One person's plea for sanity and the continuation of the human race in an insane world.
Tony Blair REALLY doesn't get it.It's not about actually CATCHING the terrorists.
It's about keeping the fear of terror going for as long as you can in order to use to stay in power, squelch domestic dissent, stifle democracy, and launch an interventionist foreign policy to try to take over the world.Silly, silly Tony Blair. Dubya is going to be vewy vewy angwy with you.
(Americablog)
posted by rich at 2:04 PM
Liberality For All - 8 issue mini series
America's future has become an Orwellian nightmare of ultra-liberalism. Beginning with the Gore Presidency, the government has become increasingly dominated by liberal extremists.
posted by rich at 1:27 PM
The Powerline's Soft Bigotry
The folks at Powerline write:
"It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can't get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile."Yes, genius indeed:
"If you don't stand for anything, you don't stand for anything! If you don't stand for something, you don't stand for anything!" —George W. Bush, Bellevue Community College, Nov. 2, 2000"Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." —George W. Bush, LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000
"Reading is the basics for all learning." —George W. Bush, announcing his "Reading First" initiative in Reston, Va., March 28, 2000
And of course, my favorite:
"Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?" —George W. Bush, Florence, South Carolina, Jan. 11, 2000Some might argue that proclamations of Bush's genius may be the result of the
Powerline suffering from the "soft bigotry of low expectations."
posted by rich at 11:54 AM
posted by rich at 11:50 AM
The New Media Rules
It looks like Republicans have learned a new trick in the media. If you give exclusive stories to journalists with the condition that no Democrats are to be allowed to comment on the story, journalists think that's a perfectly acceptable thing to do. Not only that, but they won't even bother to do any additional research for the story.We recently had the Washington Post doing this, with the journalists not "allowed" to contact anyone else about the story until after it would be too late for the morning paper. And now we have Roll Call doing the same.
(Atrios)
posted by rich at 10:26 AM
This is bad, seriously. Paul Hackett is running as the first Iraq war vet to run for
Congress, and now his GOP opponent, Jean Schmidt, just said that being an American vet from the Iraq war is the wrong kind of experience for a member of Congress. I kid you not.The Swift Boaters started it last year with Kerry, and Bush did the same thing to McCain in 2000. Slur a guy because he's a vet. And now we have a GOP candidate for Congress saying that service in the Iraq war apparently disqualifies you for being a member of Congress.
Any US service members watching? This is what I'm talking about. You think the Republicans are automatically your friends? Ask yourself why the only ones upset about all of you guys getting killed, maimed, sent to war based on a lie, not being given any plan to win the war, not even being given body armor three years after hostilities commenced - why the only people upset about all of that are Democrats? Then listen to this woman.
Any questions?
(Americablog)
---
I don't understand how any military personel can support this administration. They care nothing for the troops, other than as a talking point and a sticker for their SUVs. Disgusting!
----
From Atrios:
What prompted the committee's entry into the Schmidt-Hackett race was a comment made by Hackett in a USA Today article published Thursday. Hackett, talking about his service as a marine in Iraq, is quoted as saying, "I've said I don't like the son-of-a-b--- that lives in the White House. But I'd put my life on the line for him."
Because Hackett said that, Forti said, "we decided to bury him."
posted by rich at 9:44 AM
State Dept. Now Says Bolton Interviewed
WASHINGTON - John Bolton, President Bush's nominee for U.N. ambassador, neglected to tell Congress he had been interviewed in a government investigation into faulty prewar intelligence that Iraq was seeking nuclear materials in Africa, the State Department said.
Democratic senators said the admission should forestall Bush from using his authority to give Bolton a temporary appointment to the U.N. post, without Senate confirmation, when the Senate goes on vacation in August.
Bolton was interviewed by the State Department inspector general in 2003 as part of a joint investigation with the CIA into prewar Iraqi attempts to buy nuclear materials from Niger, State Department spokesman Noel Clay said Thursday.
His statement came hours after another State Department official said Bolton had correctly answered a Senate questionnaire when he wrote that he had not testified to a grand jury or been interviewed by investigators in any inquiry over the past five years.
Clay said Bolton "didn't recall being interviewed by the State Department's inspector general" when he filled out the form. "Therefore, his form, as submitted, was inaccurate," Clay said. "He will correct it."
---
"It seems unusual that Mr. Bolton would not remember his involvement in such a serious matter," said Biden, the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "In my mind, this raises more questions that need to be answered. I hope President Bush will not make the mistake of recess appointing Mr. Bolton."Another Democrat, California Sen. Barbara Boxer, said a recess appointment would send "a horrible message" and called on Bush to withdraw the nomination.
posted by rich at 9:19 AM
posted by rich at 8:56 AM
Frist Backs Funding of Stem Cell Study
Move by Senate Leader Marks a Break With Bush
WASHINGTON (July 29) - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on Friday threw his support behind House-passed legislation to expand federal financing for human embryonic stem cell research, breaking with President Bush and religious conservatives in a move that could impact his prospects for seeking the White House in 2008.
posted by rich at 8:48 AM
Tancredo’s Slap on the Wrist
When asked for reaction to the comments of Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) about the treatment of detainees held at Guanatananmo Bay, the administration did not hesitate to attack the statements:
Q How do you take Senator Durbin’s comments? What’s your response to his comments?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, this is, I’m sure, a family program, Steve. I have to be careful what I say. (Laughter.) I thought Durbin was totally out of line…But I just — it was so far over the top that I’m just appalled that anybody who serves in the United States Senate would even think those thoughts.
Q How is the President reacting to [Senator Durbin’s comments]?MR. McCLELLAN: I think the Senator’s remarks are reprehensible…simply beyond belief.
So the question at today’s press briefing about the remarks of Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) certainly seemed like a softball:
QUESTION: Representative Tom Tancredo recently suggested that taking out Muslim holy sites might be a good way to fight terrorism. Now, his statement has been showing up in newspapers throughout the Muslim world. Will the White House ask Mr. Tancredo to apologize and retract his statement as it did with Senator Durbin?
MCCLELLAN: Yes, I think the State Department actually addressed this issue right at the time and they expressed the views of the administration. The president has made very clear that it Islam is a religion that teaches peace and that it is a proud and great religion. And he stated his views on it.
A United States congressman calls for the bombing of Mecca and other Islamic holy sites, refuses to apologize, and this is the best McClellan could come up with. Bombing Mecca isn’t “reprehensible” or “simply beyond belief”?
posted by rich at 4:10 PM
SIMPSON UPSET ABOUT MISSING IRAQ FOOTAGE
JESSICA SIMPSON wants to know where missing footage of her and husband NICK LACHEY's harrowing trip to Iraq got to - because she thinks Americans would like to see just how bad conditions are there.The pop singers-turned-reality TV couple travelled to the war-torn nation to visit US troops as part of a recent ABC TV variety special, and they were both left
shellshocked by what they saw.But all the controversial moments and harrowing footage of the trip didn't appear in the fun-filled TV show.
