"Say Anything"

There's been quite a plethora of examples of over anxious politicos inserting their feet into their mouths lately.  I've grown convinced that politicians must have the largest egos in the world because they seem to believe that the general public hangs on every word they speak.

Yeah, I know, I'm labeling again.  Not everybody does it.  But enough do, and it seems to make the news all of the time now.  I wrote about the trinity of Durbin, Jeb Bush and Santorum last week.

Alas, I should have saved my words for the ultimate in porcine bloviating.  Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Karl Rove.

Late last week, Rove gave a speech to a conservative group in New York City, not far from Ground Zero.  Don't know about you, but I am shocked, absolutely shocked, that anyone, especially a conservative gas bag, would appear to use the location of the worst slaughter of innocent people in American history as a political crutch.  Anywho, Rove spent most of his speech in "us vs. them" mode, preaching to the lemmings why conservatives rule, and liberals suck.

You can read the full speech here if you choose.  It's not all that long.  And though it is posted on a liberal blog, the fact is I couldn't find it anywhere else.  Apparently no news services felt it important enough of a story.

Here are some of Rove's greatest hits, along with some points to ponder:

"He's (Bush) the first President since 1988 to win a majority of the popular vote."

That's correct.  Of course, had their been a viable third party candidate in this election like there was in 1992 and 1996, Bush would not have won the popular vote.  And let's not forget 2000, when W lost the election, well, the election where the people of this nation voted, not the one held in the Supreme Court...

"We are the party of ideas — and as Richard Weaver wrote, "ideas have consequences." 

Good point.  Let's play this little game:

Idea: Let's pin 9/11 on Iraq so we can invade that country and avenge an attempt on Daddy Bush's life.

Consequence: 1700 American soldier deaths, acountry FUBAR'd beyond belief, with no real end in sight. 

"We believe in curbing the size of government; they (liberals) believe in expanding the size of government."

What planet is he speaking from?  Has he paid attention to government spending reports at all since 2000?  Can Karl Rove spell "deficit"?

And here's Kolonel Karl's money shot:

"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers. In the wake of 9/11, conservatives believed it was time to unleash the might and power of the United States military against the Taliban; in the wake of 9/11, liberals believed it was time to submit a petition. I am not joking. Submitting a petition is precisely what Moveon.org did. It was a petition imploring the powers that be" to "use moderation and restraint in responding to the terrorist attacks against the United States."

I consider myself to be a fairly well read and informed person, and like much of the nation I was glued to the news reports both on television and in the papers in the days and weeks after 9/11.  Never once did I hear anybody say anything about "understanding" the people who attacked the nation.  Never once did I hear anyone say anything about offering them "therapy" or "understanding."  In my entire life, I have never  seen a time where this society was united in understanding like it was after 9/11 where everyone knew that the US had to go after the Taliban.  It had to be destroyed.  And after it was, I never heard anyone offer an opinion different from one that can be summed up in a single word:  "Good."

I never realized that in the time frame I was listening to and reading the opinions of only conservatives.

The Democrats are mad at Rove and want him to apologize.  I say, why?  Instead of outrage, they should gather as a group, point their fingers at him, and laugh.  He has made an ass of himself, of his party, and of his president.  It is even better that the powers that be that control communications from the White House have congratulated Rove on his eloquence.

Does Rove assume that every soldier currently in Iraq, Afghanistan or in a grave because they were killed in action since the fall of 2001 is/was a Republican?  He must, otherwise instead of ammunition some soldiers would be carrying chocolates and flowers.  Worse, he assumes that everyone who died on 9/11 was also a Republican, as were their families.

Rove also assumes that one cannot be a liberal without pledging allegiance (but not under God, mind you, remember, all liberals think christianity sucks) to MoveOn.org; never mind what the petition he speaks of referred to, it asked that the United States not use 9/11 as an excuse to go after other nations it deemed despicable.

You know, like Iraq.

I'm glad Karl Rove said this, because I know he believes it.  And because he believes it, and because he will stop at nothing to make sure that conservatives win elections, he will continue to say things like these.  He will continue to address groups who think that George W. Bush was placed in the White House by God.  He and the rest of the GOP who believe in saying anything that smears liberals, whether true or not, are reaching a point where they will do more damage to themselves than good. 

They are out there.  People like Karl Rove.  Rush Limbaugh.  Sean Hannity.  Ed Klein, who it appears has written a book about Hillary Clinton that is more fictional than Wuthering Heights.  These are people who for a long, long time have gotten away with saying anything without repercussion, but their mistake is not seeing the line that they have started to inch across.  By the time they realize it, they will be miles and miles past it.

I, for one, hope they keep talking.  The closer they get to being labeled extreme is the closer we get to having elected officials from both sides who owe their jobs to one thing, the ability of the people of this nation to turn on their BS filter.

Karl Rove doesn't like me because I am a liberal, and as such I want to treat Osama bin Laden to a couple of session with a shrink.  That is all I take from reading what he said last week.

Rove is a fool.  He'll find out soon enough.