GOP debate #2

General consensus from the wingers at the National Review is that Rudy! won last night. He most successfully played the tough guy card and in this election cycle, machismo appears to be the most valuable commodity for Republican contenders. I fail to see how being the candidate most eager to torture people qualifies one to be President but that was the tenor of the debate last night; Constitution be damned. Hell, Mitt Romney, to much applause mind you, went so far as to say that not only would he support interrogation via torture, he wanted to double the size of Gitmo so that we could deprive more prisoners of legal representation. I am not kidding. He actually said that. Crooks and Liars has the video. Giuliani, BTW, came across positively bloodthirsty on torture and the war on terror. McCain had the sanest response to the torture question, “torture is bad”, and yet, he was the only one to say it. That should scare the shit out of anyone who views the rule of law as important and does not harbor some bizarre “Jack Bauer Saves the World by pistol whipping a terrorist” fantasy scenario.

Now, I know that debate was in South Carolina, where voters tend to be more conservative than most, but if the audience response to some of the answers is indicative of Republican attitudes around the nation, the winner of the Primary will be the candidate most willing to shitcan the Bill of Rights. Yikes…