Simpson says, "It was unbelievable. They didn't show a lot of what really went on with the enemy attacks and the shelling. There was so much stuff that went on and somehow the tapes got mysteriously misplaced.
"It put everything in perspective for me. It really did teach me the definition of
sacrifice. I can't even fathom being out there right now. I was ready to come home."
posted by rich at 12:57 PM
Schmidt: Contempt for Those Who Serve
This is pretty stunning. You can watch the Hackett segment on Countdown here. What amazed me was what his opponent, Schmidt, said regarding his time in Iraq:
NOVOTNY: His opponent, Republican frontrunner Jean Schmidt, a former state representative who is not convinced that time served in battle can compare to experience at home.
JEAN SCHMIDT, OHIO REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Everything’s local. Of course, it’s more important here. The issues that the people have are more important to those individuals than anything outside of that region.
People who serve are nothing compared to those who stay at home. The Chickenhawk Squawk.
posted by rich at 12:45 PM
Ann Coulter: We got the Media
"At one point, she reminded Hannity and Bozell "we have the media now"! Is this the first time the right wing has admitted this? Some of them still spew their line about the "liberal media". Well, I guess Ann Coulter just blew their cover!"
posted by rich at 12:40 PM
Jeb Bush: Roberts involvement in 2000 recount "news" to him
Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday that he was surprised by a report that U.S. Supreme
Court nominee John Roberts played an influential role in Florida's 2000 presidential recount, insisting that "my relationship with him lasted about 30 minutes." ...read
onJeb is telling us that in the most important period of his brother's life and possibly for the GOP in recent memory, he had no knowledge of Roberts role. Does he remember who Katherine Harris is?
posted by rich at 12:34 PM
Funny, Bush had no problem pulling the security clearance of 92 Senators after a leak in 2001
Today, the White House refuses to consider revoking the security clearances of Rove or Libby until the conclusion of a criminal investigation. But in October 2001, Bush summarily revoked security clearances from 92 Senators on the slightest indication there was a leak. (The information rumored to be leaked was – gasp! – that if the U.S. retaliated for 9/11, al Qaeda would try to launch another terrorist attack.)
Ok media, go get 'em. If this isn't hypocrisy, then what is? Yanking the clearances of members of Congress is FAR BEYOND yanking the clearance of a mere staffer. That's a big deal. And the fact that Bush was willing to yank the members, even though he didn't know WHICH member had leaked, puts him in an untenable spot with regards to Rove, since he KNOWS Rove leaked, and in any case, he can't say let's wait until the investigation is over - he didn't wait for the investigation before yanking Congress' clearances.
posted by rich at 12:28 PM
Rove Gets a Raise!
The top pay for senior White House aides, including Chief of Staff Card, Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Legislative Affairs Director Candida Wolff, was boosted to $161,000 at the beginning of July, according to a list sent to Congress and obtained by National Journal.
Amongst the others receiving the bump: Stephen Hadley, Scooter Libby. The era of personal responsibility is dead! Long live the era of personal responsibility!
---
bogglingly disgusting!
posted by rich at 12:00 PM
Report: Plame Gave Money to Anti-Bush Group
WASHINGTON — Outed CIA spy Valerie Plame last fall gave a campaign contribution to go toward an anti-Bush fund-raising concert starring Bruce Springsteen, it was revealed Tuesday night.
---
The $372 donation to the anti-Bush group America Coming Together (search), first reported by Time magazine's Web site, was made in Plame's married name of Valerie E. Wilson and covered two tickets.
CIA rules allow campaign contributions, but the fact that Plame gave money to the anti-Bush effort is likely to raise eyebrows.
White House officials say Rove was seeking to discredit Wilson's attacks on Bush by noting that Wilson only got picked for the CIA mission because of his wife.
A bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report found that Plame did arrange her husband's trip even though he repeatedly denied it.
posted by rich at 11:41 AM
Third administration official leaked Plame's identity as well
Oh it just keeps getting better.
In the same week in July 2003 in which Bush administration officials told a syndicated columnist and a Time magazine reporter that a C.I.A. officer had initiated her husband's mission to Niger, an administration official provided a Washington Post reporter with a similar account.
The first two episodes, involving the columnist Robert D. Novak and the reporter Matthew Cooper, have become the subjects of intense scrutiny in recent weeks. But little attention has been paid to what The Post reporter, Walter Pincus, has recently described as a separate exchange on July 12, 2003.
In that exchange, Mr. Pincus says, "an administration official, who was talking to me
confidentially about a matter involving alleged Iraqi nuclear activities, veered off the precise matter we were discussing and told me that the White House had not paid attention" to the trip to Niger by Joseph C. Wilson IV "because it was a boondoggle arranged by his wife, an analyst with the agency who was working on weapons of mass destruction."...Mr. Pincus has not identified his source to the public. But a review of Mr. Pincus's own accounts and those of other people with detailed knowledge of the case strongly suggest that his source was neither Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's top political adviser, nor I. Lewis Libby, the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, and was in fact a third administration official whose identity has not yet been publicly disclosed.
So there's a third traitor running around the administrator, perhaps even the White House. Too bad President Bush doesn't care.
posted by rich at 11:30 AM
Redefining Success In Iraq
I posted yesterday about the Army's recruitment shortfall and how a top US general said we could begin a pullout in spring of 2006. And what conditions did that general call for before we begin pulling up stakes and heading home? How did that general (re)define success in Iraq?Speaking earlier with U.S. reporters traveling with Rumsfeld, Gen. George Casey, the top American commander in Iraq, said he believed a U.S. troop withdrawal could begin by spring 2006 if progress continues on the political front and if the insurgency does not expand.
So the insurgency is stronger than ever, killing more people this year than it did last year, killing foreign diplomats with impunity, and generally things have gone to hell in a handbasket in the two years since Bush trumpeted "Mission Accomplished." And now we're saying, well, as long as IT DOESN'T GET ANY WORSE, our job is done? Talk about moving the goalposts.
