The Horror of (Republican) Party Beach

Here's an interesting post from The Corner (of all places).

"Unfit To Serve As President" [John Hood]


That's what the American Freedom Agenda, a new group of conservative civil libertarians, said about Mitt Romney after he declined to sign their pledge. It would have the next president promising, among other things, to obtain judicial approval before initiating any wiretaps and to allow habeas corpus petitions for unlawful combatants imprisoned in the U.S. or by U.S. forces elsewhere.

While I probably wouldn't like a fair number of the 'other things' the AFA is fighting for, it's difficult to argue with these basic constitutional concepts that have been proudly denied Americans by the GOP. The thing is, as Hood adds:

Actually, it isn't just Romney they criticize. Only Ron Paul has signed the pledge so far.

But the top contenders-- including Giuliani and McCain-- are all making it pretty clear that they're as committed to maintaining Bush's catastrophic policies as they are to distancing themselves from the man himself. But no-one seems to care. Conservatives I've spoken with about this very issue have all given me the same familiar and bone-chilling response: "You can't take that seriously. He'll be a moderate once he's in office."