From Garry Shay...

Dear Readers:

Feinstein and Schumer say Mukasey is the best we can get. That may be true. And I will concede there may be times when that kind of logic is correct.

This is not one of them.

The entire world, yea verily, even the Bush Administration, agrees torture is wrong.

This has devolved into an issue of semantics as to what constitutes torture in an attempt to obfuscate reality.

I believe water boarding is torture. Torture is not limited to "organ failure" or whatever it is the Bush Administration defines it as this week.

You only need to think of the Chinese Water Torture to be aware of that. The steady drip of water on the forehead will not induce organ failure, nor anything they define as torture. Yet, I think all agree it is in fact torture.

Maybe we do get a recess appointment of an Attorney General that is worse than Mukasey if we oppose it. Well, my first answer to that, is don't recess. My second answer is that moral clarity demands we absolve ourselves of any support of torture by opposing this nomination.

There are different philosophical schools of thought that can be employed to analyze any given problem: utilitarianism, libertarianism, moral relativism, moral absolutism, greatest good for the greatest number, do no harm, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, it goes on and on. You chose which one to employ in the analysis of any given problem.

BUT, when you are talking about a core value, an absolute, then if you do anything other than support that absolute value, in this case it is opposition to torture, you are introducing an element into the equation that destroys the very value you are fighting to protect.

So, it you accept the premise that the United States does not, and should not, torture because that is a moral absolute, and if you accept that water boarding is torture, you have no choice. In fact, you should be propelled into action. You must do all you can to oppose Mukasey's noimination.

I am absolutely not naive on this subject. There may well be times when illegal means have to be employed. It just should NEVER be the policy of the United States to employ torture, even Bush recognizes that. We shouldn't, as a policy, be redefining what torture is, to get around our opposition to it. If in fact it has to be employed the real answer in our system is a Presidential Pardon.

If the President of the United States is willing to step up to the plate and grant Jack Bauer a pardon for using water boarding to gain information about the location of the about to be detonated nuclear weapon, then fine, I will accept that.

What I will not accept is an Attorney General who equivocates on whether or not water boarding is torture.

I oppose that, and have told Senator Feinstein of my opinion on the subject. I will do all I can to help stop this confirmation of nominee Mukasey to the office of Attorney General and I implore you to join me.

Garry S. Shay
Member, Democratic National Committee (CA) and
Lead Chair Rules Committee, California Democratic Party
Titles for identification purposes only