The long-awaited debate over Dick Cheney's lust for torture finally took place between Lawrence O'Donnell and Mini Cheney on ABC's Good Morning America last week.
Mini Cheney is just as slick as her father when it comes to throwing out the right-wing canards on torture, and she has avoided most people who have a good grasp of the facts when she goes on the air. The fact that wingers are getting a lot of airtime to reargue their position is helpful to them because they play the word games very well. The Luntzification Effect has reaped huge rewards for them in the last decade.
Transcript via ABC:
CHRIS CUOMO: Couldn't have a more important question, really. So, let's continue this debate. We're joined by Liz Cheney, former State Department official and, of course, daughter of former Vice President Cheney and Lawrence O'Donnell, former Senate Democratic chief of staff, live from Los Angeles. Thank you to you both for being here.
LIZ CHENEY: Great to be here. Thank you, Chris.
CUOMO: So, let's get to the big question. Liz, I'll start with you. Why are we as Americans less safe right now because of President Obama's philosophy?
CHENEY: Well, I think it's in part because of his actions. I think taking the step of releasing the legal memos that laid out in great detail exactly what techniques we used in our enhanced interrogation program gave, as my dad said yesterday, the terrorists a new insert for their training manual. We know former Director of National Intelligence Mike Hayden has explained, we know that terrorists train to these techniques, so it's one thing to say we're not going to do them anymore, which as a policy is the President's right to do. But, then to take the step and say we're releasing all this information, you know, I think very clearly makes us less safe. It takes a tool out of the toolbox for every former president or future president.
CUOMO: Mr. O'Donnell, is the President's instinct to play nice putting us at risk?
LAWRENCE O'DONNELL (Fmr. Senate Democratic chief of staff): Well, you know, the interesting thing about Liz and her dad's position is that a releasing of a memo has made the country less safe and so the Cheney family suggestion is now to release more of it. So, you know, you can't have it both ways. You can't say that if we release classified information it makes us less safe and now let's release more of it. That's their position and the funny thing is that Dick Cheney's argument and Liz's argument with the Obama administration is really an argument that began in the Bush administration when Dick Cheney started to lose the fights in house. Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed in practices under the Obama administration.
CHENEY: You know- It's absolutely- That's actually not true, Lawrence. No. Well, Lawrence-
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