It is widely held that Karl Rove is a political genius - even by the Democrats who loath him. After all, he is the architect that brought George W. Bush and the GOP to power and the man who perfected the use of evil but effective political tricks like push polling, divisive wedge issues, and cynical evangelical outreach. And you must be a genius to get so many blue collar workers to vote exactly counter to their own economic interests, right?
The truth is that Rove only looks brilliant in hindsight and only because Bush won in 2000 and 2004. But if you recall, Gore actually won the 2000 election's popular vote and it was eventually confirmed by independent sources that Gore also won more votes in Florida. And in 2004, Bush won the election by beating Kerry in Ohio by the smallest of margins and under controversial circumstances. That means Rove's cynical and deceptive tactics actually resulted in Bush losing in 2000 and barely winning in 2004.
Both elections broke Rove's way so he is seen as brilliant and his strategy vindicated. That is why the McCain campaign thinks the only way to win is embracing scorched earth Rovian tactics. McCain and his surrogates will spend the next month relentlessly attacking. Obama's patriotism will be questioned, they will suggest Obama is too foreign and different to be trusted, and they will try to trick Americans into thinking that a middle class, black nominee for President is actually an uppity, disrespectful elitist.
These shameful tactics scare Democrats more than anything because they believe that Rovian stunts are the only thing that could derail Obama. Don't believe the hype! These tactics did not work as well as people think in 2000 or 2004 and they won't work that well against Obama in 2008. The big secret is that Rove is not a genius, he is just a lucky bastard with shameful tactics. Now Obama is poised to prove you don't need to be a bastard to win an election.
I am Don Siegelman, a Democrat &I served as Alabama Governor until Karl Rove targeted me in a political prosecution. My story, described in CBS’s 60 Minutes just one example of how Karl Rove subverted our Constitution & corrupted the integrity of the Justice Department.
I was convicted of something that The New York Times said,”… has never been a crime.”
A former Republican Attorney General of Arizona said on CBS’s 60 Minutes, “they couldn’t beat Siegelman fair & square so they targeted him with this prosecution.”
I was THE blue dot in a RED STATE that BECAME _KARL ROVE's_ TARGET.
My investigation was started by Karl Rove’s client, the Alabama Attorney General. I was brought to trial ONE MONTH BEFORE THE ELECTION by a US ttorney who was the wife of my Republican opponent’s campaign manager- a thirty year friend & political associate of Rove’s. After the trial, a Republican lawyer gave sworn testimony to the House Judiciary Committee that Karl Rove was directing the DOJ to prosecute me.
My sentence was enhanced for speaking out against the political nature of the prosecution. Handcuffed & shackled, I was immediately removed from the courtroom & taken to maximum security prison where I was put into solitary confinement.
Nine months later, I was released in an extraordinary ruling of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals saying there are “substantial questions of law and fact likely to result in reversal”.....
....Sorry for the minor editiing of Governor Siegelman's words to make the HuffPost 250 word cutoff.
For example, I deleted "the Governor of Alabama" to save one word, replacing it with "Alabama Governor." Apart from deleting one & two letter words like "a" or "is" the words are the former Governor's, the CAPS are mine.
NO ONE, anywhere, should comment on Karl Rove's disgraceful legacy these past dozens years, without reading Governor Siegelman's account of how the Bush-Cheney administration ABUSED their WAR TIME POWERS - with a GOP House & Senate majorities providing cover - to ABUSE citizen rights.
The partisan (can not use any other words here- ) LYNCH-MOB PROSECUTION of Gov. Siegelman the textbook example...
The Bush-Rove-Cheney GOP thought that they OWNED the Deep South... and they were perfectly willing to LYNCH a SITTING, ELECTED GOVERNOR to get a Republican back in the Governor's chair of that Deep South State.
Just as Republican SAXBY CHAMBLISS 2002 Campaign was perfectly willing to morph sitting Democratic Senator MAX CLELAND's photos between those of OSAMA bin LADEN and SADDAM HUSSEIN..... despite triple-amputee Senator Cleland HAVING LEFT THREE LIMBS in Vietnam during combat duty in the Vietnam war!
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Don-Siegelman-Rove-Target-by-the-web-081006-891.html
#1. In 1992, Bill Clinton only won the White House because ROSS PEROT - NOT the Democrats - spent a fortune of his own money lecturing America on the BUSH DEFICITS run up by the S&L crisis ($500 billion in 1980s money)
#2. In 2000, Vice President Al Gore was too aloof and "DIGNIFIED" to SPEAK UP FOR poor & minority Texas school children TOSSED OFF pre-school, after-school, and health-care programs by then Texas Gov. George W. Bush's SIGNATURE "TAX CUTS FOR RICH, SLASH Social Programs" agenda.
It is a battle or war that even today - 8 years later - DC Democrats COWER from. Speaker Pelosi would rather hand a TRILLION taxpayer dollars to Paulson and Bush's cronies on Wall Street, than even hold basic hearings... Much less DEMAND THAT ALL THAT MONEY GO DIRECTLY to programs that help homeowners keep their houses.
