Talking points

Think Progress has done all the work for you: How To Talk To A Conservative About Karl Rove (If You Must).

UPDATE: Paul Waldman comes at the story from the opposite direction, explaining how the GOP has perfected the art of damage control in four easy steps. The first is the big one (emphasis added):

Step 1: It’s not really about us, it’s about them.
This is one of the fundamental divides between the two parties today, something Republicans understand and Democrats don’t: If the controversy is about you, you lose; if it’s about your opponent, you win. So when Democrats responded to Karl Rove’s slander about their response to 9/11 by saying that they supported the war in Afghanistan, they were making the mistake of arguing about whether they were or weren’t a bunch of wimps. Every time one of these controversies erupts, the Republicans always make it about Democrats: Who they are, what they’ve said and what they’ve done.

So must we focus in return. This controversy is about Rove. It's about Bush. It's about Republicans endangering national security for petty political gain. It's about neocons fixing the facts around the policy so they could invade Iraq.

Waldman's other three steps are perfectly straightforward:

Step 2: Lie through your teeth. . . .
Step 3: Argue the semantics, or, it depends on what the meaning of “identify” is. . . .
Step 4: It’s all partisan politics. . . .

For good measure, he goes on to remind us just how unprincipled Rove is and always has been - the raw grabs for power, shady tactics, filthy whispering campaigns, personal and professional destruction of opponents, and now possibly treason in his quest to win at any cost.

Best is this quote from Ron Suskind, writing two years ago. Though he's referring to Rove, for my money his words could serve as the epitaph for the entire Bush Administration.

For Karl Rove, it’s all and only about winning. The rest—vision, ideology, good government, ideas to bind a nation, reasonable dissent, collegiality, mutual respect—is for later.

Qualified optimism

These are pre-Rovian numbers from the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll. Leaving aside the issue of how anyone at any time could find the Preznit any of those things, I'm reminding myself that it's way too soon to gloat. (Because you never know what might happen next in the Global War on Terra™.) But I can't help but be encouraged.

Note that the slide in the number of people finding him "honest and straightforward" is 9 whopping percentage points in just six months. Again, that's before the Rove story went mainstream. "Easygoing and likeable" dropped 7 points. So all those people who didn't like his policies but voted for him anyway because he's such a godly, straight-shootin', down-to-earth, just natural regular guy are about to have a thought or two different. That's going to hurt.

As Digby notes, he's no longer a beer buddy.

"I am tired of being embarrassed and horrified by my president"

A friend puts into words what we're all feeling and takes the extra step of mailing it to Bush. Here (edited for layout and space):

When I was a girl I wrote a letter to the president of the US, then Dwight Eisenhower. I received a signed reply. I was proud of my country and my president. Now, in my 60's, I write again - this time an angry letter. I am tired of being angry, I am tired of being ashamed of my country. I am tired of being embarrassed and horrified by my president. But that is how I feel today.

The American people have stood by while the president has taken us into a hugely mistaken and misbegotten war. The American people have stood by while our reputation for our "values" and "standards of justice" were trashed at Abu Ghraib. . . . Now we learn of Karl Rove's horrible lies and the coverup underway to "parse" the words spoken when the intent is crystal clear.

Enough! We have had enough lies, enough pandering, enough killing in our name. STOP! The American people will THIS TIME not stand for the "business as usual" of avoiding the subject, prolonging the inquiry, lying when everyone is listening and knows the truth. STOP IT!

. . . If Clinton could be impeached for lying about a sexual affair, Bush beware. We treasure our nation's youth - so brave in futile battle. We treasure our nation's wealth - so spilled in futile imperialism. We treasure our nation's honor - so despoiled by leaders lying about their own despicable behavior while incessantly disparaging and slandering the character of others. Foolery... that is what half this nation voted to keep in office for another 4 disastrous years. Honesty is what the other half will demand. Rove goes. Then we'll see who is next to answer the questions that everyone is now asking about how, why, and exactly WHEN was this war begun.

We await your answers, and will not tolerate silence.

Barbara Carr
New Harbor, ME

Doesn't that just sum it up? You can send your own letter to president@whitehouse.gov.

Remember CREEP?

Jeff Feldman at Frameshop has an important post about the next stage in Rovespinning. We've passed the "who" and "how" stages and are now talking "why." Hint: the name of his piece is Nixon All Over Again.

Guardsmen in Iraq

Over at AllSpinZone, Richard Cranium writes about a new casualty of the war - truth in National Guard recruiting:

The risk to National Guard soldiers of getting killed or wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan has been exaggerated, making recruiting more difficult, the general in charge of all National Guard forces said Tuesday.

...‘It is dangerous, but it is — I shouldn't say it to this group but I'm going to — it is misrepresented, how dangerous it really is,’ he said.

The casualty rate for Guardsmen is ‘remarkably low,’ compared with any previous armed conflict, Blum said, adding that he recognizes that every individual loss is a tragedy for that person's family. ‘But I lose, unfortunately, more people through private automobile accidents and motorcycle accidents over the same period of time,' he added.’

You're right about one thing, Gen. Blum - you shouldn't outright lie to any group, much less a group of ‘defense reporters’... What fucking alternate universe do people like Blum live in? It took me all of 120 seconds to come up with these statistics:

Vietnam Conflict:

• 58,193 KIA
• 97 were National Guard
• 1.6% was the death rate for National Guardsmen in Vietnam

Iraq Quagmire:

• 1,750 KIA
• 262 were National Guard
• 14.9% is the death rate for National Guardsmen in Iraq

This isn't spin; it's outright lying.

What the hell is water

This is a nonpolitical post, except in the sense that everything, of course, is political. Also, I wish hereby to acknowledge the high ratio of paste 'n link to analysis that has lately characterized this site. My plea for which is, it's summer in Maine and company's coming.

Just came across this graduation speech by David Foster Wallace in which the central idea is how to construct meaning from experience, even at the most mundane level:

There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says "Morning, boys. How's the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes "What the hell is water?". . .

As I'm sure you guys know by now, it is extremely difficult to stay alert and attentive, instead of getting hypnotized by the constant monologue inside your own head (may be happening right now). Twenty years after my own graduation, I have come gradually to understand that the liberal arts cliché about teaching you how to think is actually shorthand for a much deeper, more serious idea: learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience. Because if you cannot exercise this kind of choice in adult life, you will be totally hosed. Think of the old cliché about quote the mind being an excellent servant but a terrible master.

It's really terrific and mind bendy and, of course, just slightly political. A good short read.

Gotta run and get the guest room ready.

Have a ---------- day, George

Today is the president’s birthday (he’s 59). In case you were wondering what to get a guy who already has three branches of government, his own flight suit with codpiece, and a servile press, don’t despair! The folks at Think Progress have sifted through his public utterings (ugh) looking for signs of intelligent wishful thinking and come up with this birthday list:

• A Magic Wand (as in, "I wish I could simply wave a magic wand and lower gas prices tomorrow!" 4-20-05)
• More Free Time to Work Out (as in, "I wish I had time for a workout!" 11-13-03)
  
• Questions Written Out In Advance (etc.)
  
• More Time to Fish
• More Love For One Another
• A War With A Timetable
• A War Without Troops
• A War Without a President

Worth a visit. The quotes and sources are impeccable and, sadly, hilarious.

UPDATE: The DNC has put together a birthday card you can sign for free, as opposed to the tacky RNC version, which requires a donation. Sign it!

Me, I'll just refer to this old Christmas list dictated from the bathtub by my then 4-year-old son, as it seems to be about the right level (though I'm not sure about the banjo and sponges).

But we'll let you keep Schwartzenegger

This is making the email rounds and cheered me up, so I'm passing it on.

Dear Red States,

We're ticked off at the way you've treated California, and we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us.

In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all of the Northeast. We believe the split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.

To sum it up: You get Texas, Oklahoma and the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get Elliot Spitzer. You get Ken Lay and Tom DeLay.

We get the Statue of Liberty. You get OpryLand. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom and Enron. We get Stanford, Harvard and Yale. You get Ole' Miss.

We get 85% of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to pay your fair share for once.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than amongst you Christian Coalition types, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.

Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once.

If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't seem to mind if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMD turn up, but we're not willing to waste our resources on Bush's Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners), 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, most of the low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, the Ivy and Seven Sister schools -- plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.

As for you Red Staters, you get to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of US mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of televangelists, along with Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38% of you Red Staters believe Jonah was really swallowed by the whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless you're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say evolution is a wacky theory and believe dinosaurs walked the earth 6,000 years ago, 53% still think Saddam was involved in 9/11, and 61% believe you have higher moral standards than us progressives. So we won't miss you crazy bastards much.

By the way, we're taking the good pot too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.

