Plunderbund

The House today passed legislation that legalizes torture and prevents detainees from challenging their imprisonment in federal courts, voting primarily along party lines. The Senate bill is expected to pass tomorrow, sending the legislation to the President to sign before the Hill is vacated so politicians can campaign for the November election. John Boehner had something particularly vile to say prior to voting.

”Will my Democrat friends work with Republicans to give the president the tools he needs to continue to stop terrorist attacks before they happen, or will they vote to force him to fight the terrorists with one arm tied behind his back?” he asked just before members cast their ballots.

Especially upsetting was the fact that an amendment that called for an expedited judicial review of the constitutionality of the commissions and a three year sunset provision was soundly defeated, also along party lines.

You can check your Congressman’s vote here.

UPDATE: As BSB points out, Sherrod Brown chose to vote for this legislation. It’s very disappointing he did so, but as pointed out in the comments, this might have been a purely political move. The bill was in no danger of not passing, so this might put him in a position to win a few swing voters, as there is no way in hell that DeWine doesn’t approve the Senate version tomorrow. Sometimes I hate politics.