Indeed, Nancy Pelosi _ALLOWS_ Karl Rove to run around America SPURNING a Congressional Subpoena, even though Congressman Wexler posted a letter from former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman outlining Karl Rove's INTIMATE ROLE in getting Siegelman CONVICTED in a prosecution by whose standards (putting one's supporters in government jobs) Bush, Cheney, and every president or governor would be in jail as well.
Bad show Nancy!
America learned about Swift boating in 2004, knows Kerry is no coward or traitor, and won't fall for that crap again. Barack ain't no John Kerry when it comes to counterpunching, and John McCain has plenty in his past to talk about if that's where the discussion leads.
In 2004, with two wars raging and terrorism fears still fresh, Rove barely dragged his candidate across the finish line. Genius? Hardly. Shameless? You bet!
The only thing Rove and his cronies have this election, is the race factor. However, that advantage is falling away. People tend to become colorblind when they're drowning, and the guy with the life preserver just happens to be black.
I hope this election is a landslide for Obama, because that would help put a stop to the idea that shameless dirty campaigns win elections.
He is ruthless. I believe Gore won the vote in '00 and Kerry probably did in '04. If the dems are so smart (or alternatively, if Rove is dumb), how come the corrupt political machine run by Rove successfully out-smarted them (twice) enough to keep W in the WH for 8 years? Not knowing how to prevent or stop Rove is lamb-like (please don't hurt me!) naivete.
Drill baby drill?
No! Burn baby burn!
Karl Rove is smart in knowing that many in America are dumb enough to fall for his tactics.
Just barely beating two lame campaigners by muddying the field with lies is hardly genius. It's just luck. Imagine trying to run such a campaign against a hungry Bill Clinton, or look at the result of the same tactics having been used unsuccessfully by both Hillary and now McCain against a hungry Obama. Rove's "genius" label was bs, and his luck has run out.
The fact is that Obama would be in a much tighter race, and it is likely that he would be behind and staring defeat in the face if the economy hadn't cratered...
because he is a very strong candidate and has been running a "great" campaign.
This is because Karl Rove is a genius!
People think Karl Rove, a liar, a cheat, and a criminal, is a genius.
People are popping pills to go to sleep, to wakeup, to get it up, etc…
The media is openly compromised partisan and corrupted by ambition and personal greed.
The government does not operate in the interest of the people but of its self.
Compassion, empathy, love, are seen as wimpy or bad words.
Consumption distracted to the point where Americans cannot discern they are in danger, they are being ripped off, and that it may be part of the master plan.
In 2008 with all that has happened in America’s history concerning race relations, large segments of the American population are still ignorant and racist.
You can graduate from college and still be stupid.
Certain members of law enforcement do not serve and protect but kill and steal.
Selfishness rules!
The system is tilted to reward certain people and punish others via the fulcrum of historical events.
Egotism or hubris leading to disastrous designs of world hegemony.
History often cited when it glorifies never when it indicts thus history has no meaning.
Hypocrisy from top to bottom.
Goal or end is considered more important than process or means, which brought us America, by discovery or theft -- a foundational problem that persists today.
Wholesale and widespread obfuscation or denial of blatant truth.
Far too many experts claiming they know when they were claiming something different just yesterday.
I come to this forum to reflect upon what I have seen and what I do see. I do not come as self-important expert, with the thought that I know. I simply reflect a life that has lived and that lives in terms of death. This latter consideration is a Taoist concept that made sense to me and thus I adopted it as my approach in life. I live in terms of death because in so doing I never take life for granted. The gullible take life for granted as if they have all the time in the world to get it right. Think about the term laissez-faire market. The market will eventually get it right if you just leave it alone. We see the error in that principle in glaring terms as I write this. The same is true for what we see in the populace. People have not done the regulatory work of being better individuals because their approach was one of laissez-faire mutual respect, concern, consideration, empathy, and unity. Thus, meltdown looms.
...shouts kill him at a Palin Rally? How sick we are...
I hope things get better for all people worldwide. But as they say, there is that hand with a wish in it and then there is that hand with something more concrete, more slimy to the touch, more foul to the smell. We are holding the concrete, slimy, and foul smelling substance that is our collective inability to get it right. I always blame me first, then I find in blaming others, I have no second thoughts or doubts for I have run the gamut of blame upon myself. If America is found to be inadequate, it is only because I have found myself to be inadequate. This is what separates me from many. In that, I refuse to lie to myself, which I could do, and live an entire lifetime in denying bliss. By every measure, I can be said to be successful. Yet success by the American standard is underperformance, and underachievement. Yes, we landed a man on the moon, and we have the Ipod, and paved roads, indoor plumbing, electricity… From and ivory tower with windows one can view suffering and drown in the tears that fill towers of ego. From the technological summit, the basement of human failure is visible. The hour draws near where change good or bad will come and we will never be the same.