Most 2016 presidential hopefuls are either saying nothing at all about the Senate Intelligence Committee's report or offering innocuous statements dissociating themselves from torture,
The New York Times reported.
Republicans, especially, do not want to appear soft on security, yet no one wants to be seen as embracing torture as a tool for getting information out of Islamist extremist prisoners.
Among those who were willing to say anything at all, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio condemned the release of the "partisan and unfair" report which he said "puts in danger the lives of Americans." At the same time, Rubio said that he was not an advocate of continuing "those practices," the Times reported.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky told
Politico, "I think we should not have torture. Transparency is mostly good for government. The only thing I would question is whether or not the actual details, the gruesomeness of the details, will be beneficial or inflammatory."
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee termed the report "a highly partisan attack on the previous administration" that "puts Americans at grave risk as it fuels propaganda efforts of radical Islamic terror groups and sympathizers already trying to destroy our nation," the Times reported.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has not commented on the intelligence committee report. In 2002, after president George W. Bush appointed him as a federal prosecutor, he came out against obtaining evidence through the use of torture, the Times reported.
Govs. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Scott Walker of Wisconsin, and John Kasich of Ohio all declined to comment. In remarks to a Heritage Foundation audience on foreign policy, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas made no direct mention of the report, the Times reported.
The silence extended to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush who is, according to the Times, "in an especially unenviable position, because it resurrects the most controversial policies of his brother's administration."
Michael Goldfarb, a conservative writer, said GOP hopefuls are trying to stay in line with their constituencies, who are basically supportive of the CIA and not "shedding any tears for the terrorists who got roughed up," the Times reported.
On the Democratic side, the party's left-wing wants to hear demands that those responsible for the use of torture be prosecuted.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had earlier called for the report's release but has said nothing publicly since.
Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland staked out an assertive position calling for a special prosecutor. Democratic socialist Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont declared that anyone who lied to elected officials about torture should be fired, the Times reported.
Former Virginia Democratic Sen.
Jim Webb tweeted: "Were these acts individual, institutional, or national policy? Did intelligence committee use its oversight power?"