MISSING: Where's McCain's "straight talk" on Cheney's torture?
We can check-mate John McCain in the next 5 days. Here's how:
Last week, the Administration was finally cornered by their torture videos - forced to admit to waterboarding prisoners. Now, their only way out of criminal charges is to try to make torture NOT ILLEGAL. That's why last Thursday (Feb 7th) Cheney publicly admitted to, and defended, torture. He stood in front of an Ultra-Right audience (CPAC) and, in-effect, dared the country to arrest him: "Would I do it again? You're damned right I would."
This places McCain in the ultimate no-win political bind. Torture is John McCain's signature issue. The best-known fact about McCain is that he was tortured. He lead the fight in the Senate to ban torture - and won the issue, over stiff White House resistance, 90 to 9! Right now he's in a fight with the Ultra-Right for his political life. Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, et. al., are attacking him relentlessly and refusing to support the Republican ticket. He went before that same CPAC audience, just before Cheney, to beg for conservative support. He can't win the general election without it. So he can't cross the Ultra Right right now. But Cheney is defiant about breaking McCain's torture ban. And what has McCain done about that? NOTHING.
If McCain is going to give us "straight talk", he'll have to accuse the President and Vice President of war crimes. That would finish his campaign. BUT, if he fails to stand up for his principals and call them to account, he will brand himself as history's preeminent flip-flopping, pandering, wimp. It would destroy the McCain brand. If we demand that he answer the question, any answer he gives is his doom.
So our task is simple: for the next 5 days we hold John McCain's feet to the fire over torture. Our demand for his answer should be lead by both of our Democratic candidates.
And the price of failing to do so? To wake up tomorrow in an America in which torture is forever legal.
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posted by DeadElephant.ORG @ 4:45 AM
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I agree. It is McCain's defining issue and litmus. In order for us not to be as mean-spirited as the Coulters and Cheneys of this world, let us honor that as something about him worthy of our respect. In questioning him on this issue, let us call him to be the war hero he is. Let us encourage his integrity, which might alienate some of his potential support base, but...
Here's where it gets more interesting. How can Huckabee confess Christianity and support torture? How will he answer this question? What about Clinton and Obama? We think we know, but let's get it on the record.
Let's not just use this issue as grist for a short-term, electoral mill. Let us instead use this moment as an opportunity to call all our leaders to take a stand. Let us use this moment to insist that all the candidates define themselves against this litmus, wedge moral issue. Most Americans realize that only a sociopath would be FOR torture. Let's force ALL presidential candidates to commit to at least that level of morality.
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