A Word On Texas Executions and Liberal Hypocricy

I'll have more to say about the GOP Presidential debate later, but one thought that I needed to throw out there now.  Many liberals are appalled by this moment from Rick Perry...




Perhaps the most representative summary comes from Andrew Sullivan...

A spontaneous round of applause for executing people! And Perry shows no remorse, not even a tiny smidgen of reflection, especially when we know for certain that he signed the death warrant for an innocent man. Here's why I find it impossible to be a Republican: any crowd that instantly cheers the execution of 234 individuals is a crowd I want to flee, not join.

Let's note at the outset that I'm one of the few hard-core conservatives in America (I've never voted for a Democrat for any position in anything) who's opposed to the death penalty (entirely on policy grounds -- the death penalty is clearly constitutional).  Let me take the liberal position to the extreme and agree, for the sake of argument, that those folks in the audience were cheering the execution of convicted killers.

Do these same folks start screaming in horror when Democrats like Barck Obama promise, in speech after speech, in Presidential debates, in TV appearances, etc. to "protect a woman's right to choose?"  And follow through on such statements by preventing measures like parental notification and allowing procedures like partial-birth abortion?  I'm assuming they do.  If not, perhaps they should consider what it sounds like when people cheer statements like those, which condemn to death utterly innocent life.  Whether you think that life in that form is worthy of protection or not, one must acknowledge that those life forms are in almost every case more innocent than the lives being taken by the state pursuant to the death penalty.

I'm not necessarily comfortable with Perry saying his conscience is untroubled, but his rationale is that he is following the will of the people in carrying out executions, and there is a process in place that (he believes) ensures fairness and makes sure innocent people are not executed.  Perhaps he's not correct on that point (although it's entertaining to find liberals so hellbent on proving the flaws of government agencies).  But I'm not going to pretend to be offended by people who favor application of the death penalty because they view it as a form of retributive justice, and I'm certainly not going to be offended by people who think I should care about that and not care about people cheering abortion.