Country strong and secure. Welcome to the journal editorial report. Im paul gigot. That was john brennan defending his agency postseptember 11th use of socalled enhance interrogation techniques in the wake of a Senate IntelligenceCommittee Report released this week accusing the cia of torturing detainees and lying about its effectiveness. Roundly criticized by former top officials of the spy agency, none of whom were interviewed by the committee before its release. Is the 6,000page document anything more than partisan second guessing . Lets ask wall street journalist and deputy and dorothy and Foreign Affairs columnist bret stevens. So, dorothy, weve been editorially very critical of the report and we published the opposition from the former cia officials. Get that on the record. But theres an argument out there whatever you think of the report, this is somehow good for democratic accountability because it gets out in the public what the cia was doing. Do you agree with that . Paul, its as good as any expression of pathological sanctimoniousness that has characterized every attitude towards every effort america has taken to defend itself. Now, this is a long time in the making and its a pity that diane fell steen finally of this stuff. But she has a generally pretty good record on some of these securities. She does. Its extremely telling. Two minutes after 9 11, forums all over the university of america explaining how this is all the part and the problem of the United States because we brought it on. Nobody then paid attention, the great mass of americans would have nothing to do with that thinking. However, in the intervening years, the seepage into the elite media and to various propaganda forums has become a kind of montru. You think this is rooted in hostility to american purposes . Are you saying that . It is rooted to hostility of the idea that america is anything but a flawed, deeply immoral nation. You cannot go on the campuses of the United States without hearing this as the general opinion. But were there excesses, bret, that theyve documented that things were not proud of as a country . Two detainees that died in custody. Mistakes made. Not every cia agent was honest. All of this is par for the course in largescale operation being conducted under time pressure, political pressure to get things right. And that is all well and true. To stop another attack. Right, basically, this report is a gigantic act of bad faith by senator feinstein, by everyone who supports it and by the president and to some extent even by john brennan, the cia director himself. This is a partisan report. It is not a congressional report. This is a report that breaks rank with the fact that many top congressional leaders told the cia when they were conducting these interrogations, go to it. Do whatever you have to do and then some to make sure that we are never attacked again. And the cia succeeded in that task for which they are now being pillared as being profoundly immoral or temporarily insane. I think it just misses the context of post 9 11 america. That doesnt justify everything that happened. But the same politicians criticizing the cia now, including Diane Feinstein were saying, look, we have to do something. Maybe we have to do to stop in the next attack. We had the anthrax letters at the time after 9 11. So, the cia took them at their word and did it. Yes, exactly. The press reported, there is really nothing all that new in this report the cia interrogation has been public for a long time. So you do have to wonder what is going to be, i think, a big question the political effect of this report. Your answer. My answer is it is going to hurt the democrats. I really do believe that. I mean, if they want to be the party that is on the side of criticizing the people who interrogated the perpetrators of 9 11, the bombing of the uss cole the bombing of two american embassies and, of course, Going Forward to Islamic State and the beheadings. If they want to say, theyre the party that doesnt want to be too tough. In fact, you can be im not, thats not my point. My point is what do the American People sitting out there watching all of this think of the Democratic Party . I think a lot of them are marking them down saying, i do not want to be associated with that partys point of view. Look, it will also hurt us because on the margins on the wake of another major attack, cia officers tasked with getting information will act with extreme caution because they know whatever authorities they may have from a president or even from congress to act, those authorities will be questioned five, ten years down the road. Dorothy, what about the president here and john brennan and James Clapper and the National Director of national intelligence. They seem to want to have it both ways. On one hand they want to condemn the practices they heard before they were there and say were standing strongly behind all the cia right now . Because it shows you this kind of attitude that it takes immense moral courage now to stand up and say what is clearly true. The accusation that none of this worked any way. This is so brutal and cruel and did none of us any good, which is a transparent falsehood by all testimony, but, ask yourself why. If they were so worried about purity. What would they have done if they said, yes, this really worked for us, but we think we should be more moral. They couldnt risk that. You have this falsification of reality in order to establish this virtue. The point is that the American People out there know better than all of this. All right. Thank you all very much. When we come back, as obama cares political casualty list continues to grow, the senates top democrat is the latest liberal to point the finger at president obama and the controversial law. Im angela, and i quit smoking with chantix. People who know me, they say i never thought you would quit. but chantix helped me do it. Along with support, Chantix Varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. It gave me the power to overcome the urge to smoke. Some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. Some people had seizures while taking chantix. If you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. Tell your doctor about any history of Mental Health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix or history of seizures. Don take chantix if youve had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. If you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be lifethreatening. Tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, or if you develop new or worse symptoms. Get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. Use caution when driving or operating machinery. Common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. Im a nonsmoker, that feels amazing. Ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. Well, obama care claimed its latest victim last weekend when louisiana democrat Mary Landrieu lost her run off by a whopping 14 points handing the gop their ninth Senate Pickup in the midterms. A record outgoing majority leader harry reid blamed on president obama and the Health Care Laws disastrous debut telling New York Times this week we never recovered from the rollout because the election became one that was directed toward the president. We couldnt overcome that. Jason riley and washington cawashington columnist kim. Afterwards some of the politicians will admit exactly the opposite of what they were saying before the election which is what we have here with harry reid and the obama care. Why the new candor . It takes some times, as you said. Elections do tend to focus the mind and it is not just harry reid, you have his comments and you had Chuck Schumer and another lea saying we shouldnt have passed this in the first term. You had tom harkin, the retiring senator from iowa. One of the more liberal members of congress saying this was a poorly drafted law and we should never have passed it. But, more importantly, paul, you have this statistic, which is of the 60 democrats who voted to pass this law, 30 of them are now gone. But why are they admitting this now . Is this just facing reality . Most of these guys, they still have to defend obama care . They do. Except i think they understand that there is great political liability of defending it full throatedly and what this is is a message to some of the rank and fall file that may be for their own future survival they need it be more free to maybe make some changes in modifications of the law which is something that republicans are planning to do. Okay. Joe, we also had Jonathan Gruber, the famer Jonathan Gruber consultant to obama care testifying on capitol hill about his comments about the American Public being too stupid to understand the arguments and, therefore, helping it pass. What do you make of his testimony . The thing that struck me was democrats denounced him as much as republicans. Why . This is another attempt to rewrite history. You had professor gruber up there saying he was never an architect of the law and then up there saying he wrote the bill. They needed to get him over the side before he did any more damage. Democrats wanted to say, basically, i dont know you. Never met you. Who are you, by the way. Still an apology, but wasnt. He was apologizing really for getting caught on tape, paul. He apologized for his tone and his arrogance, but not really the substance of his remarks. What had to do with congressional rules and how obama care would be paid for. Gaming the system. He didnt really apologize for the substance. He stands by the law. So, what is the shape of the law now, joe . We have this year, the democrats, many saying enormous success. Its going very well. True . I dont think so. We had a lot of problems in terms of getting information out of the department of health and human services. For example, they were inflating the numbers by including dental plans with Health Insurance to make it look like more people were enrolling. What were really seeing is increased costs, fewer choices and i dont think that there is going to be sustainable over the long term. Kim, the Supreme Court is taking up a case in march about the subsidies in obama care and if they rule that the subsidies cannot be delivered through federal exchanges that is, what, i think 36 states. That will throw the law topsyturvy and it will have to be a major rewrite. So, one of my sources says, legal sources says that about a 70 chance this source figures that the Supreme Court will rule that way. So, what happens then . Well, as you said, that is potentially a very big moment for precisely the moments we have been talking about. All these senior democrats making these comments. It is a green light, as you will, to some democrats to maybe join with republicans and the gop, this is important. They have been figuring out that this is going to be their strategy. They are not going to be able to repeal the whole law. They will take swipes at it here and there. If the Supreme Court comes out with it, it is an opening to potentially do a big rewrite and potentially do it with democratic support and that will put a lot of pressure on the president to play ball. And better to do it in the smaller way than to try to have repeal and so on. That could be, that could be progress. When we come back, as protests continue over the Michael Brown and eric garner grand jury decisions, our political leaders sanctioning the violence or doing their part to stop it . Introducing the new Philips Norelco shaver series 9000 with Contour Detect Technology that flexes in 8 directions for the perfect shave at any angle. Go to philips. Com new to save up to 40. Innovation and you. Philips norelco. You drop 40 grand on a new set of wheels, then. Wham a minivan tbones you. Guess what your Insurance Company will only give you 37thousand to replace it. Depreciation they claim. How can my car depreciate before its first oil change . You ask. Maybe the better question is, why do you have that Insurance Company . With Liberty Mutual new car replacement, well replace the full value of your car. See Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. Demonstrations conti demonstrations continued across the country this week in response to a pair of grand jury decisions clearing Police Officers in the deaths of two unarmed black men. Protesters staged peaceful in new york and other cities and in californias bay area things took an ugly turn as demonstrators blocked highways, set garbage cans on fire and threw rocks at police and brought mass transit to a halt. President obama voiced his support for peaceful protests on monday telling b. E. T. That they were sometimes necessary. Our countrys conscious sometimes has to be triggered by convenience. The value of peaceful protests, activism, organizing. It reminds the society this is not yet done. Were back with dan, dorothy and jason. So, jason, what message are the politicians like the president sending here about the protests and is it the right one . Well, they seem to be standing with the protesters. You had congressional staffers this week doing a walk out and raising their hands and saving black lives matter and all that. But the disconnect, paul, between the agenda of the protesters and the actual problem of black homicides could not be wider. The idea that you would focus on Police Shootings and play those up and not focus on nonPolice Shootings and deaths among blacks is just astounding given that Police Shootings are a fraction of nonPolice Shootings and to the extent that these protesters succeed and you get less effective policing youre only going to increase the black body count. Are you saying the president isnt aware that this is the agenda . Well, i think his agenda is feeding this antipolice narrative, which is unfortunate. Because that is not where the focus should be. Dan, what about that . Do you agree . I do agree, paul. I mean, it