(Americablog)
posted by rich at 11:22 AM
IRA Ending Longtime 'Armed Campaign'
BELFAST, Northern Ireland - The Irish Republican Army renounced violence as a political weapon Thursday and said it will resume disarmament, taking a dramatic step designed to revive Northern Ireland peace efforts after a 35-year conflict that killed and maimed thousands.
posted by rich at 11:15 AM
House Approves Massive Energy Bill
WASHINGTON - The House by a wide margin approved a mammoth energy plan for the nation Thursday that sends billions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies to energy companies, but is expected to do little to reduce U.S. oil consumption or dampen high energy prices.
posted by rich at 11:12 AM
If You Put the Right’s Spin Together, Here’s What You Hear
There’s this desk jockey who works at the CIA. We know she’s nothing more than a desk jockey because she drives from her home to where she works everyday. Everyone knows that CIA undercover agents get to work some other sneaky shadowy way, perhaps underground or something. One day she and her husband schemed to send her husband to Africa so that he could come back and falsely report that Iraq had not tried to buy yellow cake uranium from Niger, even though Iraq never did. Anyway, they planned this scheme so that they could expose the report and try to make the president and his administration look like lying crooks for getting America to support the invasion of Iraq. Now, here’s the good part. A reporter/journalist magically acquired the information about the desk jockey’s job description and called the white house to report this. This reporter said, hey, the wife of this crooked guy who reported about no attempt by Iraq to purchase yellow cake uranium from Niger, even though there was no attempt, is a pencil pusher, desk jockey who drives from her house to work everyday. Then more magically, for some reason several reporters just happen to call the white house and ask about the job description of this desk jockey. They ask if it’s true and the white house says, I heard something about it. When the liberal media wouldn’t reveal the identity of the pencil pusher a good Republican journalist steps up to the plate and put the story out for all to see. He said the wife of the lying bastard who exposed the reasons why our president should be impeached for lying to the world is, get ready, a desk jockey. So everyone relaxes, knowing that anything the husband of a desk jockey says or does must be unreliable. Obviously he can’t be trusted if he’s married to a pencil pusher. He obviously lied when he said no attempt was ever made by Iraq to buy yellow cake uranium from Niger, even though there never was.Now somewhere along the way all hell broke loose, but we’re not sure where or why. But all of a sudden the pansy Democrats began whining that the pencil pusher was a CIA agent and that her husband is not a lying, treasonous, son of a bitch. They say that they see evidence that someone like Karl Rove, who is famous for hitting below the belt, has hit someone below the belt. They say he told reporters/journalists about the desk jockey’s ID so that she would no longer be able to push her pencil. They are raising such hell you would think they had a case or something. Next thing you know a special prosecutor is involved and subpoenas are flying. They are accusing the Republicans of treason and gosh knows what else. They even go so far as to accuse our president of lying in order to begin this war that is going so well now. They say just because he was wrong about a few little details, that the US never should have invaded Iraq. Instead of allowing everyone, even the president, a little mistake or something, they call him a liar. They claim that someone in the white house was so mad about the report that Iraq never attempted to purchase yellow cake uranium, even though it never did, that this angry person exposed the pencil pusher because she was, get this, a CIA agent. They say that her cover as an “agent” was blown in order to get even with her and her husband for that little scheme they cooked up to expose the big scheme the white house was cooking up. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reporter who called the white house to give them information on the pencil pusher’s job description did so because it said so much about the kind of person a pencil pusher’s husband can be. What other reason could there be? And, why would Rove want to leak her job description? Why would he or anyone go to so much trouble just to out a pencil pushing desk jockey, and why?
posted by rich at 4:02 PM
posted by rich at 2:01 PM
posted by rich at 11:16 AM
John McCain on Rove: It depends on what the definition of "negligent" is
On ABC's This Week, Stephanopoulos just read the text of the Classified Information NonDisclosure Agreenent that White House employees are required to sign:
"I have been advised that any breach of this Agreement may result in the termination of any security clearance I hold; removal from any position of special confidence and trust requiring such clearances; or the termination of my employment..."
Stephanopoulos: Do you believe that this agreement should be abided by?
McCain: I do, but that also implies that someone knowingly revealed...
Stephanopoulos: This covers negligent disclosures
McCain: Again I don't know what the definition of "negligent" is.
That's our boy.
posted by rich at 11:12 AM
Egyptian Authorities Round Up Suspects in Resort Bombing
SHARM EL SHEIK, Egypt, July 24 - Egyptian authorities rounded up people for questioning today and attempted to identify badly mutilated bodies in one of the country's deadliest terror attacks. But they said it was too early to say who was responsible for bombing Egypt's leading tourist resort on Saturday.
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Mr. Afifi said the official death toll as of this afternoon was 64, and included seven Westerners, 26 Egyptians, and 31 people who were unidentified.
posted by rich at 11:09 AM
posted by rich at 10:30 AM
Why Gonzales’ Excuse Doesn’t Cut It
Alberto Gonzales argues that the 12-hour head start he gave to Andrew Card before he instructed the White House staff to preserve documents related to Plame leak was appropriate because he got permission from the Department of Justice. According to Gonzales, he contacted the Department of Justice about it and was told: “Go ahead and notify the staff early in the morning. That would be OK.”
Bob Schieffer noted yesterday that the 12-hour window gave “people time to shred
documents and do any number of things.”Remember: at the time, the investigation was controlled by former Attorney General John Ashcroft. Karl Rove “worked for Ashcroft over the course of two decades.” After Ashcroft lost his Senate seat in 2000 Rove “lobbied intensely for his former employer’s nomination” to Attorney General.
In December 2003, Ashcroft recused himself from the investigation amidst criticism that his close ties to Rove and others in the White House created a conflict of interest.
posted by rich at 10:17 AM
Roberts Declines to Explain Group Listing
WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee John Roberts declined Monday to say why he was listed in a leadership directory of the Federalist Society and the White House said he has no recollection of belonging to the conservative group.
The question of Roberts' membership in the society — an influential organization of conservative lawyers and judges formed in the early 1980s to combat what its members said was growing liberalism on the bench — emerged as a vexing issue at the start of another week of meetings forPresident Bush's nominee on Capitol Hill.
Santorum: Mrs. Roberts' Work Not Relevant
WASHINGTON - The fact that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' wife does free legal work for an anti-abortion group should not be relevant to his confirmation hearing, a Senate Republican leader said Monday.
posted by rich at 8:53 AM
posted by rich at 9:30 AM
New Rove talking points
Sent to 133 delegates to the 2004 Republican National ConventionDear fellow Patriot,
Today, the ultra-liberal Wall Street Journal will publish an article revealing that the State Department document from which Karl Rove learned of Valerie Plame's covert status was marked Top Secret/No Foreign. That means that it could only be viewed by people with a Top Secret clearance and could not be shared with foreign nationals. In other words, the information was so secret it couldn't be shared with friendly foreign intelligence agencies and heads of state, not even Tony Blair.*
This news comes on the heels of a Bloomberg News report that Karl Rove and Lewis "Scooter" Libby lied to the grand jury looking into the betrayal of CIA agent, Valerie Plame. The story will suggest that inasmuch as they told the same story to the grand jury, they are subject to being charged with conspiracy in addition to perjury, and any number of national security violations.
