“Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know” is a popular proverb. It is better to deal with a person or thing you know, even if you do not like them, than to deal with a new thing or person who could be even worse.

We know the platform of the Democrats is bad and we expect the Republicans to be the guardians of our constitutional principles. The problem is, too many Republicans are equally bad and we don’t do enough about it. In the end, we still end up with devils – the Republicans.

Republicans want their committee chairmanships back so they can spend our money in ways different from the Democrats, but spend it they will.

Where were the Republicans in defending our liberties against the latest attack on our liberties? It was John McCain – a Republican – in March of 2010 who introduced a bill in the Senate that would allow U.S. citizens to be arrested and detained indefinitely, all without Miranda rights or ever being charged with a crime if they were suspected of terrorism.

As you know, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDDAA) passed with overwhelming Republican support.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who voted for the NDDAA, stated that for the first time there is a law that says “that the homeland is part of the battlefield.” What? Our southern border is a sieve, and McCain, Graham, and more than 80 other senators are worried about Americans? Who will get to define “terrorist”? One person’s terrorist is another person’s blog writer opposing the policies of the President.

The National Defense Authorization Act greatly expands the power and scope of the federal government to fight the War on Terror, including codifying into law the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects without trial. Under the new law the US military has the power to carry out domestic anti-terrorism operations on US soil.

“The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it,” the president said in a statement. “I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists.”

Worse, the NDAA authorizes the military to detain even US citizens under the broad new anti-terrorism provisions provided in the bill, once again without trial.

Of course, those who voted for the NDDAA will tell you that U.S. citizens are exempt from its provisions. “The bill is purposely muddled on this issue which is what is enabling the falsehood,” constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald explained.

Section 1022 exempts U.S. citizens from the requirement of military detention. This doesn’t mean that a U.S. citizen can be put under military detention. Glenn Greenwald makes an important point:

“For foreign nationals accused of being members of Al Qaeda, military detention is mandatory; for U.S. citizens, it is optional. This section does not exempt U.S citizens from the presidential power of military detention: only from the requirement of military detention.”

Coupled with SOPA, the radical Internet censorship bill Congress plans to vote on later this month that has the support of a number of high profile Republicans, the NDDAA could turn America into a police state.

The Republicans who voted for the NDDAA will tell you that there’s nothing to worry about. Congressmen who vote for a law that at the moment does not seem to do one thing, rarely consider that a later president and congress, as conditions change, will read the law in a different way. Whoever would have thought the income tax would be what it is today or Social Security?

At the time the Social Security Act was implemented, it did not apply to all Americans. In addition, the maximum tax was 2 percent on $3000. Now, nearly every American is in the system and pays 14.4 percent on a maximum $106,800.

Republicans also supported raising the debt ceiling, TARP, and other legislation to save our economy. All of these have only worked to enable Democrats, increase the power of the State, and make us more of a debtor nation than we already are.