“Here’s why I find it impossible to be a Republican: Any crowd that instantly cheers the execution of 234 individuals is a crowd I want to flee, not join.” - Andrew Sullivan
I’m glad to see I’m among the many who found the Republican debate the other night horrifying when a sick, sociopathic crowd cheered Elmer Gantry - oops, I mean Rick Perry - for his sociopathic, twisted love for the death penalty. Here are some excerpts from Peter Catapano’s New York Times blog this morning (do read the entire blog):
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/they-messed-with-texas/?hp
“A funny thing happened at the Republican debate at the Reagan Library in California on Wednesday night, when the evening’s co-moderator Brian Williams asked a question of Gov. Rick Perry of Texas. (Not funny ha-ha, funny peculiar.) …
“For the text oriented among us, here’s what transpired.
“WILLIAMS: Governor Perry, a question about Texas. Your state has executed 234 death row inmates, more than any other governor in modern times. Have you…
(APPLAUSE)
“Have you struggled to sleep at night with the idea that any one of those might have been innocent?
“PERRY: No, sir. I’ve never struggled with that at all. The state of Texas has a very thoughtful, a very clear process in place of which — when someone commits the most heinous of crimes against our citizens, they get a fair hearing, they go through an appellate process, they go up to the Supreme Court of the United States, if that’s required.
[Note here: At least one of the 234 has been proven innocent - and Perry knew that when he allowed the execution. Gantry - oops, I mean Perry - is sick, sick, sick. - KP]
“But in the state of Texas, if you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, you’re involved with another crime and you kill one of our citizens, you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas, and that is, you will be executed.
“WILLIAMS: What do you make of…
“(APPLAUSE)
“What do you make of that dynamic that just happened here, the mention of the execution of 234 people drew applause?
“PERRY: I think Americans understand justice. I think Americans are clearly, in the vast majority of — of cases, supportive of capital punishment. When you have committed heinous crimes against our citizens — and it’s a state-by-state issue, but in the state of Texas, our citizens have made that decision, and they made it clear, and they don’t want you to commit those crimes against our citizens. And if you do, you will face the ultimate justice.
…
“This is the digital age, so let’s begin with an immediate outburst from Andrew Sullivan, who during his live blogging of the debate, wrote:
“9.48 pm. A spontaneous round of applause for executing people! And Perry shows no remorse, not even a tiny smidgen of reflection, especially when we know for certain that he signed the death warrant for an innocent man. Here’s why I find it impossible to be a Republican: any crowd that instantly cheers the execution of 234 individuals is a crowd I want to flee, not join. This is the crowd that believes in torture and executions. Can you imagine the torture that Perry would authorize? Thank God he’s doing so poorly tonight.
…
“Greenwald also cites Will Bunch at the Philadelphia Daily News, who believes he saw the national sentiment that Perry tapped into. Bunch calls the death penalty cheer ‘a shocking new low’ in American politics. On Thursday he wrote: ‘[W]ith the 10th anniversary of 9/11 just four days away, everyone’s been looking for a window into America’s post-attack psyche. I think that, sadly, that window just opened wide in Simi Valley last night. I’ve never forgiven my own newspaper, the Daily News, for leading the Sept. 12, 2001, paper with an editorial headlined “Blood for blood” that started out: “Revenge. Hold that thought.” Obviously, we have — for coming up on a decade. The cheering of executions is the hallmark of a sick society one that’s incapable of tackling its real demons and looking for vengeance on whomever happens to be available.’”
But there’s lots more - again, read the entire post:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/they-messed-with-texas/?hp
