Senators Schumer (NY) and Feinstein (CA) have decided to sell out to torture and back Mukasey for attorney general, the AP has reported. This ensures Mukasey has the votes to pass the Senate Judiciary Committee and go to the full Senate floor, where he is widely expected to be confirmed.

One wonders what benefits the Democrats ever gain from standing by their party. Schumer and Feinstein deserve to be boycotted at the next elections. That might teach them what “voting with your conscience” means.

Of course, a lone senator could still pull through and serve as the national conscience. Leahy could hold the nomination in committee indefinitely, for example. Or a senator could put a “hold” on Mukasey’s nomination. For instance, Durbin has a hold on the nomination of Steven Bradbury, author of the new torture memos. Senate majority leader Harry Reid could also refuse to schedule Mukasey’s vote. Perhaps, a senator could even filibuster.

There are ways for a single senator with a shocked conscience to stop this train, but we do not have much hope in that. As a nation, we have sold out to torture yet again. When will we ever stop?

“Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” – Martin Luther King Jr.