Torture and Republican Values

I find myself increasingly astonished that the Republican Party has embraced torture whole-heartedly, and is rapidly defending it. I would not have expected it; indeed, the conservative movement with its push for “family values” should, surely, reject torture out of hand – because it goes against those very values. So why has the Republican Party embraced a post-modern argument which denies the validity of values? For comparison purposes, compare what the Republicans would be saying if the Democrats had tortured people. I imagine it would be something along the lines of: “Look at that! Just like the Democrats to sacrifice the few in a wrong-headed attempt to ‘protect’ and ‘help’ the majority. We stand against torture, because we – unlike the Democrats – have our values. Torture has never been an American value, and it never will be – the point of values is that they don’t change simply to make your life more convenient.”