seems that sometimes as though we dont know what they want the police to do. But, in fact, its becoming clearer the more this goes on that there is an agenda. There is a new york city, for instance, an organized group called gathering for justice. An Umbrella Group of organizations, community organizations, if you can call them that. They have ties from al sharpton and from mayor bill de blasio. They want to look into all forces of police force and they want an end, a termination to the broken window policy which the police have been using. Which goes after small offenses to give the public a sense of security and prevent larger offenses. They want to stop what they call a criminalization of offenses by kids in high schools. They think they get accused of crimes too often and, fourth, they have a thing in the new York City Council called the right to know act which would require the police to get written or recorded consent, voluntary consent from a person that they want to interview on the street if they dont have a search warrant. And that, you say, is motivating them. Thats the agenda. Sounds like a mistake to me. But thats how they want policing changed in america. Dorothy, let me play devils advocate here. The right to civil disobedience is one we revere as americans. It has helped to propel a constructive change like the civil rights movement. If youre angry about something, isnt this justified and part of an american tradition . Well, this is, if you call this the american tradition, we are in a lot of trouble. Some of us remember the Civil Rights Era when people could not sit down at a lunch counter and there was hardly an american i knew who was not willing to go down there and fight for that right. Police hoses, dogs, here we have and i actually do not agree that these specific requests have any meaning whatsoever. What we have here is a mass demonstration of the face of victimization that has been ingested not only on our campuses where people are gathered into groups, being told that you are a despised group and we have to fight this. The most remarkable outpouring are these people, if you ask anyone, theyre here to commit outrage to be heard. Arent there excesses by the police . Yes, there are excesses. All of us are angry at the eric garner case. No question about this. This is still very little to do with what youre seeing out there when you see this collection, of, what can we call it . A zoo. Of new York City Council there throwing them selves into the streets as demonstrators, the dog whistle put out by eric holder. Invade five Department Stores in new york city. They shut down bridges and highways. Hey, look, im against obama care. Organized demonstrators in big Department Stores in new york for that reason. And the reason obama is standing with them is because he has a political agenda. And it is, it is standing with the protesters against the cops. Thats unfortunate. Because obama knows as well as anyone else, eric holder knows this, too. We dont have this body count in america. They know that as well as anyone else. They are willing to play along. Do you think these demonstrations will continue or get worse . I think they will continue. I think they have legs. I think the media has been very sympathetic to the protesters and i think we could see them for some time. So far they have all been in the hundreds. This has not been tens of thousands of people. Its been in the hundreds and relatively small. We need to take one more break. When we come back, your hits and misses of the week. As quest ns about money. You know, i think about money kind of a lot. Moneys freedom. Moneys always on my mind. Credit cards. Mortgage. Debt. Its complicated. Its not easy. Im not a good budgeter. Unfortunately, im a spender. I would love to learn more about finances. So theres questions about the world that all of us have, especially about money and finance. The goal of khan academy and Better Money Habits and the partnership were doing with bank of america is to give people the tools they need to empower themselves. To the dealership because its the largest purchase in theyre gonna make in their lifetime next to their house. So they have to figure, can i afford this . Truecar gets to the heart of the matter. Within 60 seconds youre gonna find out what the average customer is paying for that car. Truecar helps you enjoy the car buying process because youre spending less time negotiating price. Youre gonna find yourself focusing on whats the right car for you and have a lot of fun with that. Experience a whole new way to buy a car, with truecar. Wouldnt it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters shopping online is as easy as it gets. And even piano tuners were just as simple . Thanks to angies list, now it is. Weve made hiring anyone from a handyman to a dog walker as simple as a few clicks. Buy their services directly at angieslist. Com no more calling around. No more hassles. Start shopping from a list of toprated providers today. Angies list is revolutionizing local service again. Visit angieslist. Com today. Time now for time now for our hits and misses of the week. Kim, lets start us off. No one should like the process behind this weeks bus to fund the government. In it marks the first time republicans effectively use the power of the purse to do battle with the obama administration. The bill cuts funding for agencies like the irs and eliminates programs and had a number of policy writers blocking job crushing regulations. The Republican Congress is not going to be able to dismantle the obama agenda, but a model for how they can use tools given to them under the constitution to notch some victories. Everyone is talking about the Rolling Stones story on the Sexual Assault that appears to be disintegrating before our vies. But this is the magazines journalistic mo. Two years ago they made the college like a. Anyone but for activists and journalists their agenda is more important than the truth. This is a miss for the political will to believe. Dan . A hit the two organizations that normally get it totally wrong. The Nobel Peace Prize and times person of the year. One went to a young woman, a pakistani, civil rights leader who had been shot in the head by the taliban. Malala yousufzai. The two of them getting it right at the same time is like haylys comment. Thanks to my pannal and especially to all of you for wa. Im paul gigot. Hope to see you right here next week. Brandnew reaction today following the release of the controversial cia report. Glad you could join me. The man who oversaw the Interrogation Program is speaking out defending the agencys methods of questioning terror suspects in the months after 9 11. The former director of the national clandescent service is also insisting congress was fully aware of the techniques and never raised objections. National security correspondent Jennifer Griffin has more reaction to the senates panel controversial report. Jennifer, what are you