Here is the money quote talking about interrogations, including water boarding:
Republican 10th District Congressman Mark Kirk says back then, such tactics were justifiable "to wrap up the al Qaida cells, that had just attacked the United States." Kirk says destroying videotapes of the interrogations made sense as well.
How the netroots kept this story from being buried, and why it matters, after the fold.
Someone posted on Prairie State Blue, saying his wife had heard something but he wasn't sure so he asked if anyone else had heard it.
Ellen of the Tenth reported that a reader of her blog had heard it. That stated a search and Ellen finally found it.
This may turn out to be a big story and it is the kind of thing that would have been said and forgotten before blogs were invented.
What's the big deal? Kirk voted for CIA torture by voting against its ban. The problem for Kirk is that he pretends to be a moderate. His district is fairly liberal and he faces a strong challenge from Dan Seals (Dem.). Voting for terrible measures because he is asked to by Bush or the Republican leadership is what Mark Kirk does; it is who he is. Justifying it openly is not going to sit well with his educated, politically sophisticated, politically moderate constituents.
You can actually hear the quote in this feed from a local radio station.