Lapsed Republican Andrew Sullivan takes a swing at the Coulter-O’Reilly-Limbaugh-Hannity flu-strain of conservatism, and ticks off why the GOP is poison to him. Namely, it’s “their abandonment of limited government, their absurd spending under Bush, their contempt for civil liberties, their rigid mindset, their hostility to others, their worship of the executive branch, their contempt for judicial checks, their cluelessness with racial minorities and immigrants, their endorsement of torture as an American value, their homophobia, their know-nothing Christianism, and the sheer vileness of their leaders.” Sullivan also wonders when someone will “Sister Souljah them,” but then (correctly) arrives at the truth: whom Republicans hate is their core motivation right now.

Oh, and Sullivan also raises the provocative notion that subjugation through rape bears striking similarities to the stated goals of “enhanced interrogation techniques,” as it would be particularly effective in destroying male Muslim self-worth and psychological integrity. So, he asks, does that re-frame the torture argument? Good, concise, gut-punch reads, both.