DeLay, DeLay Go Away

Why are you still talking?

Tom DeLay, the former Republican congressman from Texas and House majority leader who resigned in June under an ethical cloud, came to Long Island yesterday to promote his vision of "moral clarity" that he said should guide Americans' discussion about how to best combat terrorism.

“Moral clarity” that includes supporting water boarding, which totally isn’t torture, bitchez.

"I don't think water boarding is torture," DeLay said. "My definition of torture is you physically harm someone by cutting them, by cutting their fingers, sticking things in their eyes, sticking their fingers in electric sockets. Water boarding is a frightening experience. But the person does not have physical damage."

All right then.

It’s nice to see DeLay is making good use of all his free time by sitting around contemplating precisely what he thinks constitutes torture. I’m amazed he didn’t say, “My definition of torture is you physically harm Nancy Pelosi…err…someone by cutting them…”

DeLay’s little dissertation on “moral clarity” is a perfect example of why the GOP’s “values” rhetoric is just so much hot air. The word “values” doesn’t mean anything, in and of itself. It’s an ethically neutral word. Everyone has values. What matters is not that you have values, but what values you have. Jeffrey Dahmer valued killing people and eating them. Tom DeLay values water boarding people. I value not killing people, not eating them, and not water boarding them. See? Everyone has values.

I also value Tom DeLay shutting the fuck up.

(Via Arlen.)