Truespeak

Have you ever wondered why the Democrats lose elections? It's because we often end up apologizing for being right.

The Senate's No. 2 Democrat apologized Thursday for remarks comparing the treatment of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp to methods used by the Nazis, Soviets and other repressive regimes.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said he "never intended any disrespect" to U.S. troops with his June 14 comments, for which the minority whip has endured a week of criticism from Republicans and some Democrats.

"In the end, I don't want anything in my public career to detract from my love for this country, my respect for those who serve it, and this great Senate," Durbin said in an emotional statement on the Senate floor.

"I offer my apologies to those that were offended by my words."

Since his comments last week, Sen. Durbin has come under fire for invoking the Nazis. According to the Republican noise machine, Durbin's statements have emboldened the enemy. They've aided the terrorists. Now I ask you, "What emboldens the terrorists more, invoking a regime that killed millions of Jews or the denegration of Islamic detainees in our detention centers?"

Unfortunately, the focus hasn't been on the veracity of the statement that Durbin made, but on the comments that followed. The full statement was:

When you read some of the graphic descriptions of what has occurred here [at Guantanamo Bay]--I almost hesitate to put them in the [Congressional] Record, and yet they have to be added to this debate. Let me read to you what one FBI agent saw. And I quote from his report:

"On a couple of occasions, I entered interview rooms to find a detainee chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food or water. Most times they urinated or defecated on themselves, and had been left there for 18-24 hours or more. On one occasion, the air conditioning had been turned down so far and the temperature was so cold in the room, that the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold. . . . On another occasion, the [air conditioner] had been turned off, making the temperature in the unventilated room well over 100 degrees. The detainee was almost unconscious on the floor, with a pile of hair next to him. He had apparently been literally pulling his hair out throughout the night. On another occasion, not only was the temperature unbearably hot, but extremely loud rap music was being played in the room, and had been since the day before, with the detainee chained hand and foot in the fetal position on the tile floor."

If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime--Pol Pot or others--that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners.

Sadly, his characterization was correct. These acts that the FBI agent referred to are reprehensible and would not be tolerated if they had been perpetrated on an American. Even Republicans have to concede that point. But it turns out that Durbin's true crime was having the audacity to publicly decry these activities. He is simply being crucified for stating the truth while the cameras were rolling.

So how did it get to this point? Why must we apologize for telling the truth? The answer: because we play too nice.

When the Swifties came after Kerry did he go public and say "These guys are full of shit?" No, he took the high road. What about the new book about Hillary Clinton that claims, among other things, that she is a lesbian? Do you see anybody from the Democratic party showing up on television to say "This is all a bunch of crap?" No, they're taking the high road. Should Durbin have apologized for exposing the truth about prisoner abuse at Guantanamo Bay? No, but he's trying to take the high road. Unfortunately for the Democrats, the high road doesn't work when your opponent plays in the gutter.

After the election, I spoke about how the Democrats could begin to regain some control in Washington. At the time I said:

...we have to be willing to attack when necessary. We have always tried to be the party that takes the high road, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the high road is a dead end. The American public is slowly but surely becoming "American Idolized." We aren't really as interested in seeing good performers as we are watching Simon and the others ridicule the bad ones. Americans like it when someone gets ridiculed because it makes them feel better about themselves. The Republicans won't hesitate to stoop to this level and as it stands now, we are going to have to fight them on their turf. So the language has to get tougher and the ridicule must get sharper.

I still believe those words.

My friends, I believe that it is time that we started our own Democratic noise machine. I alluded to it last night when I encouraged you to write letters to the editor and call local talk shows and to share what you know with friends and family. Tonight I'm encouraging you to raise some hell. Write to your Senators and your Representatives and encourage them to speak out. Write to your local papers and expose the Republican lies and misdirections. (After all, that's what this is. It's a misdirection to focus the attention not on the heinous acts being described, but on the stark statement that contained the truth.) Don't be rude or arrogant and don't float conspiracy theories, but call attention to the blatant missteps by the Republican party. This would be a good place to start.

By the way, while you're at it, it wouldn't hurt to send along some support to Sen. Durbin and thank him for having the courage to stand up and speak the truth even though it was ugly. You can contact him here.