I haven't watched a single minute of any of the Republican presidential candidate debates. Why would any liberal want to engage in self-inflicted torture?
Yes, I know, calling something like a GOP debate torture is in poor taste because real torture is something so excruciating that it should never be joked about. However, in defense I submit this from last night:
“I do not agree with torture, period,” Cain said to start the exchange. “However, I will trust the judgment of our military leaders to determine what is torture and what is not torture. That is the critical consideration.”
Asked specifically about waterboarding, Cain tipped his hand. “I don’t see it as torture,” he said. “I see it as an enhanced interrogation technique.”
This is a common technique among Republicans. Go one record as being against something terrible and then change the definition of the thing you support so it is no longer part of that terrible thing you strongly oppose!
Lets see how easy this is. I start out with, "I do not agree with letting adult men rape little girls!" Then I turn around and say, "However I don't see an uncle having sex with his 10 year-old niece as rape, I see it as hands-on sex education by an experienced family member." So I can still come out strong against rape ("terrible!!") while redefining the part you want to allow: letting uncles rape their nieces.
Yes, that example is ugly and in bad taste, but so is redefining torture. Waterboarding has always been considered torture in our country. To redefine it now shows that Republicans are truly taking America back in time, when torture was acceptable, witches were drowned, and heretics were burned at the stake.
Every society has a segment of their population that has no empathy, just hatred and a crushing desire to mete out pain and even death to those they don't like. Politicians used to understand how dangerous these people are and avoided encouraging them, but the Republicans have discovered that while these people are a minority, they are easily led and easily angered, so it is easy to keep them energized against the Democrats. What is so amazing is that these people seem to have no capacity for common sense. They will believe any lie you tell them. That's why this country is in trouble.
--Trakker
about waterboarding, Cain tipped his hand. “I don’t see it as torture,” he said.
Ask him while he's being waterboarded.
Posted by: horsec | November 14, 2011 at 05:17 PM
Ask him while he's being waterboarded
Herman Cain is an associate minister in a Baptist church. Why do so many so-called Christians embrace torture? Cain, Perry, Bachmann. Maybe it's time to waterboard their pastors.
Posted by: Trakker | November 14, 2011 at 10:29 PM
Send them to SERE School.
Posted by: horsec | November 15, 2011 at 10:33 AM