These two new revelations make our previous talking points inoperative. That's unfortunate because I think we were getting a lot of mileage out of the 'Rove never actually spoke Plame's name; he only identified her as 'Wilson's wife'" talking point.
It's done. There's nothing to be gained from dwelling on the loss of such gems. We just need to hit the airwaves and the letters sections of our local newspapers with a new set of talking points. That's why I've created the following points for your use.
Rove/Libby Talking Points for Republican Activists
Rove and Libby did not betray top secret information to foreigners. They betrayed it to American reporters.
Betraying Top Secret information for political purposes is one of the most patriotic things an American citizen can do.
There were too many "non-official cover" agents working on weapons of mass destruction intelligence at the CIA. By betraying Plame, Rove and Libby forced the Agency to become leaner and meaner.
If a great American like Orrin Hatch can betray top secret information, so can Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.
Rove and Libby are good men. They once joined Supreme Court Nominee John
G. Roberts in locating a missing white woman.There is no truth to the rumor that Mr. Rove then ordered a "work up" on the woman to discover her vulnerabilities.
Joe Wilson, on the other hand, has never mentioned the problem of missing white women in any of his interviews.
The 75% of all Americans and the 71% of all Republicans who think that Rove should
be fired if he leaked classified information are partisan Democrat hacks. If we have any Top Secret/No Foriegn classified information about them or their spouses, we should use it to destroy them.The fact that the Administration prosecuted ex-DIA agent Jonathan Randel for leaking information classified at a lower level than Top Secret/No Foriegn, does not mean that Rove and Libby should receive similar treatment. Randel leaked information about a money launderer who was allied with the Administration. Libby and Rove betrayed a CIA agent for honorable reasons--her husband committed a treacherous act, he had embarrassed Our Leader.
With today's news, it's important that we start using these talking points immediately. Please write your local newspapers, call your local talk radio stations, and offer interviews to any reporters you know. Rove, Libby, and Our Leader need your help.
Heterosexually yours,Gen. JC Christian, patriot
* There seems to be an exception for Saudi princes. It must be one of the perks of royalty.
"Saturday, Jan. 11, with the president's permission, Cheney and Rumsfeld call Bandar to Cheney's West Wing office, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Myers, is there with a top-secret map of the war plan. And it says, 'Top secret. No
foreign.' No foreign means no foreigners are supposed to see this," says Woodward.
posted by rich at 10:50 AM
Life, The Universe, and Everything
The 2005 Creation Mega-Conference, slated from Jul. 17 to 22 in Lynchburg, Va. tackled several prominent issues facing the creation/evolution debate, such as the dinosaurs, the flood and Big Bang theory.
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According to one assessment, at the root of the creationist argument is the concern that evolution undermines moral beliefs, leading to lawlessness, family breakdown, homosexuality, pornography, and abortion.If evolution is true, said Philip Bell in his talk, and we are descended from ape-like animals with no morality, no aesthetic sensibility and no soul,” then “you would have no purpose for your existence.”
“If we don’t understand the young earth and how God created it in six 24-hour days, then our values are skewed, said the Reverend Jerry Falwell, and he is hopeful that “The biblical account is the believable one. The creation debate is being won.”
posted by rich at 10:13 AM
posted by rich at 9:13 AM
Former CIA officers criticize GOP talking points about Plame
Despite the GOP attacks against Valerie Plame being a desk jockey who was not working undercover, eleven former CIA offers have sent a letter to Congress disputing the continuing smear campaign by Republicans. Josh Marshall has the full letter.
There are thousands of U.S. intelligence officers who work at a desk in the Washington, D.C., area every day who are undercover as Plame was when her identity was leaked, the 11 former officers said in a three-page statement.
"Intelligence officers should not be used as political footballs," the 11 said. "In the case of Valerie Plame, she still works for the CIA and is not in a position to publicly defend her reputation and honor."
Why does the GOP hate the CIA?
posted by rich at 8:59 AM
Bush Leaves Our Ports and Coastlines Unguarded...Then Uses Them For Photo Ops
Bush has got a lot of nerve.
He's DELAYING the upgrade of the Coast Guard until 2030, even though we've gone to war on his watch and the Coast Guard is now responsible for safeguarding our ports. Bush has also failed to take the reasonable, common sense steps needed to make our ports, coastlines and mass transit systems safer -- steps that don't involve fancy new technology or dramatic restructuring, just the ability to set priorities and focus on making our country more secure.
And then Bush uses a Baltimore port as a photo op. Bush should be APOLOGIZING for his reckless refusal to improve safety at our ports and coastlines, starting with the abominably underfunded Coast Guard.
Instead, Bush callously used the port setting to push for unquestioned and permanent renewal of the Patriot Act -- an act which was pushed through Congress in the jittery days after 9-11 and went unread by most Congresspeople, but is apparently the only piece of massive legislation in US history that achieved perfection and couldn't possibly be improved or sharpened after almost 4 years of real-world experience.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski lets Bush have it:
Shortly after Bush's speech, Maryland Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski issued a statement saying the president has not put enough money into port security and that at least $8 billion is needed to effectively safeguard the nation's ports. Bush said he has budgeted $2.3 billion for port security this year.
"We don't need port photo ops from the president. We need dollars," said Mikulski, emphasizing that the site of Bush's speech bore no direct relation to the Patriot Act.
posted by rich at 8:55 AM
Washington, DC - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement regarding U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo's (R-CO) refusal to apologize for comments suggesting that the United States should bomb Muslim holy sites, including Mecca.
"Tancredo's statements go against the very message America is trying to send to the world, that the war against terrorism is not a war on Islam. Remarks threatening the destruction of holy sites akin to the Vatican or Jerusalem do nothing to win the hearts and minds of Muslims in the United States and abroad.
Congressman Tancredo certainly owes Muslims around the globe an immediate apology for his offensive remarks. At the same time, he also owes Americans an apology for projecting a message that goes against our values. With these remarks, Tancredo has been utterly careless with his responsibility for shaping our foreign policy. Tancredo's continued refusal to apologize poses a very real danger to our troops. President Bush should strongly condemn Tancredo's statement."
Ruminations on the desirability of nuking Mecca because of the actions of some Muslims somewhere presumably might piss people off a bit more than ruminations about the improper treatment of Muslim prisoners. But, up is down people! SAY IT LOUDER! UP IS DOWN!
