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WILL THE REPUBLICANS ROLL OVER? It would be nice to believe, as this article reports, that various Republicans really are repulsed by the administration's desire to keep evidence secret from those being tried. After all, a veritable squadron of top military lawyers are aligned against the proposal, and Lindsey Graham even went on record saying that �It would be unacceptable, legally, in my opinion, to give someone the death penalty in a trial where they never heard the evidence against them, �Trust us, you�re guilty, we�re going to execute you, but we can�t tell you why�? That�s not going to pass muster; that�s not necessary.�Of course, I remember Arlen Specter rolling over on wiretapping, and Pat Roberts playing dead on the Iraq investigations, and Republican after Republican getting snake charmed or arm twisted by this crew till they willingly sacrificed their ideals and beliefs in a dazzling diaply of fealty to Rove. So my confidence level really isn't high. That goes for the Democrats, too, who have apparently decided to hide from this fight:
Democrats have essentially said they would back Senators Warner, Graham and McCain, leaving the Republicans to lead the fight against the administration, and allowing the Democrats to avoid political fallout from challenging the administration while maintaining their criticism of the administration�s handling of the war in Iraq.�I think you�re looking for a fight that doesn�t exist,� Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the minority leader, told reporters.That's a bit of a dangerous strategy, as the administration will simply amp up the atrocities in the bill until Reid has to take a stand against something. Think a cattle prod to the testicles is torture? Well, if Democrats don't start opposing this bill and giving Republicans something to work with, the administration may decide to disagree with you. For now, Senate Democrats are relying on a small coterie of quasi-moderate Republicans to insulate them from the controversy and moderate the legislation. Seems like a risky strategy. On the other hand, it may be all they've got.
--Ezra Klein
