From comments to this post comes a remarkably tin-eared comment by Democratic candidate Staci Appel on whether Americans who join terror groups should be allowed to keep their passports.  I sincerely doubt that anybody here will be surprised to hear that Ms. Appel has a problem with taking away those passports:

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I would not be urging taking away their passports… I think we need to make sure that we work through the system and look through it on a very diligent basis.

Here’s the fuller version, for those wondering if I’m just being unfair:

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If you watch it, two things become very clear.  One, Republican candidate David Young pretty openly supports the idea that the State Department should revoke the passports of American citizens who join terrorist organizations*.  Two, Democratic candidate Appel would rather let those people wander the world freely.  Guess Staci Appel isn’t planning to travel abroad any time soon?

Moe Lane (crosspost)

*If you’re wondering why this is even a thing, you can, well, blame Barack Obama:

But for the more than 100Americans believed to be fighting alongside the terrorist group in the Middle East, the U.S. does not specifically have the power to revoke their passports.

That’s because ISIS is not a foreign state. According to the Immigration and Nationality Act, the U.S. can revoke the passport of any citizen who fights in the military of a country hostile to America. ISIS, which in the last month publicly beheaded two American journalists, is certainly hostile. But its status as a terrorist group rather than a recognized foreign state leaves the passports of Americans who join their cause untouched.

…and since Barack Obama does not want to admit that the Islamic State is both Islamic, and a state, Democrats are now forced to argue against what should have been a no-brainer policy position.  Which is interesting, because I believe that under Haig v. Agee the Secretary of State can order these passports – or any others, really – be revoked, if he thinks that there’s a legitimate national-security reason.  I think that we can all at least agree that Went to join a group that beheads [Americans] qualifies as a ‘legitimate national security reason:’ and there aren’t more than a hundred or so terrorist-loving traitors who have signed up for this.  Why shouldn’t SecState Kerry individually yank their passports?

I am trying to convince myself that this isn’t a rhetorical question.

I am trying very, very hard.