The Right on Rights

James Taranto is way to the right of the U.S. Constitution when he writes:

If the election doesn't happen, the terrorists actually will have won, while pols in Washington were busy flagellating each other over the "human rights" of men who respect the rights of no one.

Human rights for all should be one of the key underpinnings of the Right, not an extra we grant to those whom we consider deserving. Nancy Pelosi is correct to mock the "morality and values" of the Right when conservative apologists are doing backflips to get around Alberto Gonzales' willingness to condone torture.

Most criminals disrespect the rights of others - yet we as a nation are pledged to protect even their rights. It's like being tolerant of the intolerant: if you're not, you're not truly tolerant.

The culture war should not stop when we step out of the world of media. Some of the same conservatives who would rail loudly against a movie that showed sexual torture and demeaning on the big screen are now being even louder in their attempts to minimize and gloss over the real thing.

The Right risks losing its street cred on morality by upholding sleazy methods of achieving good ends. Stopping terror is good; becoming a terrorist to do it is bad. If you fight violence with violence, you're a vigilante, not a policeman. The Republican Party should be the party committed to the Rule of Law, not just another nationalist organ committed only to what selfishly benefits them.