"Tried And True"

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A reader writes:

With respect to your post on Mark Levin's description of torture techniques opposed by McCain: Note that the definition (from www.m-w.com) contains an element of not just efficacy but also moral merit:

: proved good, desirable, or feasible : shown or known to be worthy <a tried–and–true sales technique>

Desirable, huh? I used to think, in the '80s, that people who supported, e.g., the Argentine Junta did so despite their human rights abuses. Now I think they did so, on some level, because the Junta was manly enough to torture people.

This is now mainstream American conservatism.