Billmon and Digby say Rove is not a genius, and he's getting desperate

[scottxyz]

Rove is not a genius - he just has no limits to how dirty he'll play. And now that Bush's two pet projects are failing (the war on Iraq, and the war on Social Security), Rove is becoming desperate and even shrill.

Usually Rove is able to get a lot of mileage out of playing the old "Repubs are strong fighters, Dems are whiney wimps" stereotype. But this stereotype doesn't hold up too well when Repubs can't manage to win the war they wanted or pass the legislation they wanted.

People are starting to realize that Bush misled the nation into a needless war he has no idea how to win. People also figured out that they'd lose money with Bush's Social Security "reform". And after the Schiavo fiasco, it's Repubs (not Dems) who are seen as whiney nutjobs parading in the streets.

Republicans are now starting to defect from lame-duck Bush. Hagel says Bush is losing the war. Frist tried to break ranks with Bush on the Bolton nomination strategy. Even Santorum just said that Rove doesn't speak for him.

Rove's outburst last week was a calculated but desperate attempt (orchestrated with the full backing the White House) to scare dissenters like these back into line. But calling half of America traitors can come across like more Republican whining - and it's also an admission that we're losing the the war.

The two links below analyze Rove's desperation. Rove isn't a genius, and he's in a losing position now. Check out these links to see why - and to see how we can exploit his weakness.

http://billmon.org/archives/001935.html
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2005_06_19_digbysblog_archive.html#111962604575880621

Billmon: "I actually think Rove's rant should be seen as a somewhat encouraging sign. Rove and his idiot chorus aren't roaring at the top of their lungs to try to drown out the liberals -- that would be absurd overkill, given how effectively the corporate media has ridiculed and/or demonized the likes of Howard Dean and Dick Durbin. No, Rove's hate rally is aimed squarely at suppressing the growing doubts of the great silent majority -- and even, to a certain extent, those of the conservative true believers, some of whom are showing ominous signs of war-weariness."

Digby: "When Rove was consulted about Iraq, I have no doubt that he saw it as the key to victory for Bush in 04, and figured that the GOP could ride both 9/11 and Iraq for years. A war that never ends is a gift that keeps on giving. ... The problem is that he didn't realize that while people love a war president, they hate a president who loses a war. He failed to factor in the political price if things didn't go well. ... In any case, Iraq is now Bush's albatross. It's his war and he's losing it. And the public is blaming him for it. For the first time public opinion is showing that more people believe that Bush started the war than Saddam. And he's losing."

[Demeter]

1. Knock Yourself Out, Rove

Save us all some money.

[Jade Fox]

2. I've never bought the "Rove as evil genius" theory....

What he is is vicious and ruthless.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. You think he's alone?

There's far too many like him.

[MaineYooper]

9. yes, and

completely devoid of anything resembling a conscience, decency or a sense of ethics.

He does things that most other people simply wouldn't even consider, and that willingness has given him this "aura" of genius.

[Jade Fox]

10. "that willingness has given him the aura of genius."

well put.

[pretzel4gore]

22. dr jekyl, mr hyde

remember, the morals that dr jekyl had were a limitation he lost when he became mr hyde, it was 'total freedom' to do anything, knowing he could hide away as dr jekyl whenever things got too hot! ted bundy talked about the same thing; giving in to the insane urges that harassed him made him feel superhuman! so what the gopigs have done isn't in any way amazing; what's amazing is that everybody alive doesn't also do it! (it's called criminal behavior)

[ailsagirl]

24. I hate hearing he's "a genius"-- he's NOT. He IS diabolical.

but hardly a genius. :puke:

[yurbud]

26. Rove's tactics couldn't work without the cooperation of media

without them marching in lockstep, just about everything Rove did from lies to smear campaigns, would have flopped like a fart in church.

Think about how Dean's mild but accurate criticism of the GOP was received, and imagine that kind of scrutiny being given to a Rove PR offensive. He wouldn't even get out of the gate.

Hillbilly Hitler art:



Blog:


_____________________________________________________________

[scottxyz]

27. Yes but if the Dems used attack soundbites, they would get media play too

It is true that the media favors the Repubs over the Dems these days.

But there is a reason for that.

We all know that simple, short, exciting, controversial, confrontational statements are more likely to get quoted in the media.

The Repubs specialize in creating this sort of soundbite.

The Dems almost never do this.

Think what would have happenen back during the Swift Boat Veterans August 2004 smear campaign, if a Dem leader had said: "If those veterans want someone to attack, they should attack the the guy who was AWOL doing coke during most of Viet Nam."

