And here we go: Right off the deep end.

It’s as predictable as the sunrise. As those who are genuinely and honestly outraged over the revelations contained within the Senate Intelligence Committee’s “torture” report strain themselves in the effort to adopt a posture of unparalleled indignation, they inevitably overreach.

So far, the best example of this kind of indulgence in regrettable hyperbole in the pursuit of moral preening is Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA). In an appearance on MSNBC on Wednesday, Speier reacted to the release of the SSCI’s report on the CIA’s Bush-era enhanced interrogation program by saying America’s clandestine services agency should issue a formal apology for the practice (h/t Gateway Pundit):

“Every single page had something in the executive summary that shocked me,” the California Democrat said. “Whether it was the rehydration anally or keeping them sleep deprived for one-hundred and eighty hours with their hands over their head in shackles. That is not what this country is about and we have got to shut this down.”

When asked if the CIA should issue an apology, Speier replied “Absolutely.”

She seemed less inclined, however, to speculate on just how likely that outcome would be. “There’s an arrogance that exists within the CAI that has to be reined in,” Speier said. “I would certainly hope that they would recognize that, with some soul-searching, that they have got to come clean on this.”

On Thursday, MSNBC anchor Craig Melvin pressed self-described socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to say whether or not he agreed with Speier. Even Sanders declined to go as far as the Bay Area Democrat.

The idea that the CIA should apologize, or perhaps an American representative on their behalf, is not necessarily dismissible off hand. It is, however, a complex issue which Speier declined to fully consider.

To whom should this apology be directed? Since all of the individuals subjected to EIT’s were not revealed in the SSCI report, would this be a blanket apology to anyone suspected of involvement in al-Qaeda who was interrogated by CIA operatives or their associates? If his were to occur, it might undermine the efforts to protect the identities of CIA operatives who engaged in questionable practices. Most of their names were redacted from the Senate committee’s report. If this is what Speier is advocating, that is the most ill-considered proposal we’ve heard from the left since at least Tuesday.

These complexities are why an apology will not be forthcoming, but Speier probably knew that. All she hoped to accomplish was to nurse her sense of moral superiority. Mission accomplished.