Republican senators are threatening to block confirmation of key Obama nominees if the Obama administration makes public the Bush administration Justice Department memos that explicitly authorized torture and other barbaric relics.

Human rights/constitutional lawyer Scott Horton notes, “It now appears that Republicans are seeking an Obama commitment to safeguard the Bush administration’s darkest secrets in exchange for letting these nominations go forward.”

Funny to remember how many people believed that Washington would no longer be sordid after Bush and Cheney left office.

If the Obama team rolls over for this Republican power play,  this will be a symbol of the bipartisan complicity in the worst abuses of recent years.