All the Republicans who went after Dick Durbin care nothing for our soldiers or even national security. They only care about preserving the power of the Republican party.
Nor will our press put the Republicans through the disassociation gauntlet as they did Democrats. Collective punishment based on religious association using the ultimate weapons of mass destruction is certainly a-ok for our media.
Note, of course, that Tancredo is advocating terrorism against civilian populations. His reasoning is exactly that of those who bomb targets in London and Madrid, only
he potentially has a bigger arsenal available to him.
posted by rich at 11:56 AM
Gay couples can now marry in Canada
What a great country.
Canada became the fourth country in the world to legalize gay marriage nationwide after a landmark bill was signed into law on Wednesday.... The bill grants same-sex couples legal rights equal to those in traditional unions between a man and a woman, something already legal in eight of Canada's 10 provinces and in two of its three territories.Look mom, no locusts!
posted by rich at 11:26 AM
Rove And That Memo: True Irony
So even before the first of THREE seperate investigations were launched by the Bush administration, the State Dept. had already dismissed the rumour that Hussein had tried to buy uranium in Niger as without merit. Think about that. A rumour -- based on poorly forged documents that the Hardy Boys could have exposed in five minutes -- pops up overseas. The State Dept. investigates and realizes there is absolutely no evidence to back it up -- it ain't even worth investigating. Bush is desperate for "proof" so he can justify going to war and sends the esteemed Joseph Wilson (praised by Bush's father as a "hero" and eminently qualified for the task) to check it out anyway. Wilson comes back and says it isn't true. They launch a second investigation -- still no evidence. They launch a THIRD investigation. Nope -- nothing, nada to back up a shaky rumour the State Dept. had already dismissed as meaningless.
Bush tries to insert it into a speech anyway -- this inflammatory claim that a foreign power is trying to obtain nuclear weapons-grade material that he HAS ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT. The CIA strenuously objects and gets the claim removed. But then Bush goes ahead and makes the claim anyway in his State of the Union address and the American people believe he speaks the truth. Meanwhile, the Downing Street Memo -- minutes of a meeting with the top leaders of the UK -- made crystal clear that our closest ally believed Bush was going to war no matter what and was lying, ie. fixing the evidence to justify it.
Joseph Wilson ultimately comes forward after the war was launched and says simply there was no evidence to back up those 16 words. He is attacked and mocked and smeared. His WIFE is attacked. And national security is endangered, all to smack down the fact that Bush's central evidence in going to war -- the attempt to buy uranium in Niger and the "tubes" -- didn't hold water AND BUSH KNEW IT.
If you don't want to call Bush a liar, if you want to pretend that maybe he didn't know about the State Dept.'s objections (who listens to Colin Powell anyway?) and maybe he didn't know about the first or second or even third investigation into this rumour, the simple fact remains that President Bush took this nation to war and made the most serious claim against a foreign power that he could and did it during the solemn occasion of the State of the Union address on the eve of war and HE HAD NO PROOF TO BACK IT UP.
The info in this story about the memo makes that fact even clearer. And this isn't second-guessing -- EVERYONE AGREED the rumour didn't hold water. NO ONE argued that it did except political hacks who wanted to justify going to war.
Why did Bush tell the American people something as serious as this without being ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN it was true? Why did Bush go to war based on "smoking guns" that turned out to be nothing more than water pistols? And the joke was on the American people. This is why Rove smeared a public servant with an impeccable record and endangered national security by outing a covert operative -- the FIRST TIME a politcal hack has done so in our nation's history. What more "evidence" does Bush need? He's gone to war on far, far less.
posted by rich at 11:20 AM
Plame's Identity Marked As Secret
Memo Central to Probe Of Leak Was Written By State Dept. Analyst
A classified State Department memorandum central to a federal leak investigation contained information about CIA officer Valerie Plame in a paragraph marked "(S)" for secret, a clear indication that any Bush administration official who read it should have been aware the information was classified, according to current and former government officials.
Plame -- who is referred to by her married name, Valerie Wilson, in the memo -- is mentioned in the second paragraph of the three-page document, which was written on June 10, 2003, by an analyst in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), according to a source who described the memo to The Washington Post.
The paragraph identifying her as the wife of former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV was clearly marked to show that it contained classified material at the "secret" level, two sources said. The CIA classifies as "secret" the names of officers whose identities are covert, according to former senior agency officials.
Anyone reading that paragraph should have been aware that it contained secret information, though that designation was not specifically attached to Plame's name and did not describe her status as covert, the sources said. It is a federal crime, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a federal official to knowingly disclose the identity of a covert CIA official if the person knows the government is trying to keep it secret.
Prosecutors attempting to determine whether senior government officials knowingly leaked Plame's identity as a covert CIA operative to the media are investigating whether White House officials gained access to information about her from the memo, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.
posted by rich at 11:14 AM
posted by rich at 2:48 PM
posted by rich at 10:51 AM
Supreme Court Pick Shifts Attention From Rove, Agent Disclosure
Bush accelerated his search for a Supreme Court nominee in part because of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into the leak of a CIA agent's name, according to Republicans familiar with administration strategy.
It's confirmed, Bush rushed Supreme Court pick to get attention off of Rove
So, a decision about a critically important decision of the president (Sup Ct nomination) was co-opted for political expediency in order to draw attention away from another critically important decision of the president that was co-opted for political expediency (the decision to invade Iraq).
posted by rich at 10:48 AM
The Big Question For John Roberts
via Craig Crawford: "Does the Constitution recognize and protect an unenumerated right of privacy? I'll never forget the stunned faces among senators and spectators on the day 15 years ago when Supreme Court nominee David Souter answered that question in the affirmative. It was the first answer of his Senate confirmation hearing, and it showed that he embraced the legal underpinning of Roe v. Wade's protection of abortion rights. Conservatives were furious, never forgiving President George H.W. Bush for naming Souter. Liberals were shocked, quickly endorsing his nomination. It should be the first question put to President Bush's nominee, John Roberts...read on"Craig hits the nail on the head. If this court battle is all about Roe v. Wade then by all means get that question out of the way first because almost all others are a moot point to anybody who hasn't been sleeping the last six months.
(From Crooks and Liars)
And a Roberts blog round up via Crooks and Liars
posted by rich at 10:09 AM
No wonder the White House wanted to change the subject. Josh Marshall has a link to a piece by Murray Waas in The American Prospect. Mr. Waas has been providing great investigative reporting on this scandal. Seems from his report that Karl was not quite honest with the FBI:
White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove did not disclose that he had ever discussed CIA officer Valerie Plame with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper during Rove’s first interview with the FBI, according to legal sources with firsthand knowledge of the matter.
