The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Rove’s divisive remarks ignite argument — I was going to steer clear of the Karl Rove gaffe until I realized that there is a bigger drama unfolding. What everyone seems to have missed is the fact that Rove is a behind-the-scenes dirty tricks guy and marketing genius. He is essentially a protege of Nixonians such as Donald Segretti. Unfortunately we do not have an antagonist such as Dick Tuck around anymore to torment Rove the way Tuck tormented Segretti, although with this recent incident I wonder if there is someone orchestrating this tempest.
The key to this though seems to me that Rove, who looks like the introverted smart kid in the front row of chemistry class, should stay out of the public eye. He may be good at advice and strategies, but you get the sense that he’s starting to believe his own press clippings. Now he wants to make public speeches? He wants to do comedy? Be funny? I mean, what is he thinking?
He could have gotten out of the whole mess if he apologized immediately saying something like, “Are you kidding me? Of course there was mutual support. This was a joke. I was kidding. It was meant to be funny. Maybe I’m not that good at stand-up but give me a break. I’m sorry if I offended anyone. I kid, I kid.” But he was obviously too dweebish to do that and now has to deal with the aftermath of his rather boorish and insulting comments. This is going to get worse if he thinks he can defend his remarks.
To me this whole episode is an example of the guy in the office who thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room (and might be) and translates that to mean he can do what the boss does. It can’t be that hard, he says to himself, the boss is an idiot. Let me show you what I can do.
FLOP!
Speaking at a fund-raiser for the New York Conservative Party, Rove said, “Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers. Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war.”
Democrats responded by noting their enthusiastic support for the war against the Taliban regime that harbored al-Qaida terrorists in Afghanistan. They also released statements from President Bush in 2001 praising Congress, including Democratic leaders Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Dick Gephardt of Missouri, for their support.
“Our entire country came together after the 9/11 terrorist attacks,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said yesterday. “His [Rove’s] shameful comments trying to revise history insult the victims of 9/11 and all of us who support them.”
Oh enough with the pathetic bashing of the Republicans.
The fact is Democrats are currently soft on terrorism. It really doesn’t matter one bit what they said or did before. Only what their doing now.
While you seem to think it’s insane, most others seem to think quite the other way.
http://www.ftimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=27899&TM=85986.2
I love Dvorak’s computer related articles. I am disappointed to see that he has such irrational political views. I will continue to read ‘The inside track’ but my browser will never see this site again.
How are the Democrats soft on terrorism? They trusted Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell, etc. to do right thing. The accepted, in the begining the plans of the Republicans.
After awhile, anytime they suggested an alternative approach (like focusing on homeland security, sending more troops to Irag to crush the terrorist there, securing Afghanistan and capturing bin Laden before spending 100’s of billions in Iraq [and growing more terrorists], etc.), the main stream media doesn’t give them adequate coverage, except for allowing the conservatives to label them as unpatriotic and friends of the terrorists.
Where is this proof that, since 9/11, Democrats are soft on terrorism?
John, these 1st couple comments fit like dovetails with the piece I was about to write, “The differences between Konservatives and Conservatives”. Admittedly, I’m stealing your neologism of Republikan.
Conservatives who went along with the racist ideology of the Southern Strategy, e.g., let’s take the Dixiecrat bigot vote away from the Democrats — foolishly felt they had some allegiance to States Rights. None of these tactics meant anything except to Konservatives who just didn’t want Black folks to get to vote.
Conservatives accept democracy as part of a well-run Republic. Konservatives consider it nothing more than a useful tactic, to be honored in the breach, to be defined apart from economics.
Conservatives were among the core of early American environmentalists. They honor the value of land, property and natural resources. Konservatives have their roots in the mining and timber companies who see resources as a short-term profit — take the money and run. Ekonomic brigands.
The whining noise at the top of this page is identical to the elitist fops who term lifetime Conservatives RINO’s — Republicans In Name Only — because the latter have the courage of convictions honored in American history unlike the country club set that sees no special difference between thugs like the RNC and the board of directors of Worldcom and Enron. They accept the whole crowd as blood brothers. Their brotherhood and our blood.
After all, they only steal from “ordinary” people.
OK, here’s one story on the Democrats being soft on terrorism.
F, you talk of Democrats supporting homeland security. Well, the reason Democrats lost the Senate was because they didn’t pass a homeland security bill, holding it up over some union provisions. Max Cleland lost 3 limbs in Vietnam, and yet he was attacked voer national security because he wouldn’t vote for the homeland security bill.
I don’t see a problem with what Rove said. Take a look at the full speech. He gave several examples, especially MoveOn.org signing a petition calling for restraint.
Has nayone yet figured out that MoveOn.org is not much of an ogre? What exactly is their influence? Nil from what I see.
MoveOn PAC’s director of special projects became Kerry’s director of online communications, and he did something similar for Howard Dean, so Dean->MoveOn->Kerry. They spent more than $50 million in the last election cycle, and were a big part of the push to make Dean campaign chair, along with Daily Kos.
You actually expected a journalist or commentator from the area Dvorak lives in to be moderate? C’mon…
That being said, it’s his blog. Best way to handle crap like this is to just ignore it and look for the few-and-far-between technology stories.
James Hill
It’s obvious to me that this a is completely intentional ploy by Rove and we should expect more blatant lunacy like this very soon.
Rove needs to be cut loose from Dubya and this is how it’s gonna happen…Rove is NOT a stupid man. He will do/say something else and Bush will ask him to resign and appear to distance himself from Rove. In reality, Rove will just move on to his next assignment. It’s time for Rove to start grooming the next repulican puppet that the right will try to replace Dubya with.
Anthony, Geez, you can’t say something questionable about the current administration without being an assumed Democrat or liberal? There are other points of view besides the extremism of these two parties. There are many moderates and independents which do/should have some real concerns about this administration and it’s policies.