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by BooMan
Democrats are accustomed to being attacked by this administration. Our war veterans are labeled cowards, our values are bent and mischaracterized, our patriotism is constantly questioned, and our every criticism is met with some reference to 9/11. But, it appears to be the Republicans' turn to feel the lash. Rather than apologize for going around Congress to illegally spy on American war protesters, or to listen in on our electronic communications, the administration is painting its critics as weak on defense. And, since this is an election year, they are effectively asking the GOP to take up their talking points and back up their ludicrous justifications.
The New York Times reports:
With a campaign of high-profile national security events set for the next three days, following Karl Rove's blistering speech to Republicans on Friday, the White House has effectively declared that it views its controversial secret surveillance program not as a political liability but as an asset, a way to attack Democrats and re-establish President Bush's standing after a difficult year. The Times goes on to note how successfully the GOP has framed the debates over the Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Department. We know how they do it. Overly simplified rhetoric is repeated endlessly by all the various outlets of the mighty right-wing wurlitzer. But, to be successful, the wurlitzer must be firing on all cylinders. That is simply not the case right now. Georgia10 does a good round up of the conservative skepticism:
Yet right-wing propagandists lie and claim not only is Bush's spying program wildly popular among Americans, but that it's just unpatriotic, Osama-lovin' liberals who are calling for an investigation of the program. But the fact that the nation's leading conservatives are speaking out against Bush is undeniable: I've said this before and I'll keep saying it. There is no way that the NSA program was limited to spying on known al-Qaeda members' phone calls to American citizens. If it were limited to that there never would have been a need to go around the FISA court. If it were limited to that, there would not have been 10 or more NSA employees so outraged that they felt the need to leak to the New York Times. If it were limited to that, the President would have been able to convince the New York Times not to run the story. The NSA program was clearly targeted at people that the NSA employees thought there was no legal justification to spy on. It's obvious. And if this were not the case the President and Karl Rove would have already put the issue to bed. They would not be seeing the likes of Grover Norquist signing petitions for Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances. I'm used to being told to take my concerns and shove them up my ass. But what happens when you tell large swaths of your base to go get fucked? Will the principled Republicans back down? Is this a case of Karl Rove deciding "the best defense is a good offense?" I don't know, but it looks like they are forcing a constitutional showdown onto their own party. And we are only too happy to join in the fray.
Bush/Rove Plan to Campaign on NSA Crimes | 34 comments (34 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
Bush/Rove Plan to Campaign on NSA Crimes | 34 comments (34 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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We listened to PEN American Center's "State of Emergency" and found 1940s books by Curzio Malaparte only at Alibris
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