The omission by Rove created doubt for federal investigators, almost from the inception of their criminal probe into who leaked Plame's name to columnist Robert Novak, as to whether Rove was withholding crucial information from them, and perhaps even misleading or lying to them, the sources said.
Also leading to the early skepticism of Rove's accounts was the claim that although he first heard that Plame worked for the CIA from a journalist, he said could not recall the name of the journalist. Later, the sources said, Rove wavered even further, saying he was not sure at all where he first heard the information.
Karl Rove has been parsing and playing semantics games with everyone -- especially the press. The press fell for it. However, the FBI doesn't appreciate those word games. In fact, lying to them is a crime. They take that very, very seriously.
posted by rich at 8:56 AM
"Well within the boundaries that define legal and ethical conduct"
Hmm. Dan Froomkin pulled up the text of Bush's remarks at the swearing-in ceremony back in 2001 and surprisingly enough, Team Bush seems to be coming up short. Even beyond the "restore honor and dignity" comments that now seem like such a joke, Bush promised so much and is now delivering so little.
"[W]e must remember the high standards that come with high office. This begins with careful adherence to the rules. I expect every member of this administration to stay well within the boundaries that define legal and ethical conduct. This means avoiding even the appearance of problems. This means checking and, if need be, doublechecking that the rules have been obeyed. This means never compromising those rules."
posted by rich at 8:53 AM
Sunnis Working on Iraq Constitution Slain
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen assassinated two Sunni Arabs involved in the drafting of Iraq's constitution Tuesday, another blow to U.S. and Iraqi efforts to draw members of the disaffected community away from the insurgency and into the political process.
posted by rich at 3:56 PM
EricRudolph, not a terrorist?
In the War on TerrorTM age, Muslims have been described as terrorists by the government and American media for as little as having used language like "jihad" and in speeches. In the case of Al-Arian, for example, the professor has been described as a terrorist for his rhetoric and accused financial support of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. If it turns out that Al-Arian did support the organization with the intent of supporting terrorist acts against Israel, then the label will indeed prove a fitting one. But, Al-Arian has not been accused of killing anyone.
Eric Rudolph, on the other hand, has. His Atlanta Olympics, abortion clinic and other bombings killed three people, including a police officer, and injured one hundred and fifty others. But, search the word terrorist on Google News and despite all the publicity today about Rudolph's sentencing, not one article on Rudolph shows up. Not one.
In fact, I have searched today's articles on the CNN, Washington Post, MSNBC, and New York Times sites, and the only mention of his being a terrorist comes from a quote from a nurse maimed by one of his bombs. In fact, many media outlets have in the past described him as an anti-abortion activist rather than a terrorist.
It would be very difficult to imagine a Muslim detonating a bomb at the Olympics, killing three people and injuring a hundred and fifty others, and not being branded as a terrorist.
So, what gives? Has the term terrorist been restricted to the larger War on Terror, which is in theory about combatting Islamic and Arab terrorism? Or, is the media afraid their use of the term could lead to a backlash from the pro-abortion clinic bombing contingent?
posted by rich at 12:34 PM
God's Own Circus: Rev. Wilson says women turn gay because they work!
There's a new Circus Clown in town and he's bucking to get a free ride to South
Carolina. Rev. Willie Wilson:“Sisters making more money than brothers and it’s creating problems in families … that’s one of the reasons many of our women are becoming lesbians,” Wilson said.
I knew money was the root of all evil! Do you think he'll stop there? The good Reverend is just getting started:
“Lesbianism is about to take over our community. … I ain’t homophobic because everybody here got something wrong with him,” he said. “But … women falling down on another woman, strapping yourself up with something, it ain’t real."
There's more so check out what this Alan Keyes wannabe says. read it here.
Arthur has a piece called: ELIMINATING THE “OTHER”:But one fact is completely clear: as I noted in my earlier essay, the most virulent of the anti-gay forces seek not only to stigmatize homosexuality. They seek to eliminate it altogether: the enemy must be destroyed. Just how far they are prepared to go to achieve that aim remains to be seen.
posted by rich at 10:54 AM
Iraq Vets Place Ad in WaPo Challenging Bush!
First Major Print Ad by Such a Group, Critical of Admin's Vet Health Care BudgetAd Text: 'Mr. President, You're Either With Us or Against Us'
As if Dubya didn't have enough (self-inflicted) problems...OpTruth.org, a coalition of U.S. veterans of the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars whose slogan is "Really Support the Troops - Listen to Them!", is taking out an ad in tomorrow's Washington Post critical of the Bush Administration and calling on Bush to "provide leadership" by meeting the needs of healthcare for returning vets.In their ad, the group generously attributes the $1 Billion shortfall in Bush's 2005 budget for "Veterans of the War on Terror" to a "miscalculation".
In 2006, the ad claims, the budget shortfall will be a full $3 billion short of what our returning veterans need to cover health care costs at Veterans Administration hospitals. OpTruth covers this issue in more detail on their website.
(From BradBlog)
posted by rich at 10:49 AM
posted by rich at 10:45 AM
posted by rich at 4:29 PM
Ari saw the State Dept memo on Wilson, AND he's linked to Rove
Ex-CIA Agent (and Republican) BLASTS Bush White House
Crooks and Liars has a good audio of a radio interview with Larry Johnson, a one-time CIA agent (under the first President Bush, mostly, I believe) who worked with Valerie Plame. He cuts through the lies, details the damage to our nation's security and is basically gobsmacked that any American -- much less any Republican like himself -- could defend Bush, Rove et al for outing a covert CIA agent. As Johnson points out, this is the first time in our HISTORY that a political operative at the White House has purposefully outed a covert CIA agent. Thanks to threader soccer mom for pointing this out to us.
LA Times: Rove a Bulldog On Wilson
A source directly familiar with information provided to prosecutors said Rove's interest was so strong that it prompted questions in the White House. When asked at one point why he was pursuing the diplomat so aggressively, Rove reportedly responded: "He's a Democrat." Rove then cited Wilson's campaign donations, which leaned toward Democrats, the person familiar with the case said.
Atrios has the new ABC poll and it ain't pretty for team Bush/Rove
What you DIDN'T learn from today's New York Times
posted by rich at 4:01 PM
Congressman suggests way to retaliate for nuclear terror
DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- A Colorado congressman told a radio show host that the U.S. could "take out" Islamic holy sites if Muslim fundamentalist terrorists attacked the country with nuclear weapons.
posted by rich at 3:57 PM
Is David even trying anymore?
