(Cross posted on Texas Kaos.)
Why is it that Texans get stuck with gawd awful lawmakers who are completely out of synch with the majority of sentiments and beliefs held by the American people? Why do they continue to serve as endless sources of shame, ignorance and embarrassment to those they supposedly represent? Why do they continue to bring the scorn of the rest of the nation into our living rooms on an almost daily basis? Tom Delay, Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales and George W. Bush, Phil Gramm,Harriet Miers and Karen Hughes comprise the short list of Texas jackasses. It will take at least four Presidential Administrations to clean up after them. We will endure very hard times in the process, thanks to the brilliance of the Texas Brigade of Douche Nozzles.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
W. & Co. may have left Washington but tragically we have other jackasses who are serving there.
One of the biggest, John Cornyn, held up the nomination of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this week. Of course he voted for Clinton when it was all said and done. Cornyn’s intentions were merely a typical douche nozzle style political stunt. He and his right wing nutjob buddies are gunning for Hillary just like they went after Bill during his Presidency. While the right wing extremists railed against Clinton over inane silliness, Osama bin Laden busily plotted and schemed against us. Washington was too tied up in knots over Monica to notice. Obstructing Clinton’s confirmation did not satisfy Cornyn. No folks, he is doing another douche nozzle dance that brings us more scorn. The jackass became yet a bigger jackass by throwing a road block into the path of Attorney General Nominee Eric Holder, too. It seems that Cornyn doesn’t have a problem with torture. Holder does. So do the majority of the American people.
According to an article written by Glenn Greenwald in Salon.com, a wide margin, 58-40%, Americans believe
torture should never be used, no matter the circumstances.
Did you read that Big John? Fifty-eight percent of us say NO, never, ever, no matter the circumstances.
One of the most common and most corrosive aspects of our political discourse is the endless assertions -- based on nothing -- about what "Americans believe." It is exceedingly conventional wisdom that Americans generally view the world through the prism of Jack Bauer and therefore want our government to torture, want Guantanamo kept opened, and do not want suspected Terrorists to be tried in civilian courts inside the U.S.
It is even more commonly asserted that Americans do not want, and even further, would never tolerate, criminal investigations into the various crimes of Bush officials.
Americans would not tolerate investigations into the various crimes of Bush officials? Only a right wing neonut or those who know they committed crimes would believe this.
A new poll by the The Washington Post ABC News negates all of those beliefs. Here was the question that was asked about torture -- note that it's phrased in the most pro-torture manner possible, because it is grounded in the ludicrous, 24-clichéd "ticking time bomb" excuse that is the most commonly used argument by torture advocates:
Cornyn belongs to the "24-cliched ticking time bomb" torture club.
Q. Obama has said that under his administration the United States will not use torture as part of the U.S. campaign against terrorism, no matter what the circumstance. Do you support this position not to use torture, or do you think there are cases in which the United States should consider torture against terrorism suspects?
By a wide margin -- 58-40% -- Americans say that torture should never be used, no matter the circumstances. Let's repeat that: "no matter the circumstance." That margin is enormous among Democrats (71-28%) and substantial among independents (56-43%). As usual these days, Republicans hold the minority view, but even among them there is substantial categorical opposition to torture (42-55%).
Most of us loath Gitmo, too.
Moreover, a majority of Americans (53-42%) favor the closing of Guantanamo, with large support among Democrats (68%) and independents (55%). Even more significantly, a very solid majority of those favoring the closing of Guantanamo recognize exactly what ought to be done with detainees who the government believes are guilty of terrorism-related crimes -- it's exactly what the ACLU and civil libertarians generally urge be done:
One reason for Obama's order on judicial proceedings is to figure out just how to handle those suspects, and among those in the new poll who want Gitmo closed, more than six in 10 said they should be put on trial in the regular U.S. court system. A third said they'd like them to face justice in their home countries.
The majority of the American people want the Bush Administration investigated for its potentially illegal practices.
Even more surprisingly for spouters of conventional wisdom, a majority of Americans (50-47%) believe that the Obama administration should investigate whether the Bush administration's treatment of detainees was illegal. When asked: "Do you think the Obama administration should or should not investigate whether any laws were broken in the way terrorism suspects were treated under the Bush administration?," Democrats overwhelmingly favor such investigations (69%), while Republicans oppose them by the same margin, and independents are slightly against.
Not surprisingly Republicans are not in favor of investigations, very likely because most would end up in prison themselves.
I think we should pay John Cornyn another social call over Holder’s obstruction. I have already provided him him with the poll results above.
Contact info.:
http://cornyn.senate.gov/publi...
fax (202-228-2856) or telephone (202-224-2934)
Life is hell in Texas when jackasses are elected.