Did Pat Buchanan Just Say That Martin Luther King Would Approve Torture?
By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Pat Buchanan was just debating torture on Hardball and made what is—even for him—an astounding statement. Jonathan Turley was arguing that torture is illegal—we've signed a treaty outlawing and have prosecuted people for it in the past.
Buchanan argued that national security needs to trump mere laws. Then his mind-blower:
"There's a higher moral law here, that's what Dr. King was all about."
So...Martin Luther King would have approved torture? I suppose that's not literally what he was saying—he was saying that King ignored laws so it's OK for us to ignore laws too. But it's still ... wow. And: No. Sorry, you don't get to use his example to justify torture. Nonviolent resistance of unjust laws is not the moral equivalent of torturing because you think it might make you safer.
While we're on the subject, John McCain—ordinarily very good on torture—said today that prosecuting people from the Bush administration would make the U.S. like a "banana republic" because only in such countries are past administrations brought up on trial. But taken to its logical conclusion, McCain's logic is straight out of Nixon. Tricky Dick said that if a president does it, it cannot be illegal. McCain is saying that even if a president does something illegal (or his aides do), they should not be prosecuted.
I'm still thinking through how to investigate and what to do about the Bush administration torture policies, but McCain is wrong on this one.
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Tags: Pat Buchanan | Martin Luther King Jr. | torture
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Reader Comments
PB and McCain -- Bed Fellows
PB's comments are on the extreme ends. They never happen (the suitcase bomb), so he makes bogus arguments and forces the discussion to not focus on what is real. Torture, beatings, hanging from the top of the cell for a week, being flown around the world, having our Allies not help us out c/ we are too vile, etc.
So PB like McCain takes the cowards way. Torture and other crimes happened, but I do not want to talk about and do anything about it.
torture
First of all lets get it straight its o.k. to torture anyone darker than a paper bag. Whenever I read an article this stupid, it comes down to someone trying to justify whatever America does by saying they all want to kill Americans. Like President Obama I too have Muslims in my family and I love them dearly. None of them have tried to kill me because I am a Christian. We as a people need to come together as a people and embrace everyone. We can not torture in times of war because we feel we can read their minds. Even if the other side does horrible things we need to hold ourselves to a higher standard. I love all of my countrymen black, white, brown, and yellow. It is not in me to hate because of past offences or Religious differences. It is time for us to walk the walk. Not talk the talk. If torture took place someone must be accountable. Step up to the plate and come clean.
What a jerk
Buchanan uses the same argument to excuse pro-lifers who don't like our laws, that abortion is a "moral" issue.
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