Maybe not sadly, but most certainly no! David Frum writes:
"Imagine if an e-mail had surfaced showing that a top aide to Clinton--say, Sid Blumenthal--had told a reporter about a covert CIA agent." The always fair and balanced Howard Kurtz posed that hypothetical in a column yesterday, and it's a reasonable question. And as it happens, we know the answer.
As a matter of fact, a Clinton aide - not a top aide, but a political appointee - did release personal information about one of Clinton's accusers, highly embarrassing information at that: I am referring of course to former Assistant Secretary of Defense Kenneth Bacon's decision to release Linda Tripp's 3-decade old arrest record to New Yorker writer Jane Mayer. [Emphasis added]
ok, so it wasn't a Clinton top aide, or even an aide at all, and it wasn't about a covert CIA agent, and it wasn't about classified, national-security information (unless being exposed to Linda Tripp can be considered dangerous. Well, ok.)
Anyway, except for all those differences it's totally the same, which is why Frum concludes:
So there's our answer to Kurtz's hypothetical. Had this story involved a Clinton aide, the best guess is that what would have happened is: At least as far as the major media are concerned, he'd have gotten clean away with it.
And those two cases were so totally the same thing. Except, you know, for the fact that just about every single thing was different. And yet, and yet, Frum really goes the extra mile in the self-discrediting department here:
Bacon's actions - unlike anything Karl Rove is said to have done - were clearly illegal.
posted by rich at 3:50 PM
Congressman Apologizes for Hitler Remark
TRENTON, N.J. - Congressman Frank LoBiondo apologized for suggesting that Guantanamo Bay detainees were worse than Adolf Hitler because the Nazi dictator "sort of had a political rationale about what he was doing."
---
"Hitler, in his philosophy, was, you know, he hated Jews, he was murdering Jews, and there were some people he liked. But he never went to the level that these people are going to," LoBiondo said.
posted by rich at 11:19 AM
posted by rich at 10:00 AM
Bush: Any Criminals in Leak to Be Fired
WASHINGTON - President Bush said Monday that if anyone in his administration committed a crime in connection with the public leak of the identity of a CIA operative, that person will "no longer work in my administration." At the same time, Bush yet again sidestepped a question on the role of his top political adviser, Karl Rove, in the matter.
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Bush, appearing at a news conference with visiting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India, spoke a day after Time magazine's Matthew Cooper said that a 2003 phone call with Rove was the first he heard about the wife of Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson apparently working for the CIA.Bush said in June 2004 that he would fire anyone in his administration shown to have leaked information that exposed the identity of Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame. On Monday, however, he added the qualifier that it would have be shown that a crime was committed.
Asked at a June 10, 2004 news conference if he stood by his pledge to fire anyone found to have leaked Plame's name, Bush answered, "Yes. And that's up to the U.S. attorney to find the facts."
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Rove has not disputed that he told Cooper that Wilson's wife worked for the agency. But he has insisted through his lawyer that he did not mention her by name, nor did he intend to "out" her.Cooper said Sunday that a 2003 phone call with White House political adviser Karl Rove was the first he heard about the wife of Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson apparently working for the CIA.
Giving a first-person account of his role in a case that nearly landed him in jail, the reporter disclosed that Vice President Dick Cheney's top aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby also was a source for a story about Plaim.
Cooper recalled that Rove told him, "I've already said too much" after revealing that the wife of the former ambassador apparently was with the CIA.
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"I don't know, but that signoff has been in my memory for two years," Cooper wrote. The White House and Rove's lawyer have stressed that Rove never mentioned Plame by name.
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The White House had insisted for nearly two years that neither Rove nor Libby had any connection with the leak. For the last two weeks, however, it has steadfastly declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing probe by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald probe.
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Writing an account of a conversation he had with Libby, Cooper said, "Libby replied, 'Yeah, I've heard that too' or words to that effect" when he asked if Libby had heard anything about Wilson's wife sending her husband to Africa to investigate the possible sale of uranium to Iraq for nuclear weapons.
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"The information exonerates and vindicates, it does not implicate" Rove, Republican Party chairman Ken Mehlman said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Folks involved in this, frankly, owe Karl Rove an apology."
posted by rich at 9:20 AM
Dick Armey’s Hypocrisy on CIA Leak Case
Appearing on Fox this morning, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey said the
following in regards to his assessment of the growing leak scandal:We’ve got Karl Rove, who is under this constant attack of political malarkey, who hasprobably the most documented case of his evidence of anyone in the the whole story. So quite frankly, I think the American people are seeing it for what it is right now. More than anything else it’s a political farce not a matter of national security interests. [Fox News, 7/14/05]
VERSUS
Here’s what Dick Armey said about the case back in October 2003 when we had no idea who may have been involved:
Now, there was no reason to tell the world about the ambassador’s wife. It was just a short-sighted, self-centered, simple-minded cowardly act of revenge, and who’s paying the cost? The Bush White House… If they ever find [the leakers], they ought to just — they ought to just kick them out of the White House and prosecute them, because…the greater the pretension, the greater the hypocrisy. [CNN, 10/19/03]
Indeed, Mr. Armey, hypocrisy is an easily understood story.
posted by rich at 12:22 PM
Conservatives’ Short-Term Memory Problem
How did Bill Frist commemorate the one-week anniversary of the London terrorist attacks? By cutting transit security funds.
On the way to passing a $31.8-billion Homeland Security spending bill Thursday, Senate Republican leaders beat back a series of attempts — pressed by senators from states with large urban centers — to increase money for mass transit protection by as much as $1.4 billion. …
In the Senate’s spending bill, rail and transit safety measures were allotted $100 million, a drop of $50 million from last year.
One week.
And the Senate did the very same thing after last year’s metro attacks in Madrid, blocking two bills to beef up transit security. Keep in mind that a recent study by the American Public Transportation Association estimated that rail systems need some $6 billion for security improvements. This year’s amount, $100 million, is about eight hours of typical spending in Iraq. It’s just beyond belief.
posted by rich at 11:57 AM
More Brains and Less Brawn, Please
As if Arnold needs more pumping up. In the wake of the muscle magazine controversy, the Governor’s spokeswoman, Margita Thompson, has claimed that Schwarzenegger’s association with American Media (the publishing company which owns the magazines) represents no conflict of interest. Apparently Thompson forgot that the Governor’s paycheck comes from advertising revenues, and the magazines frequently feature ads for dietary supplements. Or maybe she missed that other tiny detail: last year the terminator vetoed a bill that would have placed government regulations on - you guessed it - dietary supplements.
