It's Not Racist to Be Against Torture

The Republicans are cramming everybody's head full of garbage like this:

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, set up a large photo of Gonzales on an easel on
the floor.
"To have this man, who has come from nowhere, from the most humble of
circumstances, who typifies the struggle every immigrant family to this
country has gone through, to not give him this opportunity when he is fully
qualified for it, I think would be a travesty," Hatch said.

And there are a million other quotes like it. "Shameful to deny this man a cabinet level position just because he's Hispanic." "To pull himself up from nothing and accomplish all that he's accomplished only to have his career derailed by a group of sore loser obstructionists is appalling." Etc.

There are two things to be ashamed of here, and both fall on the Republicans. In the first place, it is BushCo who are the racist ones. Gonzales was at least partially chosen specifically because he is Hispanic. They chose him so they could use their race baiting tactics in order to browbeat the weak-kneed of the Democratic party (of which there are far too many) to vote for him.

Secondly, it is shameful that they completely disregard the United States' pro-torture policy. When I turn on the television these days and I see "journalists" (talking heads only slightly more informed than those from I Love the 90s) actually debating under what circumstances torture should be allowed, I feel like my head is going to explode. In a matter of only months, our corrupt government was able to walk us down the road from a noble, if misguided, mission to spread freedom and democracy, to a place where torture is acceptable, and the Iraqis will accept our vision of their country or have their balls torn off by rabid dogs. And we find no outrage. Just "civilized" (cable news' version of civilized, anyway) discussion of the pros and cons of torture.

It's torture, people. Do you understand what that means? Torture! Remember these photos? This is what our government engages in, and Gonzales was integral in fashioning that policy. It turns my stomach to think about it. And that's why Democrats or anyone with a soul opposes Gonzales. I have no problem with Hispanics, or people who worked their way out of the working class. I have a problem with people who condone torture.