RK ARCHIVE - Byrne out front again.

The post is on the revelation first reported by ABC and confirmed by AP that the highest levels of the Bush Administration approved the use of interrogation techniques by the CIA that most agree amounted to torture. In fact, despite reports that Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Rice, and Cheney sought to insulate Bush, after the reports, Bush casually admitted that he knew what they were up to and approved.

Of the candidates in VA-11, as she was first to speak out against the war, even before it began, Leslie Byrne now stands out as the first to condemn Bush.

"It is now known that torture was approved at the highest levels of the Bush Administration, in defiance of treaties, American law and custom. This administration will be regarded by history as absolutely lawless. I believe that they should be held accountable."

Fellow VA-11 voters, I implore you to step up on June 10 and vote for Leslie Byrne. This opportunity to reward her courage and gain for ourselves a representative we can be proud of must not be missed.

Comments

Ummm... (varealist - 4/14/2008 9:46:29 PM)

Ummmm...OK...she was the "first" to condemn Bush for this. So what? Condemning Bush is like a sport -- it happens everyday, multiple times a day by thousands of people. This doesn't move me to vote for her or anyone. A Democrat saying Bush is bad? Whoopie.

It's important because... (Ambivalent Mumblings - 4/15/2008 10:05:39 AM)

...back in 2003 Bush was still receiving high poll numbers and many people decided not to speak out against the war because they didn't want to be perceived as unpatriotic. Leslie was willing to risk being attacked by the Republican machine and stood up for what was right even though that wasn't necessarily an important stance at the time.

last sentence should read... (Ambivalent Mumblings - 4/15/2008 10:07:18 AM)

... wasn't necessarily a popular stance.

leadership and representation (jsrutstein - 4/15/2008 5:43:15 AM)

Condemning Bush only seems like a sport, because of the disconnect between the sentiments of a huge majority in the electorate and the attitude of the media and our representatives. I think the 2006 elections reflected the voters' anger at the lack of accountability by the Bush Administration and its Republican allies in Congress. Varealist, your cynicism is justified, but I hope not widespread in VA-11. We need more candidates like Byrne who exemplify the best of leadership and representation.

Byrne and Obama (jsrutstein - 4/15/2008 5:59:35 AM)

And now we have Sen. Obama pledging to hold Bush and his co-conspirators legally accountable -

http://www.philly.com/philly/b...

though I should add, even the mighty Atrios from whom I learned of this, couched it in skepticism.

Again, voters of VA-11, you showed a belief in hope when you overwhelmingly went for Obama in February. Do it again on June 10!