Comments on: McCain, Brown and torture (II)

By: Foxed

Foxed — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:22:26 +0000

Scott Brown’s commercials actually say that he’s specifically for waterboarding because our Constitution doesn’t protect non-citizens.

What about natural-born American citizens as terrorists? Can Scott Brown see through that sticky mess? Would he waterboard American citizens?

I don’t think anyone has posed this question to him.

By: Ben

Ben — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:03:30 +0000

RMD: It sounds like Scott Brown wants to strip US citizens of their Constitutional rights and send them off to Gitmo without trial. Unless I missed something, he is boldly going where no Cheney attorney has gone before – real wacko territory. Why isn’t this headline-making news?

By: Peter Porcupine

Peter Porcupine — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:34:51 +0000

Mr. Stein – regarding shades…Dr. Gerry Dembrowski, former Liberty Caucus member, reregistered as a Republican two days before the deadline in order to run for Governor to ‘use the husk’ of the GOP per his then-campaign manager (who confided all this to me without knowing that I AM, in fact, a Republican). He later learned he’d have to get a number of delegates at the convention to vote for him as well and withdrew.

It fascinates me that people put themselves forward for ‘top ticket’ jobs without bothering to learn the rules of the game they intend to play.

By: Steve Stein

Steve Stein — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:11:24 +0000

Dan: "If Kennedy had done the harder work of getting listed on the Libertarian line" I am informed by George Phillies that it wasn't lack of "hard work" that kept Kennedy from running as a Libertarian. It was lack of foresight - Kennedy was registered "Unenrolled" on the legal day of record. Shades of Curt Schilling!

By: RMD

RMD — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:15:09 +0000

From today’s Herald:
Brown continued to paint himself as a social moderate who is tight-fisted with taxpayer dollars and hawkish on national security. He said there may be cases in which U.S. citizens should be treated as enemy combatants if they have undergone terrorism training outside the country.

“Even though they hold the status of U.S. citizens, now they’ve gone to a different level,” he said. “They’re joining a known terrorist group and almost saying, ‘Even though I’m born here . . . I want to be (elsewhere) instead.’ ”

By: O\'Rion

O\'Rion — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:49:30 +0000

Maybe Brown liked what he saw in the Rasmussen poll: 58% would like to see the Undies Bomber waterboarded/tortured (even though he’s talking!).

Speaking of McCain I found it odd that WBZ Radio went with his endorsement story for an entire news cycle(even through the overnight).
Was this news: what GOP Senator isn’t endorsing Brown? And surprise, Coakley has Vicki Kennedy’s.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:33:17 +0000

Dan: Libertarians currently have major party status. You’re half-right though – it would have been harder for him to get on the ballot as a Libertarian. The cost of getting on the ballot as a “Libertarian” rather than a minor party or unenrolled, would have been about $60,000 vs. $15,000. Kennedy is going to instead appear on the ballot under the “Liberty” party designation.

The Libertarian gripe is that the law actually requires significantly more effort for third parties with “major party status” to get on the ballot than it is for the D’s and R’s.

Regarding Coakley, she is willing to duck debates even when Joe Kennedy is invited. Scott Brown and Joe Kennedy had agreed to the League of Women Voters Jan 13th debate at Faneuil Hall. The League canceled the debate when Coakley wouldn’t agree to it.

By: Dunque

Dunque — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:11:56 +0000

So, Dan, you get yourself all worked up about a candidate who supports interrogation techniques such as waterboarding.

Where’s the rage over a candidate who actively lobbies for the continued imprisonment of unjustly convicted innocents?

Perhaps one can be forgiven for thinking that your rage is highly selective.

By: Harrybosch

Harrybosch — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:24:25 +0000

Agree on all points, Dan. But it’s clear (the Rasmussen poll, notwithstanding) that all Coakley needs to do is to keep her head down and the job is hers.

And despite the media’s desire for copy, it’s hard to criticize her for doing just that.

By: Dan Kennedy

Dan Kennedy — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:46:49 +0000

@Harry: In one respect McGrory gives Kennedy too much credit: he's not a third-party candidate; he's a no-party candidate. If Kennedy had done the harder work of getting listed on the Libertarian line, he could have helped restore the Libertarians' major-party status. I'd like to see a variety of match-ups, and yes, it wouldn't be a bad idea to see one televised debate featuring only Coakley and Brown. But McGrory — and the Patriot Ledger — are kidding themselves if they think we're going to learn a single thing from a Coakley-Brown debate that we haven't learned from a Coakley-Brown-Kennedy debate.