Connect the Dots: Karl Rove's Politics Uber Alles Strategy and the Utah Mine Disaster

What makes Karl Rove's politics uber alles strategy chilling is connecting the dots between it and the Utah mining disaster.

Rove's unprecedented use of federal assets for political gain, laid out in yesterday's Washington Post, meant that every tool at his disposal was employed to help foster his goal of a permanent Republican majority. "It was all politics, all the time," Rep. Henry Waxman told WaPo.

"It was total commitment," marveled Rep. Thomas Davis III, who worked closely with Rove in 2002 on the GOP's House reelection campaign. "We knew history was against us, and [Rove] helped coordinate all of the accoutrements of the executive branch to help with the campaign."

These accouterments included, in the words of the Post, "enlisting political appointees at every level of government in a permanent campaign that was an integral part of [Rove's] strategy to establish electoral dominance." But Rove's plan involved much more than having Cabinet officials make election year visits bearing federal goodies to the districts of embattled Republicans; it also meant using the government's regulatory mechanisms to reward major GOP contributors. Major contributors such as Big Coal.

Coal mining interests have donated more than $12 million to federal candidates since the Bush-era began with the 2000 election cycle, with 88% of that money -- $10.6 million -- going to Republicans.

And what did that largess buy the coal mining industry? Mine safety regulators far more interested in looking out for the financial well-being of mine owners than for the physical well-being of miners.

Exhibit A is Bush's "mine safety" czar, Richard Stickler, whose agency both approved the controversial mining technique used at the Crandall Canyon Mine before the collapse, and oversaw the rescue operation.

Stickler is a former coal company manager with such a lousy safety record at the companies he'd run that his nomination as head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration was twice rejected by Senators from both parties, forcing Bush to sneak him in the back door with a recess appointment.

In other words, the guy the White House tapped to protect miners is precisely the kind of executive the head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration is supposed to protect miners from. And now Stickler is the one who will lead the "investigation" into what happened in Utah -- unless there is enough public outcry to force a truly independent investigation.

Of course, industry-friendly regulators like Stickler have been the rule under Bush, not the exception. Indeed, Bush's first mine safety czar was Dave Lauriski, a former mining executive who had earned a reputation for aggressively defending the interests of mine owners. For chapter and verse on Lauriski, read this terrific article by Ken Ward, Jr. in the Washington Monthly, but here is the nub of the matter: Lauriski took office promising mine owners that he would "collaborate more with stakeholders on regulatory initiatives" and become "less confrontational" with mine operators.

Exactly what did he mean by "less confrontational"? According to Ward, during his tenure, Lauriski "filled [MSHA's] top jobs with former industry colleagues, dropped more than a dozen safety proposals initiated during the Clinton administration, and cut almost 200 of the agency's 1,200 coal mine inspectors. Mine-safety experts have linked many of these actions to the causes of deadly mine safety accidents since 2001." Among the mine-safety regulations Lauriski dropped was one that would have deepened investigations of mining accidents.

No doubt Murray and the owners of the coal mines where over 170 miners have died since Lauriski gutted those safety regulations are happy that he did.

Lauriski resigned after 60 Minutes revealed that the MSHA had improperly awarded no-bid contracts to coal industry companies to which he was tied.

It's worth noting that the person Bill Clinton appointed to head MSHA, J. Davitt McAteer, was not a coal-industry insider -- indeed, he had been a key force behind the 1969 Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, had worked with Ralph Nader on workplace safety reforms, and was running a public-interest law firm focused on occupational safety when Clinton tapped him. He therefore came to the job with a very different perspective than the one required by Rove's objective of using government agencies as accoutrements for the GOP's permanent campaign.

Putting foxes in charge of the henhouse has been standard operating procedure for Rove's hyper-politicized White House. The long list of industry hacks given key slots at federal agencies will forever stand as the ultimate tribute to Rove's effectiveness in turning the federal government into an arm of the Republican Party -- and a payback machine for those that funded it. For a primer on the hackocracy, check out the New Republic, TomPaine.com, and the Denver Post.

In far too many cases, these cynical appointments that put the Party's interest above the public interest, have left our country less safe, our environment more polluted, our fellow citizens less healthy -- and, in the case of the Crandall Canyon Mine, three of them dead, and six others in all likelihood entombed in the mine forever.

Karl Rove may be on his way out the door, but the destructive legacy of his politicization of the federal government will be with us for many years to come.

Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff

Comments

[Grannysue]

And anyone stupid enough to think that anything will change if another Repukin is elected is dead wrong. Mitt, Rudy, Fred and the boys are very well connected to corporations and they will not make any changes necessary to protect lowly peons like American workers, no if they whine about being buried alive then by God we will outsource the mining to the lowest bidder! That's their mentality and that's how it will stay unless the American Public says ENOUGH!

[johnnyjust]

I say impeach them all, then hang them all. I'm not sure what for. Maybe nothing. But these miners wouldn't have died if not for 911. Bush, Cheney, Rice, Snow...all killed the miners.

No, really.

So let's get out and vote for someone who won't do the same next time. If only Bill could run again, he'd know how to fill up those holes.

[Rebelfriend]

This is the finest article you have written to date. You have painted a powerful picture of the pathetic character of Rove whose love of power and manipulation knew no bounds, and of the pathetic La-La-Land of the dunce he Machiavellied into the White House. They are both so morally corrupt they have blithely gone about playing their games of one-upsmanship without a moment's thought or concern for the thousands upon thousands of lives they have destroyed. They have manuveured with their dirty little games as if they were children playing Monopoly. I have truly come to believe that they are both phychopaths as well as criminals and the world should deal with them accordingly. After the rape of our beloved country and that of Iraq wrought by these cyphers, we have never, more than now, needed a leader of real character, true compassion, and a deep abiding sense of right and wrong. If America is to gain back it's soul, we had better make sure our next President has the character, the decency, and genuine concern for the well-being of all our countrymen, and for all with whom we share this planet, or we are surely lost.

[RabbiOmar]

There is an old saying that God didn't make junk and I'm not junk. In Rove's case the saying is God didn't make junk, why are you trying to make him a liar.

[deminmo]

RabbiOmar, PEOPLE make themselves junk.

[RabbiOmar]

That was my point

[esquire07]

This is the United States. Worker safety does not matter. Dead miners, dead troops, dead kids without health insurance - who cares ?

The purpose of the US Governemnet is to make the rich richer, fund the Military industrial complex, and kill foreigners to get their oil.

It is going to get much worse in the coming years. America is past the turning point, the system is to broken. Bankrupcy and Depression is the future of the United States.

Only when it gets unbearable for the "average" American might we hope to see change. As for now, the vast majority of Americans are living in a delusional bubble thinking the US is "the greatest nation on earth," and things are always going to be this good.

The Bill of Rights is dead. The Bill for Iraq will soon be due.

It will be sad to watch the Nation fall.

[Ahoenobarbus]

I don't get it. I'm a pessimist and I don't see the end coming like you appear to.

[lalique]

Tar and feathers are too good for Rove. There are people who have no conscience at all.

[BillWilliam]

We have a solution, impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney. I'm not sure what Rove could be charged with. But if we contact our representatives and let them know how we feel we could change the administration and make progress toward cleaning up the mess they made. I hope Pelosi is up for the job. She has not shown me anything yet.
Do not just gripe, contact your representatives and let them know how you feel!

[Meteor]

It does not take a crime for the House to initiate impeachment proceedings. Both the President and the Vice President are sworn to uphold the Constitution. They have both trashed the Constitution. Bush could also be impeached for putting Rove on the government payroll and allowing him to politicize every department of the government including the appointment of federal prosecutors.

There really is no excuse for a delay. If the process brings the government to a halt, that would be for the good; at least they could do no more harm.

[Pete Ross]

I would bet that most of the readers here and certainly almost all who post here have and do contact our Representatives and Senators on numerous occasions but the average American still remains apathetic, more interested in "reality" shows on TV like American Idle" or its ilk.
We do not have an "informed citizenry" and those in government take full advantage of that.

[Oldfart]

The stats on coal mining deaths don't seem to support the main argument here:
http://www.msha.gov/stats/centurystats/coalstats.asp

The numbers seem to me to be as low as their gonna get no matter what else you do - occasionally you are going to have really bad years. There were bad years during the Clinton administration too. I suggest you go look at how many active coal mines there are in, say, West Virginia alone and compare that to the number of coal mining deaths nationally. You will be surprised.

I'm all for bashing Bush & Buddies but I'm much more concerned with the truth of the matter.

[yellowdogSC]

OF,

Did you read this? (Courtesy of Arianna):
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0703.ward.html

I think you'll feel VERY differently.

Thanks, friend.

