Update: The full remarks of Rep. Starks can be found here.
Some of the comments appreciated his bluntness. FWIW, poll data and his own constituents appear not to want him to apologize. Compare this to the weasel remarks of the future AG, who cannot bring himself to denounce waterboarding as torture. This sort of b.s. is what really drives many of us nuts. Not only do they support bad things, half the time they are wimps about admitting it. Continually helping them is a core reason why Dems in Congress have such low poll ratings.
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Republicans have found fiscal responsibility ... cutting children health care. A House Dem cried foul, referencing the money spent in Iraq. However, he spoke of people dying for Bush's "amusement," which allowed the Republicans to get on their high horses again. TPM notes this underlines that they are babies, but doesn't really emphasize that this isn't anything new, really. Like typical bullies, they cannot take what they dish out. Ridicule Kerry's service, fine. Dis the President ... wah wah. Of course, Pelosi had to go out and apologize for a Democrat who has let his/her disgust out, which in the real world sometimes comes out in a messy fashion. As with the MoveOn ad, are we supposed to make a big issue of it each and every time, exaggerating it in the process? Sure, politically, it is wise for the other side to do so. No reason to help them.
Remember the few who booed when someone representing everything Sen. Wellstone opposed came to his memorial service? Many responded in horror, as if this very human bit of emotion could not be forgiven. Al Franken, who loved the guy, particularly despised this outrage, including from those who never actually saw what happened. At the time, this pissed me off -- damn a few whose hero died in a plane crash showing some emotion. For being human. They should apologize deeply, going on their knees in shame. Oh shut up. Sen. Lott knew that too; he wasn't shocked that a few booed him. This is sorta why Dems liked him more than the current Republican leadership -- less of an asshole.
There are many reasons why people are dying in Iraq, including various twisted reasons arising from Bush himself. "Amusement" is probably not the best word -- though his whole flight suit bit suggests he enjoys his "war president" role a bit too much -- but some blunt term would surely fit. One that just might be "mean." Republicans can't take that ... they are big babies. But, heck, it is the Democrats fault, you know, for helping them out. They have to be on their best behavior, more so than any reasonable person can assume imperfect politicians will be, or political failure that will further horrible policies (which the critics tend in some fashion to admit are horrible) will be in some fashion deserved. How amusing.
Meanwhile, one of the fired prosecutors -- remember, Republican loyalists hired by the Bush Administration in the first place -- thinks the soon to be new A.G. "gets" it. Various people remind that the guy excessively supports presidential power -- we knew already though -- and couldn't just go out and say waterboarding is wrong.* But, hey, "torture" is really bad. Bush says that too. We don't "torture" though. So nothing to worry about here. Anyway, Gonzo was bad for many reasons, basic incompetence and politicization of the Justice Department just two reasons. Admittedly, sort of a baseline problem, but being better is not enough to justify confirmation.
Even if he "gets" it in one fashion. But, since the old guy is so bad, expect a very lopsided vote. He has just so much to criticize, the lame long after the fact nature leaving a lot to be desired notwithstanding, after all.
[Here's more on another issue that is part of the mix ... voting rights and how the Bush Administration does a uh somewhat poor job upholding them a bit too often.]
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* Glenn Greenwald, with links to those concerned, noted today:
There is a lot of hand-wringing [links] going on over the fact that Michael Mukasey is explicitly defending indefinite detention, torture, and illegal surveillance. But that really isn't all that notable. These are the things that have become normalized. These views are now mainstream in our political culture. How can anyone expect the Senate to block Mukasey's confirmation based on policies that -- for years now -- it has known about, acquiesced to, and even legalized and endorsed?
Since he obviously opposes such things, hand-wringing is not evidence GG thinks people are exaggerating. Will the election of Hillary Clinton -- who is broadly against bad things as "policy" but who knows what will happen in specific cases -- really change this? Does a movie like Rendition, which many won't realize is more real than they might like, have much effect? How much have we realized that we have gone much too far in the last few years? That a new President alone won't be enough?