Dissent Of The Day

A reader writes:

Did you actually read the John Henke piece? The idea that there is anything close to equivalency between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to questioning the patriotism of the other party is laughable.

While obviously there are examples of the tactic on both sides, Republicans have turned the charge into an art form; leveling it against anyone with a different opinion. And to be fair, sometimes calling someone unpatriotic is warranted. You've been essentially doing so all day with your posts on torture. Anyone, right or left, who sanctions or supports torture, does so in direct opposition to everything America stands for, and is not what I'd call a patriot. The ones with direct involvement are war criminals, and the cheerleaders, while not culpable, are to my mind disgusting, and barely human.

Actually, I think Cheney and Rumsfeld may well have believed that torturing prisoners who have never been subject to minimal due process was an act of patriotism. Evil is usually done by people who believe they are doing good. What's amazing is that Cheney's view of American values includes waterboarding. But I have a feeling that if you polled Sarah Palin's strongest supporters, they'd agree.