Meet the new boss

... same as the old boss.

Democrats didn't stop Bush's latest authoritarian-loving AG from being confirmed, though they could've. (They had more than enough votes in the Senate to uphold a filibuster.)

As you may recall, AG Mukasey refuses to say whether controlled drowning of political prisoners is "torture", or indeed whether "torture" is something the Preznit is legally allowed to authorize, or indeed whether the Preznit is legally restrained in any manner whatsoever.

But here, in these the Aughts, such opinions are apparently not all that important when considering who should hold the post of the nation's chief "law enforcement" officer.

Glenn Greenwald hits the nail on the head:

The most amazing quote was from chief Mukasey supporter Chuck Schumer, who, before voting for him, said that Mukasey is "wrong on torture -- dead wrong." Marvel at that phrase: "wrong on torture." Six years ago, there wasn't even any such thing as being "wrong on torture," because "torture" wasn't something we debated. It would have been incoherent to have heard: "Well, he's dead wrong on torture, but . . . "

Now, "torture" is not only something we openly debate, but it's something we do. And the fact that someone is on the wrong side of the "torture debate" doesn't prevent them from becoming the Attorney General of the United States. It's just one issue, like any other issue -- the capital gains tax, employer mandates for health care, the water bill -- and just because someone is "dead wrong" on one little issue (torture) hardly disqualifies them from High Beltway Office.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for people to argue that the Democratic Party as a whole (with some individual exceptions here and there) is not just as bad as the Republican Party on the most important issues facing this country today. Indeed, from an ethical standpoint, you could (and I do) argue that they are, in fact, worse, because, unlike Republicans, they pretend to disagree with these abhorrent policies while continuously supporting them with their actions.

UPDATE: From the L.A. Times, torture supporter Diane Feinstein:

"Some people, I think, want to keep the issue [of torture] alive... I am not one of those people".

Yes, "some people" do indeed appear to believe that this "issue" should be "kept alive". Not really a very remarkable opinion for "some people" to have. What strikes me as remarkable is that the segment of people holding this opinion isn't 95%+ of the public, and that you, Ms. Feinstein, are not one of them. Shame on you.