Senate Votes To Ban Harsh Interrogation Methods, Including Waterboarding

The vote was 51 to 45. Now the bill goes to Pres. Bush, who of course has promised to veto it, on the grounds that it “would prevent the president from taking the lawful actions necessary to protect Americans from attack in wartime.” Of course if the actions were lawful, the Senate would not be banning them. The Senate is banning these actions because they are very much not lawful, but the president — a practitioner of magical thinking — believes that if he wants something to be legal, he has only to ask his loyal attorneys to declare it legal, and — presto! — it is legal.

And for those who think that experience is the best teacher — not always. Sen. McCain voted against banning waterboarding and other forms of torture.

… Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a former prisoner of war, has spoken strongly in favor of implementing the Army Field Manual standard. When confronted today with the decision of whether to stick with his conscience or cave to the right wing, McCain chose to ditch his principles and instead vote to preserve waterboarding[.] …

In this one way, McCain seems to be consistent: He is always willing to ditch his principles for the right offer.

Think Progress notes additionally that “After Bush vetoes the bill, McCain will again be confronted with a vote to either stand with President Bush or stand against torture. He indicated with his vote today where he will come down on that issue.”

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