Doesn't the Obama administration realise that they have a huge amount support from their constituents? One of the initiatives that the Obama admin has pushed for that we wholeheartedly agree with is greater transparency.

We aren't going to tolerate the Republicans f*cking with that. They could mess with a lot of other things but don't mess with what we have been waiting for, for the last 8 years. We want to know what Bush did, we want to find out about the torture, we want to know about his politicization of the DOJ.

Transparency should be at the foundation of government. If Republicans are unwilling to support that then they should removed.

This is the first big battle. If Obama plays this really well, and the R's keep defending the Cheney wing of the party, the moral depravity on display (combined with, say, being totally on the wrong side of history WRT recent economic policy) could be an existential crisis for the GOP. Gingrich is absolutely right that third parties would be formed to challenge the GOP as the second party.

Perhaps the odds are low but at this point it's certainly not unthinkable.

Here's one spectator ready to see the best fusillade the GOP can muster. Everyone pay attention with pens at the ready for who comes down on what side of this one.

This will cement the image of the GOP in the eyes of people under 40. Just as of us wants to get near an American car, to our deaths the GOP will stand for beating the shit out of taxi drivers.

BLACKMAIL ? definitely
Poor Obama , no matter how hard he tries, the obstacles mount.
Next they will blackmail him about HEALTHCARE
The Republicans are not the only ones who blackmail the Administration............WALL STREET also blackmailed the administration into SUBMISSION to their WILL.
see how tough it is to change things.
Good luck to Obama............we understand !!!

I think that's despicable behavior on the part of the Republicans involved in "blackmailing" the Obama administration. It's certainly not covered under the rubric of classified information - need to know.
Rather, we Americans have a right to know the illegal acts performed with the consent of the Bush administration - Truth & Reconciliation. The people from countries whose citizens were illegally tortured have a right to know as well.
I would suggest to Mr. Cornyn, et al. that such behavior on their part will all but guarantee Mr. Gingrich's belief that the 2012 elections will see a 3rd party. It might happen even sooner in 2010. Such arrogant people are certainly not representing their constituents in good faith. In comparison, what Mr. Dodd did regarding the AIG bonuses in ARRA is mild.

President Obama please do not give in to blackmail.let's give them transparency,Why do The republicans want to suppress information ?Rush where are you and fellow neocons.I can't hear you.

Go nuclear? I say let them. Let them take a public stand as the party of torture. Let them see who the public sides with on this one. The Obama Administration needs to go public with this threat, explain to the American people what the Senate Republicans are doing, and why - we'll do the rest.

Bring it on! Why back down? Let them filibuster. The public reaction would be rather decisive, I would think. Not every Senate Republican is going to stand on the side of torture. Does Olivia Snow believe in using torture? I think not.

I have to agree that these memoranda should see the light of day. This is one worth fighting over. Even Mcain would support it !!

This is scary stuff. The Administration must use every available means to expose these Republicans and bring them down. Now is the time. They are holding not only the Administration, but the Nation hostage in depriving the government of its personnel. This borders on criminal conduct, not only by the past perpetrators of torture, but by their colluding senators.

It's probably better stated that the Obama administration has and will continue to shut out the GOP. "What a tangeled web he weaves, Obama." And he now wants to ram down our throats the War Dead?

This is not really "politics" this is corruption, being covered up. I don't want to see the torture memos. The American public knows what went on. Keep them in a safe for the historical archives and get the nominations.

But let this be a lesson to people who like to go hard on Obama and soft on Bush: this is corruption, or "pay to play" chicago style politics. And it's being played by Republicans. Because Republicans are terrible people.

Prosecute.

This user is no longer registered.

I can't wait to see attack ads against Repubs in 2010 for defending the Bush policy essentially advocating torture. I also don't think filibustering will necessarily work in the long run. Senate Repub leader Bill Frist and other Repubs threatened to change the rules several years ago and require only a majority to confirm appointments, so the Dems can do the same and point to that Republican precedent to justify it. Once again, Republican short-sightedness will turn out to bite themselves in the ass.

Why, this is exactly the way other thugs behave. Threats
and intimidation! No wonder things are all messed us right now. We have been RULED by thugs for a decade, and sort of got used to it. Karl Rove and Adolf Hitler were true geniuses.

Is this another attempt at shifting the blame and distracting?

Shouldn't the Obama administration focus on North Korea and the economy?

I thought Democrats have the majority in Congress; what do they need the Republican vote for?

BTW Obama is technically in office for 2 and 1/2 months; we all know that he will be PRESIDENT since Nov 4. Why didn't he prepare his appointment then?

Let's be clear, I'm not a Republican, I think that the Republican leadership has made many poor choices over the last 40 years and plunged this country into a crisis of ethics and morality that will take a while to fix.

But most Republicans are normal Americans that are a little gullible and very misled by these evil people.

Be clear that if the Republican leadership did publish what they were doing in full most Republicans would have abandoned the party - or even better thrown out those leaders and reformed the party back into a Pro-American political party.

As the article makes clear the Republican Leadership is running scared making threats of drastic action to avoid the sunlight. What we need to do is to make Republicans see this and demand that the dirty laundry be aired so they can once again hold their heads high.

Eliminate the anti-democratic super-majority requirement for cloture as the Republicans threatened with Roberts and Alito. It's time for the senate to start bringing itself out of the early 19th Century and become a modern legislative body rather than an obstructionist anachronism.

What's so infuriating about this story is that once again, Obama is portrayed as the victim at the hands of the "evil" Republicans. If the man truly deserves to be the leader of the most powerful country on earth, then he needs to grow a spine and stand by his supposed principals-even if "Republicans promise to go nuclear." Did we elect a President or a coward?

This article makes no sense. The same logic that says release of the country-names involved in rendition is comical also applies to the principals involved in the Bush administration. Everyone already knows everything--names, ranks, and--thanks to Google--home addresses!

If the current crop of government thugs aren't willing to sanction the techniques of the former thugs, then they should own that and tell everyone in plain English that when push comes to shove, President Obama is a push. It's a legitimate position for crying out loud.

The attempt to criminalize something that a woozy wimp like Christopher Hitchens weathered so easily is dumb. Okay Hitchens isn't woozy in the strict sense but he IS a wimp and everyone knows it. The libs should grow up, govern and quit acting like cry babies. Last time anyone looked they had the functional equivalent of a veto-proof majority, so they should get off the dime and see how fast they can screw-up the country. It took the neo-cons 8 years---if the libs can't can't do it in 8 months, they ain't crap.

This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.

Typical GOP...putting self interest over the greater good.

The torture documents should be released for two reasons: 1. It's the right thing to do, and 2. The Republicans will filibuster Obama's nominees no matter what he does. Don't kid yourself.

This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.

Take this fight to the people. Do not let the sleazy Repugs threaten with their empty threats. Go ahead with a filabuster. Get the information out to the public, prosecute the criminals and we will still get the judges seated. The people are behind this action. No Fear!