Needless to say, the arrangement is an interesting coincidence. And a profitable one at that. The Governor’s contract calls for him to receive 1% of the magazines’ per year for five years – a sum which could total upwards of five million dollars. To say that Schwarzenegger’s association with American Media isn’t a conflict of interest is more than naïve – it’s just plain stupid.
(Think Progress)
posted by rich at 11:53 AM
VOTE ALERT: On defensive about Rove, GOP shoots self in the foot
According to sources on Capitol Hill, Republicans are proposing a counter-amendment to the Democrats upcoming legislation that cracks down on those who leak classified government information. The GOP's amendment, while designed to politicize the issue, hilariously ends up boomeranging and embarrassing their own Senators.
The text of the GOP amendment inserts the following language into the Democrats legislation:
"...or any federal officeholder who makes reference to a classified Federal Bureau of Investigation report on the floor of the United States Senate, or any federal officeholder that makes a statement based on a FBI agent's comments which is used as propaganda by terrorist organizations thereby putting our servicemen and women at risk, shall not be permitted access to such information or to hold a security clearance for access to such information."
The amendment is clearly targeted at Senator Dick Durbin's (D) controversial comments about Guantanamo Bay, in which he cited FBI files. But what's funny is that, according to one top Democrat's office, the amendment also strips Orin Hatch of his security clearance because he has in the past referenced judicial nominees' FBI files.
In fact, every Senator who participated in an Armed Services Committee hearing on Gitmo yesterday might lose their clearance because the FBI agents comments were discussed. Those Republicans who participated in that hearing were Sens. John Warner (R-VA), John McCain (R-AZ), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), and John Cornyn (R-TX). Will they vote to strip themselves of their own security clearance?
Of course not, which shows how pathetically juvenile and stupid the GOP's response is. Instead of joining with Democrats to protect America's national security, Republicans are pushing a transparent ploy to allow Karl Rove, a national security threat, to continue working in the White House, and to continue to have access to sensitive material that he could once again use to grind an axe against the GOP's political opponents. It's not going to work - Americans don't like national security risks in the White House, no matter how many GOP hacks in the Senate try to change the subject. Stay tuned.
posted by rich at 10:22 AM
posted by rich at 10:00 AM
Bush's polls are REALLY bad
From Froomkin at the Wash Post:
A majority of those polled disapprove of how Bush is handling the economy, foreign policy -- and Iraq. A plurality -- 49 percent -- agree that "we should set a deadline for withdrawing our troops from Iraq." And asked "If the United States withdraws its troops from Iraq there will be more terrorist attacks in the United States," only 36 percent agree -- compared to 54 percent who disagree.
Finally, it's not just honesty where Bush is taking a hit. Only 50 percent of those polled gave him high ratings for being easygoing and likeable, down from 57 in January; 43 percent gave him high ratings for being smart, down from 50; 40 percent gave him high ratings for being compassionate enough to understand average people, down from 47; and only 29 percent gave him high ratings for being willing to work with people whose viewpoints are different from his own, down from 33.
Yes, this poll came out yesterday, but I think a number of us missed the details that Froomkin caught.
posted by rich at 9:27 AM
posted by rich at 9:22 AM
Karl Rove's America
John Gibson of Fox News says that Karl Rove should be given a medal. I agree: Mr. Rove should receive a medal from the American Political Science Association for his pioneering discoveries about modern American politics. The medal can, if necessary, be delivered to his prison cell.
What Mr. Rove understood, long before the rest of us, is that we're not living in the America of the past, where even partisans sometimes changed their views when faced with the facts. Instead, we're living in a country in which there is no longer such a thing as nonpolitical truth. In particular, there are now few, if any, limits to what conservative politicians can get away with: the faithful will follow the twists and turns of the party line with a loyalty that would have pleased the Comintern.
I first realized that we were living in Karl Rove's America during the 2000 presidential campaign, when George W. Bush began saying things about Social Security privatization and tax cuts that were simply false. At first, I thought the Bush campaign was making a big mistake - that these blatant falsehoods would be condemned by prominent Republican politicians and Republican economists, especially those who had spent years building reputations as advocates of fiscal responsibility. In fact, with hardly any exceptions they lined up to praise Mr. Bush's proposals.
But the real demonstration that Mr. Rove understands American politics better than any pundit came after 9/11. Every time I read a lament for the post-9/11 era of national unity, I wonder what people are talking about. On the issues I was watching, the Republicans' exploitation of the atrocity began while ground zero was still smoldering.
Mr. Rove has been much criticized for saying that liberals responded to the attack by wanting to offer the terrorists therapy - but what he said about conservatives, that they "saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war," is equally false. What many of them actually saw was a domestic political opportunity - and none more so than Mr. Rove.
A less insightful political strategist might have hesitated right after 9/11 before using it to cast the Democrats as weak on national security. After all, there were no facts
to support that accusation.But Mr. Rove understood that the facts were irrelevant. For one thing, he knew he could count on the administration's supporters to obediently accept a changing story line. Read the before-and-after columns by pro-administration pundits about Iraq: before the war they castigated the C.I.A. for understating the threat posed by Saddam's W.M.D.; after the war they castigated the C.I.A. for exaggerating the very same threat.
Mr. Rove also understands, better than anyone else in American politics, the power of smear tactics. Attacks on someone who contradicts the official line don't have to be true, or even plausible, to undermine that person's effectiveness. All they have to do is get a lot of media play, and they'll create the sense that there must be something wrong with the guy.
And now we know just how far he was willing to go with these smear tactics: as part of the effort to discredit Joseph Wilson IV, Mr. Rove leaked the fact that Mr. Wilson's wife worked for the C.I.A. I don't know whether Mr. Rove can be convicted of a crime, but there's no question that he damaged national security for partisan advantage. If a Democrat had done that, Republicans would call it treason.
But what we're getting, instead, is yet another impressive demonstration that these days, truth is political. One after another, prominent Republicans and conservative pundits have declared their allegiance to the party line. They haven't just gone along with the diversionary tactics, like the irrelevant questions about whether Mr. Rove used Valerie Wilson's name in identifying her (Robert Novak later identified her by her maiden name, Valerie Plame), or the false, easily refuted claim that Mr. Wilson lied about who sent him to Niger. They're now a chorus, praising Mr. Rove as a patriotic whistle-blower.
Ultimately, this isn't just about Mr. Rove. It's also about Mr. Bush, who has always known that his trusted political adviser - a disciple of the late Lee Atwater, whose smear tactics helped President Bush's father win the 1988 election - is a thug, and obviously made no attempt to find out if he was the leaker.
Most of all, it's about what has happened to America. How did our political system get to this point?
posted by rich at 9:11 AM
