4/24: A Tortuous Debate

A week has passed since Pres. Obama ordered the DoJ to release the controversial OLC interrogation memos, but torture remains the most-discussed topic (by far) in the political blogosphere. The liberal netroots still want AG Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the lawyers in the George W. Bush admin. who authorized these brutal interrogation techniques. However, lefty bloggers are also stepping up their calls for an independent "truth commission," which is the option favored by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. While Obama and Senate Dem leaders are opposed to the creation of such a commission, liberal bloggers are pleased that Pelosi and other prominent Dems (such as NY Rep. Jerrold Nadler and MO Sen. Claire McCaskill) have expressed support for a congressional inquiry.

Conservative bloggers, meanwhile, are echoing Rep. Pete Hoekstra's (R-MI) claim that the congressmen who were briefed on these interrogation methods are just as culpable as the Bush lawyers who authorized them. Righty bloggers are specifically attacking Pelosi, accusing her of hypocrisy for criticizing interrogation methods that she was apparently briefed on. Liberal bloggers are responding to this argument by declaring that they don't care whether an investigation implicates congressional Dems as well. John Cole writes: "[F]or most of us, we don't care if the person has a (R) or (D) behind their name when they were instituting a policy of torture. [...] If Jane Harman and Nancy Pelosi knew about this and ok'd it, they are just as culpable."

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Liberal bloggers (Aravosis, Beeton, Benen) are buzzing about the fact that House Min. Leader John Boehner referred to the Bush admin.'s interrogation methods as "torture techniques." Although Boehner's spokesman claimed that Boehner "was simply using liberals' verbiage," lefty bloggers contend that Boehner was simply admitting what everyone already knows. Meanwhile, other liberal bloggers (Greenwald, Serwer, Huffington) are criticizing the media's coverage of the torture debate.
• Conservative and liberal bloggers are both welcoming the news that GOP Senators are threatening to shut down the Senate if Dems use reconciliation to pass health care reform. Conservative bloggers think that such a move would humiliate Dems, while liberal bloggers think it would backfire spectacularly.
• Liberal bloggers (Benen, Willis, Thers) think the GOP is becoming increasingly unhinged, as evidenced by the fact that 16 state GOP leaders are urging RNC Chair Michael Steele to start referring to Dems as "socialists." Conservative bloggers are divided on this issue: some are in favor of calling Dems "socialists," while others have reservations.
• Liberal bloggers (Yglesias, Ackerman, digby, Black) are congratulating The American Prospect's Ezra Klein on being hired by The Washington Post. Klein will become the second liberal blogger hired by the Post this year, joining ex-TPM blogger Greg Sargent.

INVESTIGATIONS: A Sword That Cuts Both Ways

Conservative bloggers are echoing Hoekstra's claim that the congressmen who were briefed on these interrogation methods are just as culpable as the Bush lawyers who authorized them.

• Hot Air's Ed Morrissey: "We have known for years that Congressional leadership had at least seen some footage from waterboarding, and had unanimously approved it, with one exception after the interrogations had already ceased. Hoekstra has identified himself as one of those attendees, and Jane Harman would have been another; Nancy Pelosi has been confirmed as another as well. If more names in Congress get released, especially among those today demanding prosecution, get identified with specific dates and the procedures discussed, and their commentary during the briefings, shouldn't they also get prosecuted for 'war crimes'? After all, as Hoekstra says, they approved the effort."
• RedState's Erick Erickson: "Way back in 2002, when Nancy Pelosi was actually rooting for us to win the war, she was happy for us to be water boarding terrorists. But in 2006, when she wa more interested in winning back Congress for the Democrats than the U.S. actually winning a war, she decided to throw under the bus all the people who kept us safe."
• Hot Air's Allahpundit: "[W]e've seen this movie before: The Democrats start strong on foreign policy ventures, drift left as their base's shrieking grows noisier, and then play dumb to get themselves off the hook. The more I think about the show trials Obama wants for 'torturers,' the more I think they're going to blow up in his face: Much of the GOP is up front about its support for enhanced interrogation but revelations about how Democrats backed it too will be genuinely shocking. By all means, more sunshine on their hypocrisy, phony sanctimony, and opportunism. Pelosi's just the beginning."