[Oldfart]

I did read it but it didn't change my mind much. While I have no doubt Bush & Co. have little or no interest in Mine safety and lots of interest in Mine profits, I don't see how you can get much lower fatality totals given how much mining is being done. Now if you could point to a sudden leap of 100 or even 50 deaths a year since the Bush misadministration, I would say y'all have a good point. Otherwise, the correlation is pretty poor.

[AlienatedCitizen]

Most Americans who follow the news domestically and abroad realize that the United States is no longer important on the world stage. Our financial system removes any vestige of the principles of democracy. Virtually every legislative act at local, state and federal levels mocks the intent of our Constitution. We live in a financial dictatorship. We profess democracy and opportunity for all but we bow to our currency. We bow to a central bank created by our government that somehow does not belong to the people who created it. We applaud people like Warren Buffet who create nothing but accumulate the assets of companies who he see as under valued built by the American work force. He does it with money he does not own but controls for his welfare and not for customers of companies he owns or controls. So it is that when we vote we vote for the banker's puppets not for people who represent our interests. Until we recognize that we have lost our way to unelected bankers and financiers we will always find ourselves at odds with a government that represents no one but itself. Some of us are more equal than others. America is animal farm redux.

[EdwardUlyssesCate]

In reading the above comments, most refer to short-term history, such as Bush and Clinton. What we are seeing is the result of capitalism being used as the stepping stone to imperialism. Socialism is also just another stepping stone to the same end, but the government has more control over its citizens. The US is now more socialist than Russia was back in the Cold War. But my point is that both the US and Russia were and are financed by the SAME groups. Since most of this started in 1600, I call it the "400 year war." What IS frustrating that we're seeing another run at NWO, with this SAME group making sure key positions in political parties, government, corporations, religious groups and educational institutions are beholding only to them. We have always been right in calling this "selling out." If we don't want to go along with this, we each need to "clean up our own house," from congressmen all the way down to the mayor. If their actions do not match their words, vote'em out. Forget the party. Focus on the person. Vote their track record, not their sound bites.

[deminmo]

Amen to EdwardUlys­sesCate!!!

[Economike]

How many of these minors voted Republican?

[JustOldBill]

I believe that NO Minors voted Republican but that a majority of Miners did.

[Kally]

One thing I would like to know. Where is all this in the MSM. Nowhere. This is the problem. This is why the republicans went ape trying to control the internet. We get the news. We get the correct news. We get the information we need. Since they have stifled the newspapers, network TV, cable TV and radio they only have to go after the internet to control the information that the public is allowed to see.

[Abycat]

Why is it that no one wants to deal with the
fact that Karl Rove is an admitted felon? He
was the president of the college republicans
in the late 60s/early 70s time frame. He left
this position to help Nixon get reelected in
1972. He was a member of the dirty tricks
squad headed by Segretti. He was,in fact,
Segretti's protege. Most people don't know
that Segretti did time for his role in the
Watergate scandal. Rove admitted later that
he broke into an opponent's headquarters and
stole letterhead which he put to use in
a little game of Republican Politics. He went
on tour to advise fellow young Republicans on
how to attack your political opponents. Rove
still engages in this kind of crap. For those
people who think this is 'just politics',
if someone breaks into a building and steals
something.­..that's a felony.

[Pete Ross]

"if someone breaks into a building and steals
something.­..that's a felony".

Obviously not to Repuglicans!

[richw23]

Another truism illustrated by this administration. What a great trivia game - 'Sins of the Decider'. How many ways can you name that the Bush adminstration proved that cronyism is dangerous? All his abuses are so widespread that not just some, but all the proverbial chickens are coming in for a landing.

Then newer versions 'Sins of the Decider - Aftermath 2009, 2010, etc.' could come out for years into the future on how many problems can be traced to specific abuses of Bush and company.

And I'm looking at you Karl Rove. Did you deliberately become a porcine embarassment to mankind in general to appear less threatening. Your little MC Rove performance makes it obvious the uber-Loon is in the house, even if it is an act. And the guys with you - amazing what jackasses people will make of themselves for access.

Maybe at last, my dream of someone who deserves being shunned effectively will come true. No one could deserve it more than you Karl.

[mario409]

What's funny to me is that we really have to keep this in perspective. These people, Rove etc., are rich beyond any person's dreams. I think they don't need the extra million to live happily, but they do need the power that more money brings. Are we not all to blame, when it comes to propping up the rich and famous? It takes money to create marketing which creates popularity which creates power.....­..as we all know, "Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely".