If Bush Veto's The New Anti-Torture Legislation It Could Bite Him Badly

[DistressedAmerican]

Suppose he does it and the pics and vids of torture come rolling out right afterward. I know most think that the stuff will be incinerated and the resulting ashes eaten by Dick Cheney. You are probably right in that assessment.

However, remember the court has now twice ruled that the feds have to pony up. We will know what maneuver the government will pull before the stated date for appeal of the most recent decision runs out in a couple of weeks. However the legal track record looks pretty good at this point. Maybe not this round. But at some point the legal options run out. We'll see.

If by some miracle they come out and Bush is on record with a veto of a war funding bill on the grounds that he does not want his hands tied he looks blatantly like the tyrant he is when those materials hit the media.

Not that I look forward to a veto of the McCaine sponsored legislation. Just that if he does is may well cost him big time. Let's hope!

[bettyellen]

1. have any senators talked specifically about what is in the photos

they saw and were so disgusted by? ... now is the time for them to raise their voices.
they have given * the chance to renounce torture, maybe the public needs to know why this amendment is needed.

[rodeodance]

2. maybe their remembrance of what they saw lead them to revolt against

the WH.

[bettyellen]

6. i'm hoping they share this info with the public, rather than wait for

the photos to come out. i really don't understand why there hasn't been a bigger outcry. it's time to explain to the people what the admin had been hiding all this time. why this amendment is even needed.

[cry baby]

8. Lindsey Graham saw them and expressed his uneasiness.

Even Rumsfeld saw them and said they were inhumane and awful. I wish I knew who else saw them. I haven't heard a word from them, whoever they are.

[bettyellen]

10. i want them to discuss the content of what they saw, anything less

is too vague and pointless. what atrocities are they trying to prevent from recurring. they should be giving interviews explaining what as happened. otherwise the public won't get it. outrage is cheap, first hand testimny of what is contained in those photos would be priceless.

[cry baby]

12. I agree...I've been scratching my head as to why they haven't

spoken out. Their outrage doesn't even exist if they can't or won't speak out on torture in our names. Maybe those who saw these photos just feigned outrage.

[bettyellen]

13. i really think that they were cowed by the whole "you endanger the troops"

by talking about it- you know- when they tried to hang riots on newsweeek reporting.
but we're living in a Post-Katrina world now, and they ought to show some outrage now.

[cry baby]

14. Politically speaking, this would be the time to show outrage...

before the photos come out, before the story gets any bigger. If they say after the photos come out "Well, yeah, I saw them, they were terrible and I am outraged...blah, blah, blah" it will seem that they are trying to play catch up and not being sincere. If they come out now with what they have seen, they beat the crowd in condemning the actions. They win politically.

[DistressedAmerican]

16. Lindsey Graham Did In Some Detail. Second Only to the Hirsh Description.

He seemed shocked and disgusted.

[napi21]

3. Wasn't the votw 94 yes 6 no? Isn't that a veto proof vote?

I think it is, and if Shrub doesn't know that, I actually hope noone tells him! Let him be on record for it being the only veto of his Presidency, and it was OVER-RULED!

[electropop]

5. Actually, I think it was 97-0,

So the Senate is pretty safe. Don't know about the House yet. Bush is "working hard" to make the world safe for toruture. He apparently wants to make sure that whatever tatters are left of his reputation will be flushed down the toilet.

[joanne]

7. Actually a few Repukes supported the Chimp

Allard (R-CO), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Nay
Coburn (R-OK), Nay
Cochran (R-MS), Nay
Cornyn (R-TX), Nay
Inhofe (R-OK), Nay
Roberts (R-KS), Nay
Sessions (R-AL), Nay
Stevens (R-AK), Nay

[napi21]

9. Nope. We were both wrong. It was 90-9. Here's the link.

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00249

It doesn't matter. My point was that it's veto proof! Let Shrub veto it, and let the Senate over-ride his veto!!!!

[electropop]

18. I had heard the 'dirty nine" changed their minds, but apparently not.

These idiots have handed us a huge gift. Fools.

[enid602]

4. bill

I would think that the release of photos is not dependant upon whether or not Bush signs the appropriations bill. I don't think he has any choice but to sign the bill at this point. He's locked in politically.

[Eric J in MN]

11. The House leadership will put in loopholes in

Conference Committee making the amendment meaningless.

[awoke_in_2003]

15. already

emailed my two senators (Hutchinson and Cornyn). I can't believe they actually voted the way they did (for McCains bill). I gently reminded them that they voted they way they did because they are right, we are supposed to be the good guys. I asked them that, as fellow Texans, if the emperor, I mean President, vetos this that I can count on their vote to override the veto. After all, what is more Texan than sticking by your guns?

[0007]

17. Great post!

Also you have a good point that I've failed to think about.

I believe the photos will come out sooner or later.