There Is Hope
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) proposed an amendment to the new military spending bill to ban the use of "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment" of any detainee held by the U.S. government. A former P.O.W. himself, McCain knows what he's talking about.
The White House - in a move that shocks even me - threatened to veto the bill if that amendment were attached. This administration has not vetoed ANY bills up until now....but it threatens the veto to protect its right to torture. Unbelievable.
Here's the good part. In a big "up yours" to the torture crowd, the Senate approved the amendment 90-9. This gives me hope. Ninety senators means a whole lot of Republicans standing up to their leader. It's not always about blind partisanship. Sometimes, even in modern Washington, politicians can look beyond their narrow partisan interests and work together to prevent America from sliding into the moral abyss.
Go, U.S. Senate!
[2 posts in one day. Wow. Well, actually I guess it's tomorrow.]
The White House - in a move that shocks even me - threatened to veto the bill if that amendment were attached. This administration has not vetoed ANY bills up until now....but it threatens the veto to protect its right to torture. Unbelievable.
Here's the good part. In a big "up yours" to the torture crowd, the Senate approved the amendment 90-9. This gives me hope. Ninety senators means a whole lot of Republicans standing up to their leader. It's not always about blind partisanship. Sometimes, even in modern Washington, politicians can look beyond their narrow partisan interests and work together to prevent America from sliding into the moral abyss.
Go, U.S. Senate!
[2 posts in one day. Wow. Well, actually I guess it's tomorrow.]
posted by Ben at
12:44 AM
3 Comments:
The no votes were: Cornyn (TX), Stevens (AK), Roberts (KS), Bond (MO), Sessions (AL), Cochran (MS), Allard (CO), Inhofe and Coburn (both OK). Which means it got the votes of reliable Bush allies and hawks like Hagel, Hatch, Chambliss, Brownback... and Santorum, who has been acting really weird lately (he also voted for a failed bill that would have raised the minimum wage $1.25 - think that re-election race has got him frightened any?).
By
Jeff, at 10/25/2005 12:46 PM
...so now you know whose asses need kicking. Metaphorically speaking, of course.
By
Jeff, at 10/25/2005 12:47 PM
Santorum voted for the minimum wage hike?!?! I'm living in a cuckoo clock!
Kudos to McCain on his legitimate burn of the Bushies when he said his only solace while in POW camps was the knowledge that his own countrymen were better than that.
And finally, I'm still not putting a lot of faith in the Pubs. While there are probably many who legitimately approve of the no-torture amendment, there are still some that are simply beginning the process of distancing themselves from Bush, whose approval ratings are collapsing faster than a frat boy who drank from the wrong punchbowl. I'd say Bush would be shooting himself in the foot if he vetoed this bill, but he's running out of spots to fire at. Of course, I fully expect him to do so, thus cementing his reputation as a nutbar.
By
Mike, at 10/25/2005 1:18 PM
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