Sherrod's put out his explanation of why he voted for the McCain Torture and End of Habeas Corpus bill.

Yesterday, Congressman Brown voted for a bill that creates a military tribunal to try those enemy combatants that have been held by thegovernment since September 11, 2001.

This compromise is supported by Senator John McCain, a former POW who fought to ensure that this tribunal lives up to our national standards on human rights.

Unlike President Bush's plan, this compromise measure prohibits the degrading treatment of detainees and specifically lists the types of behaviors that are banned in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

The Washington Post wrote about the legislation, "The compromise legislation does not seek to narrow U.S. obligations under the Geneva Conventions in the treatment of prisoners, as Bush had hoped."

Those detained have been held for more than 5 years with no opportunity to prove their guilt or innocence.

It will provide that opportunity, so that those who are innocent can be set free and those who are guilty can be punished.

The bill prohibits the use of cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment of detainees. Because that evidence is often unreliable, it will not admit evidence obtained through torture

Detainees will be entitled to Combatant Status Review, where they may challenge their detention within the confines of the military tribunal system.

And the bill will allow combatants to receive an edited version of classified evidence being used to convict them so that they can respond without putting our national security at risk.

Congressman Brown feels it has taken far too long for a legal framework to be developed – for the innocent who must be freed, the guilty that must be punished, and our homeland which must be secured.=

With all due respect, if he thinks it's a good bill, that's even worse than if he did it out of political calculation that it would hurt him with voters. That means that on a core issue he's not reliable because he really doesn't believe. That's exactly what Lieberman was primaried for - because on core issues like Iraq and the war on terror, he really believes in the Republican line.

And Sherrod's screed is misleading. The bill still allows various types of torture - it specifically allows most of what happened at Abu Ghraib to continue. Foreign citizens are tried by special military tribunals without the right to face their accusers or see the evidence against them (a summary doesn't cut it). They have no right of appeal to civilian courts - Habeas Corpus is waived with regards to them. American citizens can appeal to civilian courts only whether or not they are combatants (and giving money can makes you a combatant). Civilian courts are perfectly capable of dealing with classified information, they simply do in in camera.

This is all before we get to the point that the bill allows Bush to declare anyone an enemy combatant, and given the way that Jose Padilla was treated even before this bill, there's a very good chance they'll never get out military custody.

I'm not sure what it says about Sherrod that he thinks people are stupid enough to fall for his spin, but I for one have gone from thinking he was cowardly, to thinking he's something much worse than that.

On most issues I'm willing to say "well I don't agree with you, but I respect that you are a man of conscience". Torture and Habeas Corpus and the bill of rights aren't issues where I have any respect for those who want to overturn them.

Simply put, I'm going to stick a shiv in Brown every chance I get from this point in. I suggest that anyone who cares about these issues not give any more money or time to Sherrod. There are other candidates who need your help. Sherrod has decided that the regard of those who think torture and kangaroo courts are what America needs are more important to him than your regard. So be it.