Dear Senator McCain:

I have written to you on a number of occasions, and I always introduce myself as a former supporter -- one who voted for you in the primaries of 2000. After that time, you endorsed George W. Bush for President.

In 2002-2003, the Bush Administration authored the Torture Memos. These documents -- the official legal position of the United States government -- describe how it's permissible to beat and abuse anyone they capture and accuse of being a terrorist. This abuse is only "torture" if the perpetrator is actually trying to kill the suspect, or if the abuse results in organ failure or loss of limb -- or pain equivalent thereof. Because this definition of "torture" is so narrow, the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, and the CIA director have all claimed "we do not torture" with perfectly straight faces. The tragedy of Abu Ghraib and Amnesty International's assessment of conditions at Guantanamo Bay prove otherwise.

The powers claimed by President Bush include arresting suspects and imprisoning them indefinitely, with no proof, charge, counsel, trial, judge, or jury. Some suspects have been sent to other countries for questioning -- countries where torture is not illegal.

In 2004, you once again endorsed George W. Bush for President. It was at that time I began to regret voting for you.

Last year, you offered the McCain Amendment, a law requiring all U.S. interrogators to follow the Army Field Manual's guidelines. Your Amendment was strenuously opposed by the Bush Administration. Although President Bush and his advisors continued to insist that they do not torture, their ludicrous claim that your Amendment would infringe on presidential authority was a tacit admission otherwise. They might as well have said, "We do not torture, but we have the authority to order torture, we reserve the right to torture, beating suspects isn't torture, and Abu Ghraib was just the work of some bad apples." Karl Rove even went so far as to call anyone who opposes torture a traitor.

When your Amendment garnered overwhelming Congressional support -- enough to render Bush's veto threat null and void -- Bush signed it into law. Passing this law was a courageous and patriotic first step, but it was only a first step. Why? Bush's signing statement betrayed his true intentions: he claimed he could ignore the law as he saw fit. Earlier this month, Justice Department lawyers challenged the law in court.

Senator McCain, when I wrote you to thank you for this legislation, I warned you that President Bush would ignore it as he has ignored several other inconvenient laws. (One of these laws is the FISA act, enforcing the Fourth Amendment's requirement that the government obtain a search warrant before spying on Americans. Earlier this year, Bush brazenly admitted breaking this law, and continues breaking it today.) This is exactly what has happened with the McCain Amendment.

George W. Bush and his people are subjecting an unknown number of detainees to the same abuses that the Viet Cong did to you and other Americans in captivity during the Vietnam War. The Bush Administration started doing this in 2002-2003, and they have not stopped. Despite the McCain Amendment, they have no intention of stopping. Your patriotic and humane efforts have been in vain. Before Bush came to power, the idea that any American official or soldier would torture anyone was unthinkable. Bush and his circle have changed all that. Yet your law places them -- the perpetrators of torture -- in charge of preventing torture. Did you honestly expect them to enforce this important law? If they had not violated our existing anti-torture statutes in the first place, there would be no need for the McCain Amendment. History will see the law that bears your name as a symbolic gesture that changed nothing.

If Ronald Reagan was the Great Communicator, George W. Bush is the Torture President. How long will he get away with this? How long will our elected officials remain silent? How long will Congress expect Bush to keep his word? How long will Congress allow him to torture? How long will Congress allow him to endanger our soldiers? How long will Congress allow him to blacken the name, honor, and reputation of our nation? How long will Congress allow him to make America despised and hated by the world? When will you raise your voice in protest?

Senator McCain, George W. Bush is not worthy to lead our nation. Nor is he worthy to lead the party of Lincoln. You must lead the Republican Party in a mutiny against the Torture President. Bush and his people have betrayed every conceivable Christian and American value with the torture memos; his signing statement is merely the latest one. The blind, unquestioning, unswerving loyalty of the Republican Party to a leader who tortures has essentially rubber-stamped this monstrosity.

Your colleague Senator Jeffords was alarmed at the reactionary route Bush was steering the Republican Party in mid-2001, so he left the party in protest. This was long before any of these abuses had taken place. Since then, Bush's misconduct -- including the Torture Memos and the FISA act violations -- has grown far beyond anything that Senator Jeffords could have possibly foreseen. Why have you not followed his example?

Senator McCain, President Bush and his advisors have caused the torture of suspects in American custody, and no matter how many laws Congress passes, Bush has no intention of stopping. The President, Vice President, and every member of the administration to take part in this abomination should be censured, impeached, and removed from office. When will you reclaim the moral high ground? When will you reclaim the Republican Party? When will you call for Bush's impeachment?

Senator, I ask you to take action. You are a national leader; there are few men who command the respect that you do, and even fewer who possess your courage.

Yours sincerely,
C. Colvin