The restoration of habeas corpus crosses ideological lines.  The Chairman of the American Conservative Union, David Keene and former legal adviser to the Bush administration William H. Taft IV are both on board.  And so are some right-wing bloggers, like Right-Thinking from the Left Coast,

How fucking pathetic is it that the Democrats, the fucking DEMOCRATS, the party who I have seen wiping its ass with the Constitution for most of my lifetime, working to restore habeas corpus rights to Americans...I've often parodied Howard Dean by saying that I hate the Democrats and everything they stand for.  Well, if they have the balls to stand up to the fucking Bush Republicans and officially restore canonical law then I say "You go, girl!"

Though it's not an ideological issue, it is a partisan issue because of the authoritarian worship of Bush on the right.  He can do no wrong, and therefore the Military Commissions Act was a perfect law to pass.  Putting lawmakers on the spot is a great way to wedge conservatives.  Anyway, here's The Hill reporting on what's going on today with the DoD authorization bill.

The new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee dealt a blow to the human-rights community by failing to include provisions to overhaul GOP legislation governing military tribunals in the 2008 defense authorization bill.

The chairman's move is attracting criticism from some who say Democrats' dedication to the issue is wavering.

Scores of human-rights lawyers and attorneys representing military detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, have targeted Rep. Ike Skelton's (D-Mo.) defense authorization bill as a chance to restore the writ of habeas corpus -- detainees' right to challenge the legality of their detention in court.

Skelton said he has prepared separate legislation and is planning to work with Democratic leadership, the Judiciary Committee and members of the Armed Services panel to bring a stand-alone bill to the floor. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is supporting Skelton's efforts to move forward with a stand-alone bill, according to a Pelosi aide.

Skelton doesn't want a showdown with Bush on the legislation, and he doesn't want the bill to pass along partisan lines.  The Hill also reports that Carl Levin doesn't have the votes to restore habeas corpus in the Senate for his version of the DoD authorization bill.  

I don't see how a separate bill solves any of these problems in terms of restoring habeas corpus.  I do see how it relieves pressure on Chairman Skelton and the House leadership to do anything meaningful about habeas corpus.  The only way this is moving is to get members on the record, and engage with some serious lobbying and grassroots pressure.  This fear of standing on principle is really out of control.