Sincerely,
Unknown Author in New California

Call for local action

From Equality Maine:

Here are 3 important things that supporters of the non-discrimination law can do to help us win in November:

1. Help us find people who have been discriminated against. The Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence is conducting a comprehensive, statewide study on the nature and extent of LGBT discrimination in Maine. The report will be released during the campaign, countering the fact that many voters believe that LGBT discrimination does not exist.
2. Visit the updated Maine Won’t Discriminate website. The new website will serve as a key rallying point for people seeking facts about the law and its importance, and for anyone who wants to volunteer, contribute money, or just get the truth about the non-discrimination law. One of the features of the website will be an ongoing series of testimonials from Maine people who have experienced discrimination first-hand.
3. Join us for a voter ID canvass in Portland on Saturday, July 9. A critical element to winning in November will be talking to voters one-on-one about the non-discrimination law. This is hard but incredibly rewarding work. It could mean the difference between winning and losing the campaign.

For more on Heath's special brand of bigotry and spin, head over to Maine Politics.

An improved pledge

Here's a suggestion:

I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America and to the democracy for which it stands, a nation with freedom and justice for all.

Happy Independence Day!

Previsualization

McClellan said that if anyone at the White House leaked Plame's identity, he should be fired, and pursued to the "fullest extent."

CNN.com, September 29, 2003

Source: Dood Abides

More blunt talk

Surprise! In his weekly column yesterday, Al Neuwarth, founder of USA Today, calls Bush a liar and castigates the media for standing by:

The crucial difference between Vietnam and Iraq is that there is no Cronkite to call Bush's bluff. Without a strong, trusted, non-political voice, too many of us remain Bush-blinded. Bush tried keeping the wool over our eyes again Tuesday on national TV by repeatedly tying Iraq to 9/11. That charge is as phony as his discredited prewar claim that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

We're out of the blogosphere now; USA Today is the best-selling daily in the country, claiming daily readership by more than 4.2 million affluent heads of households. Oh yes, and readership peaks on Fridays.

Dean praises O'Connor, mildly urges moderation in moderate statement

Note the perfect framing:

As the first woman on the Court, Justice O'Connor is one of our nation's most important historical figures. Her retirement marks a truly significant moment. While we might not have agreed with all of her decisions, she has been a voice of moderation whose career was marked by a commitment to placing the law ahead of partisanship and ideology. It is crucial that the next Supreme Court Justice bring this philosophy to the highest court in the land.

All Americans today are united in expressing our gratitude to Justice O'Connor for her service to our country: President Bush should choose to continue that unity. Americans deserve a dignified process, one that puts our democracy and the rights of all Americans ahead of partisanship and ideology.

President Bush should follow the example established by President Reagan when he nominated Justice O'Connor. President Reagan had the courage to stand up to the right wing extremists in his party by choosing a moderate, thoughtful jurist.

A President faces no more important decision in terms of protecting the rights and liberties of all Americans than nominating a Supreme Court Justice. President Bush has a constitutional responsibility to do what presidents before him have done - seek the advice of senators from both parties before making a nomination, and choose a mainstream nominee who will protect our most important rights and freedoms.

Democrats hope this process can be one of consensus, rather than confrontation, but that will be up to President Bush.

So there you have it, Mr. Bush, in tones of princely moderation: If you don't have the balls to protect the constitution, we'll do it for you.

Economic Independence Day

AlterNet. Go read:

When our nation was born, we understood the relationship between political independence and economic independence. Benjamin Franklin offered this bit of sage advice to the former colonists. "The man who would trade independence for security usually deserves to wind up with neither."

Our current leaders have ignored Franklin's wisdom. Today we have a President who, surrounded by 100 American flags, ardently proclaims his patriotism. But it is a patriotism that Sam Adams and Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry would have found unfathomable and even, perhaps, treasonable.

The United States is now the world's largest debtor. Two thirds of our oil is imported, up from a third when OPEC first exercised its collective power and precipitated the first oil crisis in 1973.

Our corporations have displayed their form of patriotism by fleeing our soils and supplying us from foreign shores. . . .

Yet more reminders of how Bush is weakening our country.

CAFTA passes Senate

Big victory for Bush. The final tally was 54-45 with lots of crossover voting; Snowe and Collins both said no. Now it heads for the House and stiffer opposition from textile, manufacturing, and sugar interests. Meanwhile, AP reports that the Department of Labor suppressed its own anti-CAFTA findings, scrubbing information from its website and ordering the contractor who did the work not to discuss it with outsiders.