June 27, 2005

Compare and contrast

Posted by Scott at 07:10 AM

Remember when you were still in school (at least in the 70's and 80's) there would be questions that started with "Compare and contrast". Last week I complained about Senator Durbin when he said on the floor of the Senate:

“If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulag, or some mad regime — Pol Pot or others — that had no concern for human beings. Sadly . . . this was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners.”

Although picked up by AlJazeera and headlined for days, there was virtual silence from fellow Democrat Senators. But something did cause them to speak up recently. It was the words of Sith Lord Carl Rove at a private conservative party last week:

“Conservatives saw the savagery of 9-11 in the attacks and prepared for war. Liberals saw the savagery of the 9-11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers. In the wake of 9-11, conservatives believed it was time to unleash the might and power of the United States military against the Taliban. In the wake of 9-11, the liberals believed it was time to submit a petition.”

Suddenly the condemnations are flying.