In This Together?

Why would the ACLU want to attack itself?

On Face the Nation yesterday Peter King demonstrated the typical face of the Republican Party as of late. The face of a stupid, ignorant, name-calling bully. Would it have been too much for guest host Harry Smith to have pointed out to King that the ACLU consists of Americans? Just because members of the ACLU have different opinions than King does not mean that they are not Americans. This is what King is implying by saying that the American Civil Liberties Union is "tearing down the United States." Why does King need to resort to arrogance and insults? Is it because his arguments and knowledge of the facts are so weak? Why doesn’t King have faith in our system of justice? Also, why does King think that the only place the detainees can be tried is either New York or Virginia? What about an international court? What about the Hague?

From Rep. Peter King: ACLU Is "Tearing Down The United States" by Michelle Levi:

Representative Peter King (R-N.Y.) said that by opposing military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay and by advocating for the release of photographs of torture committed upon detainees, the American Civil Liberties Union is "tearing down the United States," during a heated debate with the ACLU's executive director, on Face the Nation Sunday.

The Obama administration's decision to go forward with the trials of terror suspects held at Gitmo, and to try to block the declassification of photographs of abuse, were flashpoints this week, with the president being accused by some of reneging on campaign promises to roll back the Bush administration's policies on interrogation and the shutdown of the American prison at Guantanamo Bay.

King admitted that "in every war there are going to be abuses," but added that he is not sure "what purpose the ACLU serves in constantly tearing down the United States, constantly attacking our government."

Anthony Romero makes so much sense to me. King claims Romero has “venom” for the President. I do not see it. The only venom I see is leaking from King, as if it is impossible for him to contain it. King says that there “is no CSI guy in Afghanistan” as if that is supposed to mean something. It is very hard for me to comprehend why so many dislike the ACLU so much.

The Dark Dick

Dick Cheney was on Face the Nation on Sunday.

From Dick Cheney's Faux Arguments by Conor Friedersdorf:

This is confusing. One minute, Cheney is arguing that it is wrongheaded to abandon a tactic that works, never mind strategy, because it’s important to do whatever it takes to get the information needed to save American lives. So Schieffer asks, “what you’re saying here is that we should do anything”? And Cheney won’t defend that proposition. He implies that no, we should only interrogate in ways that are in accordance with American law and international treaties we’ve signed. Except he clearly doesn’t believe that — actions speak louder than words!

Even focusing narrowly on the words above, Dick Cheney is unable to defend any coherent position. It is difficult to refute him, as he isn’t saying much of substance directly — much of his arguments are implied. But I can say this: certain assertions he is definitely making are factually wrong — the Bush Administration violated domestic law and the Geneva Conventions, the OLC be damned — and the arguments he implies are inconsistent with one another.

If this is the best case that can be made for the Bush era interrogation practices, they’re even less defensible than I imagined.