Liberal bloggers concede that Dem congressmen who were briefed on the interrogation methods may be implicated by an investigation -- and they don't care:

• Balloon Juice's Cole: "[F]or most of us, we don't care if the person has a (R) or (D) behind their name when they were instituting a policy of torture. That is what is so depressing (to me, at least) about the Ari Fleischer's and the [Marc] Thiessen's of the world. They honestly seem to think this is nothing more than a partisan witch-hunt, the same old Washington gotcha poltics. It isn't. When you torture people, you have crossed a really clear line. Innocent people are dead. Lives have been ruined. Our international reputation has been destroyed. Yes, the Bush administration will get most of the blame, but that is because they were in charge and they did this, not because of what party they happen to belong to. If Jane Harman and Nancy Pelosi knew about this and ok'd it, they are just as culpable."
• Oliver Willis: "[W]hether Nancy Pelosi knew or didn't know about the Bush administration's authorization and execution of torture doesn't matter. Either Pelosi didn't know or she abdicated her responsibility as a political leader and American by not speaking up and opposing it. Either way, it doesn't matter. What matters is that the government tortured people."
• BooMan: "What Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) doesn't understand is that confessing to committing war crimes doesn't make it less likely that you'll be prosecuted for them. This kind of teenage excuse that 'everyone was doing it' is cute but not exculpatory in any way."

SENATE: Taking Obstruction To A Whole New Level

Several bloggers are discussing the news that GOP Senators are threatening to shut down the Senate if Dems use the budget reconciliation process to pass health care reform:

"According to a former Senate Republican leadership aide, the GOP might first go after White House nominations. Republicans could require each appointee to get a separate hearing and a separate roll call vote. They could stop attending committee hearings, and decline to provide 'unanimous consent' to move forward on even the most benign issues or routine Senate business. Republicans could also demand that the text of bills, which are often hundreds of pages long, be read aloud. These tactics could grind the Senate to a virtual halt, Republicans say."

Conservative blogger Jillian Bandes welcomes this report: "In other words, Republicans can essentially bring the Senate to a standstill if the Dems push through reconciliation. Awesome! I've already said that the more Congress is on vacation and doing nothing, the better off we all are. Now, we'll not only have a totally inactive branch of Congress, but also a completely humiliated Democratic majority."

Liberal bloggers Chris Bowers thinks GOP Senators would be foolish to carry out this threat: "Yeah, that will really be a big electoral winner for Republicans. While Democrats give Americans cheaper and more affordable health care, Republicans give America extreme partisan gridlock. Oh please, please don't do this to us Republicans! How can we Democrats ever survive as a political party if Republicans were to engage in such brilliant political tactics?"

Meanwhile, Matthew Yglesias writes: "[W]ith the Senate GOP acting yesterday to block a vote on [KS Gov.] Kathleen Sebelius' confirmation on the grounds that she's pro-choice, it's time for a little Real Talk. There's no indication that Republicans have any serious desire to cooperate on a serious health care reform bill. Instead, they seem to be interested in using the carrot of cooperation as a way to get Democrats to unilaterally abjure procedural methods and revenue sources that would make reform possible. [...] What I worry is that there are a certain number of Democrats who, deep down, just join their Republican colleagues in not wanting to see health care reformed. But they don't want to say that. So they may first block efforts to prevent the GOP from blocking reform, and then let the GOP block reform, all the while posing as reformers. Keep your eyes open."

Other liberal bloggers are criticizing the GOP senators on the Finance Cmte who voting against confirming Sebelius.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Do I Contradict Myself?

The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan thinks he has caught WSJ columnist Peggy Noonan in a contradiction:

'The Democrats had long labeled the impeachment debate a distraction from the urgent business of a great nation. But the Republicans argued that the pursuit of justice is the business of a great nation. In winning this point, they caught the falling flag, producing a triumph for the rule of law, a reassertion of the belief that no man is above it, and a rebuke for an arrogance that had grown imperial,' -- Peggy Noonan, December 21. 1998.

'It's hard for me to look at a great nation issuing these documents and sending them out to the world and thinking, "Oh, much good will come of that." Sometimes in life you want to keep walking... Some of life has to be mysterious.' -- Peggy Noonan, April 19, 2009.

Remember also that the issue with [Bill] Clinton was perjury in a civil suit. That required impeachment. But war crimes? Faster, Peggy, faster.

LEST WE FORGET: Seymour Hersh Uncovers New Thing Too Sad To Think About

From The Onion:

"NEW YORK -- Sources at The New Yorker said a new article by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh 'blows the lid completely off' a subject matter far too soul-crushing for the human brain to process. Hersh, renowned for breaking stories on events such as the My Lai Massacre and Abu Ghraib, is said to have plumbed every last, depressing detail of the newly uncovered topic, which likely involves an inconceivable combination of violence, drunken abuses of power, wanton disregard for the sanctity of human life, and a chain of deceit and corruption leading all the way to the top. According to a recent poll, none of The New Yorker's nearly 1 million subscribers had summoned the strength to crack the story's first paragraph, instead turning to the new Roz Chast cartoon on the next page."