President Bush's proposal for Gitmo tribunals brings back the memory of one of Randy Kuhl's most interesting votes. Last year, Kuhl sided with Sen. John McCain in a vote for a torture ban. Though Bush eventually endorsed this bill, he initially opposed it, and only relented after McCain put together a veto-proof majority in the House. 121 Republicans still voted against the bill.
Today, we have a politically similar situation. Bush's proposal is probably unconstitutional. Republican Senators McCain, Lindsay Graham and John Warner have already expressed skepticism. Whatever bill comes out of Bush's speech may well be opposed by the same bi-partisan coalition that supported McCain last year.
If Kuhl joins that group, he has an opportunity to show he's not "Rubber-Stamp Randy", while still allying himself with respected members of his party. After all, it's only disloyalty if nobody else is doing it.