What would have happened? All hell would have broken loose. That quote would have been in every single paper in the country. It would have been talked about over and over on cable. Rush and all his minions would be howling about it on their radio talk shows.

So it would get heard. Why? Because it's short and sweet. (And it's probably even true.)

Why didn't anyone say this? The evidence was there. So why didn't anybody say it?

Repubs forced McCain to talk about whether he had fathered a black child. They forced Kerry to talk about whether he had thrown his medals on the ground in protest of the war.

Why didn't anyone force Bush to talk about whether he was AWOL doing coke?

Why do only the Republicans get to dish it out?

[yurbud]

28. the dems are bad at this, but it also helps to own the microphone

Hillbilly Hitler art:



Blog:

[Sather Gate]

3. It's not for nothing

that the Chimperor calls him "Turd Blossom". These Texicans have such appropriate names for each other. I recall a scrawl on the bathroom wall years ago at Cal-

Here ah sit
cheeks a'flexin',
Givin' birth to
Another T------"

And ah wuz born in Texas.....

[Triana]

5. Rove is a Thug and a Crook...

...the only reason the little piglet isn't locked up is because he works for the guys with the keys...

[tridim]

6. He's a brute force puppeteer

and the puppet strings are all tangled. He's no genius.

Good luck douchbag.

[eleny]

7. axis of weevils

"the black ring of scandal widening around the DeLay-Abramoff-Reed-Norquist axis of weevils" nice imagery!

[C_U_L8R]

8. Desperate?

Rove's masters are the ones that are desperate.
They just tossed KKKarl out to us as a red-meat decoy
to distract everyone away from the DSM issue.
Poor Rover is finding out how expendable he truly is.

AND this just goes to show that
we are definitely on the right track with DSM
and our drive towards Impeachment & Justice.
Lets not let this Rove hub-bub distract us.

[scottxyz]

12. You're right - Rove's masters decided he had to go into the ring

This was a premeditated and orchestrated last-ditch attempt to bring straying, war-weary conservatives back onto the farm.

Rove's comments were obviously pre-approved by the White House, which stood by them. And then Rove immediately went on Scarborough to spout off some more of his filthy hate.

The usual Republican noise machine - Rush, Fox, the comment-free blogs of the Fighting 101st Keyboarders - isn't working any more. The public is realizing Bush has no idea how to win in Iraq - and they're blaming him for getting us into the whole mess in the first place with his lies and his puffed-up fragile ego.

Bush's speech tonight is going to be a joke. It's supposed to commemorate the "end of hostilities in Iraq." Who the hell is dumb enough to believe that lie? Every time you turn on the TV another couple of our Marines have gotten blown up - even in towns we supposedly "control" now, like Falluja. Commander Codpiece is going to look like more and more of a buffoon if he keeps talking about how "major hostilities are over" when our soldiers keep getting their heads blown off.

I'm sure Rove and Bush and Cheney sat down in the White House and said "What are we gonna do? We've got Hagel turning on us now, and a lot of other Republicans are going to follow suit. Not to mention we've got Conyers treating the DSM like some kind of smoking gun for impeachment."

So they came up with their usual strategy. If you can't beat the Iraqis overseas, go after Americans at home. If you're losing the war, don't blame Rumsfeld, blame the Dixie Chicks. Call anyone who disagrees with Bush a traitor.

The only problem is, anyone can see that they're starting to panic and they're looking for someone to blame for the war THEY started and THEY don't know how to win. 96% of Americans in that MSNBC poll last week think Bush lied to get us into the war. 60% now think the war isn't worth it. About 75% of Dems don't approve of Bush now - but even worse for Bush, he lost the INDEPENDENTS too - 77% of them don't approve of him now. http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/6/25/14348/3199

Calling over half of America traitors, just becuase we don't want to destroy our army on a war we never needed to fight in the first place - that shows how desperate the White House is becoming, and it's very likely the beginning of the end for the neocons.

[bemildred]

18. That was my take.

He didn't crawl out from under his rock because he wanted to.
The little man behind the screen had to come out and try to explain.
That undermines the third party illusion.

[orpupilofnature57]

11. Goebbels, at the end of his regime, talked the same way.

[madrchsod]

14. goebbels....

baghdad bob
stiff dick cheney....all birds of the feather

[scottxyz]

16. You're right - Republicans are now the "Blame America First" crowd

They're circling the wagons now, and talking to the "base".

The risk for Bush now is this. For every wavering, war-weary conservative he manages to scare back in line with Rove's new "Ann Coulter" tactics of calling liberals traitors, how many other conservatives (and liberals) is he going to turn off with this extremist, defeatist, blame-America-first rhetoric?

