Let's Talk About Disgust Part II Why Sam Brownback, Pat Roberts and those who defend them are douchebags

I posted a link to the Daily Show’s bit about 30 Republican senators voting against Al Franken’s “No Government contracts for Gang Rapists” amendment on Facebook.

An acquaintance tried to defend Brownback and Roberts and the rest of the gang of 30, stating that Franken’s amendment was nothing but political bullshit designed as a gift to trial lawyers. He then went on to state that Jamie Leigh Jones was not denied the ability to pursue criminal charges against the men who raped her, she was just barred from suing Halliburton and KBR.

At first, I thought about giving my acquaintance the benefit of the doubt. Apparently, this acquaintance didn’t know that much about the case. But then I realized no, there’s no reason to offer someone the benefit of the doubt when it comes to gang rape, false imprisonment, denial of medical treatment, and destruction of evidence.

So, just to make sure there is no confusion here about Franken’s amendment and the fact that it is in no way a “gift” to trial lawyers or a bunch of political bullshit, let’s review the case.

All statements will be paraphrased from the following sources:

Wikipedia page on Jamie Leigh Jones
ABC article
The Age article
Guardian UK article

Jamie was drugged into unconsciousness and then gang raped by seven KBR/Halliburton firefighters in the Iraqi Green Zone.

Jamie awoke the next day “naked and severely bruised, with lacerations to her vagina and anus, blood running down her leg, her breast implants ruptured, and her pectoral muscles torn – which would later require reconstructive surgery.”

A US Army doctor was brought in to examine her and a rape kit was completed.

The rape kit was handed over to KBR officials and Jamie was locked in a trailer under armed guards, denied food, water, and further medical treatment. The rape kit would conveniently be “lost” for the next two years.

She was told that if she reported it or tried to leave Iraq for medical treatment she would be out of a job with KBR both in Iraq and in Houston.

Jamie was able to convince one of her guards to let her use a cell phone. She contacted her father, who got in touch with Texas Representative Ted Poe (a Republican) who, in turn, contacted the State Department.

State Department officials in Iraq retrieved Jamie and brought her home to Texas.

Without the rape kit, and with Jamie only able to identify one of her attackers, criminal proceedings were unlikely. Also, KBR claimed they were protected from prosecution by CPA order 17. And, although a section of the US Code provides for jurisdiction by the DOJ, the DOJ has not yet filed any criminal charges and it does not appear that they will.

In May 2007, a State Dept. diplomat recovered the rape kit (which never should have been handed over to KBR in the first place), but the kit is missing the important notes and photographs taken by the Army doctor. Without the notes and photographs, criminal prosecution is next to impossible due to a lack of evidence.

Jamie and her family and lawyers, unable to pursue a criminal case, chose the civil courts as a path to justice. However, KBR states that the terms of Jamie’s employment contract require that she enter into private arbitration with KBR.

KBR has won over 80% of its arbitration cases, including sexual assault cases similar to Jamie’s. Also, under the terms of this private arbitration, there would be no public record, no criminal charges, and no recourse if arbitration were to go against Jamie. In other words, Jamie’s brutal victimization would have an 80% chance of going completely unpunished.

Finally, in September 2009, the 5th circuit court of appeals decided that Jamie’s case should be tried in open court.

Also in September, Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts, the senators from Kansas, voted in favor of stripping government funds to ACORN because a few gullible employees were caught in a sting operation by two “Conservative activists” posing as a pimp and a hooker looking for way to beat government taxes. Although some unwise ACORN employees did attempt to answer the poseur’s questions, no actual crime was committed and a number of ACORN employees didn’t fall for it and some even contacted police - but ACORN still lost its government contract to help with the next US Census.

Just last week, Senator Al Franken added an amendment to a defense spending bill that would deny government contracts to companies, like KBR, that have placed clauses in their employment contracts requiring that employees working overseas go through arbitration instead of seeking criminal or civil proceedings in all complaints against the company.

Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts voted against Franken’s amendment because they must believe it’s OK to give government money (our tax dollars) to companies that have employees who gang rape a female employee, lock her up behind armed guards, deny her medical treatment, threaten her with the loss of her job, destroy evidence, and and then try to avoid any public accountability for those criminal acts.

To say that voting against Franken’s amendment is standing up to political bullshit, or preventing the enrichment of trial lawyers, is simply morally reprehensible. The ACORN vote established the principle that it’s OK to strip a government contract from a group for giving hypothetical answers to hypothetical questions from a fake pimp. But for 30 Republicans, Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts being two of them, it’s just political theatre the strip a government contract from a group that committed a real crime and then tried to cover up that crime.

Fake crime = no government cheese for you.

Real crime = Here’s billions of dollars for you, and we’ll turn a blind eye the next time some of your employees decide to drug, gang rape, and imprison one of your own employees.

Franken’s amendment is indirect justice. Franken’s amendment is good politics, proposed for the right reasons - to ensure that Americans working abroad, can’t have their right to seek justice for crimes committed against them heard in open court.

Corporations are not more important than people. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts need to learn that.

Pat Roberts needs to be voted out of office, and Sam Brownback should not be elected the Governor of Kansas.