Legal Commentary

The Beltway Establishment Is The Pro-Torture Lobby

By Big Tent Democrat

Digby on the Beltway torture lobby:

[H]ere's Town Crier Chuck Todd reassuring us all that these new executive orders won't allow the terrorists to kill us all in our beds:

Todd: There are still some loopholes. Those who are worried that somehow there isn't going to be a way to get intelligence out of them [. . .] Now the administration says this does not mean they will invite new methods of interrogation back into the fold, but like I said Andrea, you could go through here with a fine tooth comb and could find plenty of loopholes that would allow certain things to happen.

Now, it's hard to make sense out of that, and I don't know specifically what loopholes he's talking about, but it's clear that Chuck Todd is seeking to reassure everyone that some kind of torture will be allowed if it's really necessary. (Boy that's a relief, huh?)

You see the Beltway's outrage here will be if torture is halted. More . . .

Balloon Juice reminds us what really outrages the Beltway, from the mouth of the doyenne of the Beltway, Sally Quinn:

[T]he Washington Establishment is outraged by the president's behavior in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The polls show that a majority of Americans do not share that outrage. Around the nation, people are disgusted but want to move on; in Washington, despite Clinton's gains with the budget and the Mideast peace talks, people want some formal acknowledgment that the president's behavior has been unacceptable. They want this, they say, not just for the sake of the community, but for the sake of the country and the presidency as well.

Is there a more discredited group of people than the Beltway Elite? Let's hope not.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 22, 2009 (boomark / email).