John McCain's objection to Gina Haspel's appointment to lead the CIA is easily understood: he was tortured in Vietnam, whereas Haspel supervised torture at the CIA. Many conservatives have often held him with a certain contempt for being a prisoner of war, partially because they think torture is effective (cf. the Manchurian candidate) and partially just because they hate victims who share their experiences. Trump's mockery of him over it was not a blurted-out accident, but rather a vulgar fingers-in-mouth earsplitting humanwhistle to the right. And so here we are, with White House official Kelly Sadler's opinion of him.
Special assistant Kelly Sadler made the derisive comments during a closed-door White House meeting of about two-dozen communications staffers on Thursday morning.
“It doesn’t matter, he’s dying anyway,” Sadler said, according to a source familiar with the remarks at the meeting.
The White House did not deny the account of Sadler’s remarks, which came amid a discussion of Haspel’s nomination and McCain’s opposition to it.
…Sadler is a former opinion editor for The Washington Times. At the White House, she focuses on illegal immigration, often sending out press releases to highlight stories about the issue to reporters.
This sort of jocular disgust, plugged into the place where most people have a sense of humor, is a totalitarian thing.
Previously: CIA & Army veteran has the best response to Gina Haspel confirmation obfuscation
Photo: White House Begins Christmas Season With Ceremonial Lighting Of Cross [The Onion]
