him to justice is such a knee-jerk comment and such a stupid comment. He's going to be brought to justice. He is not going to be innocent of murder. There are a lot of eyewitnesses to that. They should just go ahead and convict him and put him to death.

This isn't just stupid, it's appalling -- and rather un-American, and hypocritical, coming from someone who wraps himself in the flag the way Krisol does.

But was he kidding? Well, if pressed, he might back down and say he was just making a point that a guilty conviction is inevitable, but he seemed to be speaking seriously.

And it's typical of Kristol, just as it's typical of conservatives generally. They talk up America as the unrivalled peak of human history, as the exception, as a worthy hegemon, and yet they think nothing of tearing down the foundations of American democracy and constitutionalism. So they push for the unitary executive when one of their own is in the White House, dismissing Congress and the Supreme Court as lesser branches. And so they put down the justice system, along with its Constitutional supports, as an inconvenience when they want to put away "terrorists," alleged or not, without a fair trial, or when their bloodlust turns to state-sanctioned killing, or when they just want to impose their will on the people.

For the right, neocons included, it's often about power, not principle -- or, rather, power is their principle, and they don't much care for anything that might stand in their way, including the very basis of the American justice system.