GITMO vs NIMBY? WTF?

Democrats in Senate Block Money to Close Guantánamo
In an abrupt shift, Senate Democratic leaders said they would not provide the $80 million President Obama requested to close the detention center.

[snip]

“Guantánamo makes us less safe,” the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said at a news conference where he laid out the party’s rationale for its decision, which is expected to be voted on this week. “However, this is neither the time nor the bill to deal with this. Democrats under no circumstances will move forward without a comprehensive, responsible plan from the president. We will never allow terrorists to be released into the United States.”

Okay, someone please tell me that the senate democrats did NOT suddenly realize that closing GITMO meant moving the prisoners somewhere ELSE. I mean, they cannot be that stupid, right? So why all of a sudden have they chosen to adopt the GOP talking point that terrorists will be "released into the United States?"

Nobody's getting released. Prisoners will get moved into maximum security detention centers. As has been pointed out by wiser people than me, we keep plenty of psychos locked up without a lot of bother to their surrounding communities. If there's one thing our country is better than anyone else at - it's locking people up.

Which makes we wish there was a follow up question to this statement from Sen. Reid:

“You can’t put them in prison unless you release them,” he said. “We will never allow terrorists to be released in the United States.”

Seriously - WTF is he even saying? Someone - please make that make sense.

Late edit:

CQ Politics (H/t digby) has the exchange from Sen. Reid's press conference.  Incredibly, someone asked the obvious follow up to Reid's idiocy- here's the exchange (emphasis mine):

REID: I’m saying that the United States Senate, Democrats and Republicans, do not want terrorists to be released in the United States. That’s very clear.

QUESTION: No one’s talking about releasing them. We’re talking about putting them in prison somewhere in the United States.

REID: Can’t put them in prison unless you release them.

QUESTION: Sir, are you going to clarify that a little bit? I mean (OFF-MIKE).

REID: I can’t -- I can’t -- I can’t make it any more clear than the statement I have given to you. We will never allow terrorists to be released in the United States. I think the majority -- I speak for the majority of the Senate.

He can't be any clearer than that.

If there were any justice in the world, Reid would have been drowned out by a chorus of incredulous laughter as he said that.

Somebody needs to hold his stupid up to the light until Reid screams for mercy.