Via Andrew Sullivan:
Next week, I’m informed via troubled White House sources, will see the full unveiling of Karl Rove’s fall election strategy. He’s intending to line up 9/11 families to accuse McCain, Warner and Graham of delaying justice for the perpetrators of that atrocity, because they want to uphold the ancient judicial traditions of the U.S. military and abide by the Constitution. He will use the families as an argument for legalizing torture, setting up kangaroo courts for military prisoners, and giving war crime impunity for his own aides and cronies. This is his “Hail Mary” move for November; it’s brutally exploitative of 9/11; it’s pure partisanship; and it’s designed to enable an untrammeled executive. Decent Republicans, Independents and Democrats must do all they can to expose and resist this latest descent into political thuggery.
We always said it would be ugly.
it will backfire, as people wonder “Where’s Osama?”, and realize that they are more in danger of losing their homes in this economy than they are in danger of being the victim of a terrorist attack.
For Rove et al to vilify McCain, himself the victim of torture at North Vietnamese hands, for wanting to show that we are better than our enemies is particularly vile…and is not just about this election, but about 2008 where the Religious Reich is scared bejeezus that McCain will be the Republican nominee. Even though he’s been wooing the Religious Reich, they still don’t quite trust him to do the right things to turn this country into a theocracy…
I agree with Cali Scribe. I too think this will backfire for him. It will splinter the republican party even further. He is just an old fool. His luster has worn off. I do believe that ppl are now much wiser than ever before and he will not be able to threaten or lie his way through this election like others before.
This would be an easy and obvious thing to counteract. As Cali said, there’s the “Where’s Osama” question. Even more powerful is the point that a few in politics and the media have whispered: whatever we do to these prisoners will justify the other side doing the same to our captured troops — that’s why the military is so against Bush’s plan. There’s the question of how safe are we, if the only card this administration has is torture, secret courts, and putting Bush cronies above the law.
It’s so easy to turn this back of Bush that I doubt it’s really Rove’s plan. Unless he’s banking that Dems will continue to just sit quietly in hopes that Bushies will hand over the country on their own. Which, given the record so far, is not that bad a gamble on his part.
Anyway, if I were a praying type, I’d be praying that Rove attack McCain with this. It should be the last straw before McCain goes totally ballistic.
I would have thought the GOP would be banking on McCain to give them a shot at staying in the White House. If they really are planning this kind of attack, they must have somebody else lined up. Interesting.
Well can we be just as vile, ugly..where is OBL, show us the tape of OBL walking out of Tora Bora! I mean come on..it didn’t take the FBI this long to find Dillinger.
09.11.01 is President Bush’s fault, he was president but liked diggin for worms, instead of smoking out terrorist.
09/11/2001 is a failure by the President of the United States and his Administration to protect us.
I think we can see now this administration did not want to find OBL. His capture would have given a sense of closure to us. They have wanted to use 9/11 as an excuse to grab mideastern oil fields. Now they have and we are very stuck and very in debt.
to stir up their base. Bush could not afford to take out OBL so quickly after we invaded Afghanistan. It would have effectively shut the door on invading Iraq. And they are probably happy that Pakistan is playing footsy with the Taliban and giving sanctuary to OBL. Because you know, they want to go on into Iran and Syria.
What they will use for an army is beyond me!
accuse McCain, Warner and Graham of delaying justice for the perpetrators of that atrocity
Delaying justice for what, another few months? This from the administration that kept the few suspects they had captured in secret prisons without charges for more than four years? What 9/11 families would be stupid enough to line up for that kind of hypocrisy?
Jesus, this and a negative ad campaign is all Rove can come up with? Maybe it will work, the voting public continues to exceed any possible attempt to guess at their combined ignorance, but this is beyond pathetic as a last-ditch strategy.
the ultimate aim of the attacks is 2008, to try and neutralize McCain before he becomes a threat to the Religious Reich and the neo-cons.
And just like there are still military parents and spouses who say, “Our President right or wrong,” even when the dirt is still damp on their loved ones graves, there will be 9/11 survivors that will line up to heap scorn upon those who deny them their pound of flesh.
There was a special section of today’s San Jose Mercury News; a columnist looked to find those who were affected by the 9/11 attacks and their reactions 5 years later. Among them was one woman…who reacted by joining a group to ban immigrants from Muslim nations:
“I don’t think there are moderate Muslims,” [she] says. Her thinking closes the door to peace.
She used to have plenty of Muslim friends. She’s broken off those friendships.
“You just never know,” she says. “I’m just sorry to say that even though those sorts of relationships could enrich my life, no, I’m afraid of them now.”
And this is the legacy of the Bush misAdministration…fear of the different, the “other”, the “not one of us”…and we are all poorer, in finances and in spirit…
but really
WTF?
“Lie down with pigs, and you get up smelling like garbage.”
McCain’s going to learn that up close and personal.
Bring it on AssClown!
If you win this nation will go into an economic tailspin not seen since 1932; the year FDR took office with all the nation’s banks closed. Yeah, no fukin’ ATM neither.
Go on over and read Billmon today for as prescient an analysis as you will see of what’s to come.
here
I guess we can see with the latest barrage of talking point goons that no effort will be spared to maintain the GOP battleship. Even Bush allowed Katie to interview him. God, isn’t he awful? He doesn’t ever have a facial response that matches what he is saying. Or maybe that is just me. Yuck!
Fugly is the word.
how in bloody hell do they believe this will actually help? I’m dumbfounded. Can anyone see any possible way this will bring back the independants that they must have to keep power in congress???