The not-so-twilight of BushCarthyism

Peter Beinart, he of The Wrastlin' Liberal, or something, has a dream:

This is the most fundamental part of the conservative foreign policy rebellion. McCain and his allies are not merely arguing that respect for human rights serves U.S. interests. They are arguing that human rights actually exist--that they constitute a universal standard above and beyond U.S. actions. The conservative rebels have taken aim at the moral relativism undergirding the Bush administration's supposed commitment to universal liberty. In so doing, they have made it much harder for Bush to equate opposing his policies with coddling the terrorists and endangering the United States. And, just like Eisenhower in 1954, they have reasserted a different kind of conservatism--one that can proudly show its face to the world. Maybe, just maybe, the jig is up.

And it is a dream.

Beinart's contention is that with Warner, McCain, and Graham -- as pro-military Republicans as you can get -- opposing Bush's approach to detainees and worrying about our country's reputation as it fights The Global War on Muslimmunists, then Rove and Bush will not be able to go around the country this Fall attacking Democrats for being soft on Islamonazis. See, three conservative Republicans are opposing him too, so nya, nya, nya, nya, nya.

Right.

While the three may force Bush to the negotiating table to come to a compromise (one that will, no doubt, be negated when the House approves Bush's bill and the two competing bills are sent to Committee and the House version prevails, kind of like the Immigration Bill), they will not stop him and his vassals from continuing the tactics of fear. Only his approved (Republican) candidates will keep voters safe in their beds at night. The "Democrat party" cares more about union membership than the safety of your granny, etc. He and Rove will simply ignore this nasty bit of untidyness in Washington, where "the politicians" are trying to stop him from winning the Global War on Whatsis. Warner, Graham, and McCain will simply be lumped in with more unnamed "Democrats" who care more about doing away with the internal combustion engine than with his "Freedom Agenda." And who think "the terrorists" should be given warm milk, a cookie, and a bed tucking each night.

To his credit, Beinart finally recognizes the game has changed, and that Bush is using McCarthyist tactics. But Bush has the full Noise Machine of both the Republican party apparatus and the White House. He isn't some drunken Senator taking on the U.S. Army. And he ain't gonna stop because of that nettlesome McCain.