by Deb Cupples | A Washington Post columnist wrote the following:
"Even as the debate over the treatment of terrorism suspects during the Bush administration continues to roil political Washington, a new poll conducted for Resurgent Republic suggests that the American people -- including politically critical independent voters -- by and large support the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" on suspected al-Qaeda operatives.
"Asked whether such tactics were justified, 53 percent of the overall sample said they were and 34 percent said they were not...."
For starters, whether or not some hundreds of people answering a telephone survey think torture was justified is not the issue: torture is illegal. Period. [See 18 U.S. Code 2340(a) and 2340.]
Either our taxpayer-funded government officials respect and follow our nation's laws, or they don't. If they intentionally break laws without being held accountable, why should us ordinary folks face consequences for breaking laws?
If Bush Administration officials had wanted to employ torture, they should have persuaded Congress -- before actually engaging in torture -- to pass legislation that would have legalized torture.
Incidentally, super-blogger Marcy Wheeler published a piece that names the 13 Bush Administration officials who made torture possible.
Now about the statistics that WaPo cited: the poll was conducted by an outfit called "Resurgent Republic." This is the first time I've heard of that outfit. Admittedly, I'm not a survey-research expert.
Interestingly enough, WaPo mentions that Resurgent Republic's polling results are a bit different from a CNN's polling results on the torture question:
"Other polling conducted in recent weeks suggests a country far more divided. A CNN survey released earlier this month showed that six in 10 Americans believed waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" amounted to torture -- including 58 percent of independent voters.
"Asked how they felt about the use of those methods, 50 percent
approved and 46 percent disapproved. (Independents broke in favor of
using the harsh methods by a 53 percent to 44 percent margin in the CNN
poll.)"
This concept bears repeating: even if public opinion is accurately reflected by Resurgent Republic's polling data, it doesn't matter.
Millions of people think marijuana possession should be legal (I among them, even though I don't smoke it). The reality, however, is that if a person gets caught possessing pot, then the state has a duty to prosecute that person within the bounds of the law.
That's what being a "nation of laws and not men" means: anyone who breaks the law risks getting prosecuted.
To remove the risk of being prosecuted, anyone wanting to commit a currently illegal act must wait until the act is no longer illegal. Memeorandum has commentary.
Other Buck Naked Politics Posts
* Didn't Maureen Dowd Know She'd Lifted Someone's Words?
* Wall Street Journal Ensures Ad Revenues by Defending "The Rich"
* Congressman Grayson Asks if Anyone Knows Where the Money Went?
* Pelosi's Embarrassing Attempts to Extricate Herself from Controversy
* 43 Kids Stun-Gunned While Visiting Florida Prisons
* Geithner & the Medicare Crisis: Two Possible Soultions
* Smoke & Mirrors: Health Industry Offers to "Stem" Price Increases?
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