The political environment in Washington has managed to make the "torture debate" into a routine partisan debacle about whether or not there should be some sort of investigation into acts of torture. I have no doubt that Republicans/Conservatives are very happy that this is now being watered down into a traditional "political scandal" by Obama, congress, the press, etc. Because what is sure to be lost in all this - no matter the outcome of any such investigation - is the unavoidable fact that Republicans are pro-torture.

 

When I say pro-torture, I do not intend to exaggerate,  though I do generalize. Because beyond the headlines, beyond the staged debates on nightly news, beyond the academic discussion about the ethics of the situation, there lies an unmistakable collective attitude among Republicans of unashamed support for these actions. 

 

Its time we acknowledged the fact that many, many Americans are just fine with torture, are in favor of continuing it, and probably would be willing to go farther than we have, given that our actions thus far represent the milder side of torture (but have often constituted torture nonetheless).

 

After 9-11, the Republicans wasted no time in taking sides in the debate about whether we should sacrifice civil liberties for national security. With the exception of fringe libertarians, Conservatives saw no contradiction in removing many of the legal safeguards that protect our most cherished values in so that we might better fight terrorism.  Whenever actions were taken that violated the civil liberties of Americans and broke the law (wiretapping, detention of 100's of Muslim Americans after 9-11, CIA black sites) Republicans were unfazed in their support. 

 

But what evolved from the Conservative viewpoint on national security, beyond the legalese which made torture allowable, was a moral consensus among the Right that this sort of thing was OK. It has been 7 years, and I have never detected any genuine debate or pause among Republicans in their embrace of these actions which, before 9-11, where universally agreed to be unacceptable and thoroughly anti-American. John McCain's "stand" against torture was rendered moot by his continual deference to Bush administration policy, and it did not cause any self reflection among Republicans (short of their doubts about whether or not McCain himself was Conservative enough to be their President.)

 

People have been asking, "where is the outrage?" But they generally mean it in a political sense, i.e., "where is the outrage at the government officials who allowed this." Well, I'm asking where the outrage is at the masses of Conservative voters who scoff at the idea that we should take this issue seriously. Where is the outrage against the Fox-News-Audience who seem gleefully ignorant of what American values even are?

 

I suppose Shephard Smith has now come close... 

 

But what's missing in all this is the clear, direct, and unambiguous recognition of the fact that Republicans, as a sociopolitical group, have chosen to support torture. You still think that I'm being too alarmist? Torture is now a joke to them. Back in 2008, somebody made a ton of money selling "WaterBoard Obama" tee shirts. Republican politicians themselves were not afraid to get in on the joke. Rudy Giuliani trotted out some torture-comedy on the campaign trail as well. 

 

But what really ticked me off and prompted me to write this post today was this utterly despicable and pathetically illogical article written on Redstate.com. Please note that Redstate is not a "fringe" Republican site, though it is not an official GOP webpage. Instead, it is a grassroots Conservative site for fans of Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh. It is thoroughly of-the-people, and generally mainstream for the Right.  

 

By comparing our former torture policies to harmless training on a high school swim team, this article seems to encompass everything that is wrong with the Republican position on torture. First, there's the illogical anology issue: a swim team is not involuntary, nor is anyone intentionally trying to harm anyone. Then there's the anti-fact issue: waterboarding does not last 30 seconds, and it does cause physical damage. 

 

But what's most striking about the article is how well it sums up the tone and attitude of the Conservative's opinion on torture. It is utterly dismissive of the issue and unashamed of the idea of what has transpired on our watch.  This, and many other half "humorous" comments by conservatives just lays bare the motivations which drive the Conservative Id when it comes to this issue. We can do no wrong, because we're Real Americans, and torture is not an issue to be taken seriously anyways. 

 

This is simply unacceptable.  And I am not going to take the easy way out by putting the blame on politicians in washington, or pundits on TV. This is the responsibility of everyday Americans who open up their newspapers, read about the release of the torture memos, and roll their eyes. Torture is not a crime anymore. There is no longer a consensus on whether torture is wrong. Torture is now a cultural issue. And it is thanks to everyday Republicans who are both misinformed about the nature of torture as well as the intentions of we who oppose it who are now all too happy to sacrifice the most basic of civil liberties for the satisfaction of macho, anti-intellectual posturing. I don't normally like to accuse large groups of Americans of holding "bad" views, but this simply crosses the line. 

 

I would like to take this opportunity to seriously encourage anyone reading this to send that Redstate Article to their friends. Conservatives (our neighbors, not our Politicians) are entrenching themselves, morally favor of torture. This is a culture war I'm willing to see fought. So if you're conservative, stop hiding behind legal obfuscation and speak your mind in favor of waterboarding. If you think that torture is anti-American, talk to your friends about it - this is now a cultural issue, not a political one. Either way, send the article around and let this representative of Conservative thought be heard. 

 

Seriously. 

 

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I also want to briefly mention the argument employed by conservatives which seems to say that the ends justify the means - that using these admittedly regrettable techniques saved American lives. Now, I have been known to say that "the ends justify the means" in many circumstances, but I have never extended that rational to say that "if the ends justify the means, then the means are right and morally acceptable."

 

In fact, when "ends justify that means" that almost always indicates that the "means" are not ethical, and are only made more palatable by merit of being the lesser of two evils. Conservatives seem to be saying that since we tortured for a good cause, then our actions are without stain.

 

But Republicans are not particularly fired up about that kind of after-the-fact justification. It is abundantly clear in their tone, choice of arguments, and intensity of their views, that they see no shame in this. Imagine if a poll was taken asking Republicans, "knowing what you know now about the actions we took in extracting information from detainees, would you have withdrawn your support for our interrogation program back in 2002?"  How many do you seriously think would say yes?

 

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(Just to be clear, I am not going to engage in the shockingly ridiculous debate about whether waterboarding or sleep deprivation are torture, or whether physical assault is abuse. These are not "questions," and there is, legally, no "debate.")