80% of New Yorkers for example describe themselves as "liberals". As Steve Gilliard recently pointed out, they probably don't take to kindly to some fat ugly wimpy Republican extremist freak like Rove telling them that they just "don't get" 9/11. As Steve Gilliard said: "So Bush thinks 80% of New Yorkers didn't give a damn about September 11. You're traitors, you dishonor the dead. When your friends died that day, you wanted to give Osama a hug."

And a lot of soldiers serving in Iraq are Democrats. A lot of soldiers are now asking "who is this Rove guy?" They're out there putting their lives on the line, watching their buddies get killed, and they aren't too happy hearing some fat pasty neocon saying that they want to give Bin Laden "therapy".

So every time Bush/Rove scare one straying conservative back onto the reservation, they're probably alienating more people as well with this extremist, desperate, whiny Ann Coulter-style rhetoric.

As many people have said: The best way for Bush to shut up the anti-war people would be to (1) Win the war in Iraq, and (2) find Bin Laden.

Instead, all they can do is "blame America" for not cheering loud enough. Ironically, Republicans are now in danger of becoming the "blame America first" crowd.

[Glenda]

13. Here is my question...

Does the average person on the street know who Karl Rove is, and do they listen to him? The reason I ask this is, I know who he is, but I've NEVER heard him speak. Does he appear on mainstream news?

We on DU know who the players are. But the average person - which players do they know besides Bush?

[Puzzler]

17. Surprise, surprise...

... it seems that maybe, just maybe... Howard Dean is doing the right thing by standing up to the GOP chickenhawks.

(or should I apologize for saying that ;) )


-P

[peacetalksforall]

15. Is it Bush, Rove, Cheney we are worried about or is it the religious

fanatical followers they have and the people who put Bush, Cheney, Rove in their positions.

Bush, Rove, Cheney could go away in two seconds and we still have the religious fanatics and the military-banking-corporatation (and their stockholders), society/foundation/association/think tanks and all their foreign partners to deal with.

One of JFK's close friends had it right - we should not create idols that can fall before us - we should idolize the idealism and objectives that our right for us. This is very badly paraphrased as my memory is fading. The idea is that we can't just focus on a person.

We know plenty about the idealism and objectives of PNAC and the Federalist Society and the rest of the cabal. They succeeded in creating heroes from Reagan to Bush Jr and their vile minions from Atwater to Rove. Then, We try to create heroes of Dean, Kerry, Clinton, Sanders, etc. We need to idolize ourselves - little people who made this country in partnership with some benevolent leaders and in spite of non-benevolent ones, who love our country, who don't relish and delight in war, and who don't try to mind our neighbor's business or legislate their business.

[ellenfl]

19. isn't this the first time he's been in the public eye? eom

[scottxyz]

20. Here's a nice picture of Rove the Worm

[geckosfeet]

21. As Cheney sits in a hospital waiting for a heart donor,,,,,,,,,

on edit:

Please note that this is my own conspiracy theory:

Not only does Halliburton now have unlimited, untraceable revenue streams, they have a their pick of body parts.

[MODemocrat]

23. I believe that Carl Rove is somewhat of a fake

He's had the entire media on his side, and always coming up with one or another strategy to save the administration from any setbacks; Surely, though more people can see him now as the Great Wizard of Oz, and the curtain is coming open to expose him. You've been fanning the ice for so long, and now!
You're growing weaker Sir. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[scottxyz]

25. I agree, Rove is a fake

Many of the "tough guys" pushing this war in Iraq have turned out to be various types of fakes or phonies. They often have "issues" about their own masculinity -- and talking tough, starting wars, and torturing innocent people may be their ways of "compensating" for their own insecurities.

- Reporter Helen Thomas says Bush is the "only President" she's ever known who actually WANTED a war. We know Bush has a lot of "issues" due to being a former high-schoool cheerleader, a spoiled brat born with a silver spoon in his mouth, a failed businessman, a deserter, a former cokehead - and the son of a famous strong politician. The head of British intel, in the Downing Street Memo, said that it looked like W's desire to invade Iraq was just a "grudge match".

- Ken Mehlman (the counterpart to Dean on the Republican side) is apparently a gay closet case - and there are many others like him in high-ranking positions in the Republican party.

- Rumsfeld, Cheney, Wolfowitz and Perle have NO battleground experience, and it shows in the way they've mishandled Iraq.

- Somebody high-up in the White House "Velvet Mafia of Texas" apparently fell for Jeff Gannon's "butch drag" act as a top Marine male escort.

Guys like Kerry and Bill Clinton are quite comfortable in their masculinity, and feel much less need to shout it from the rooftops.

But guys like Rove and Bush constantly seem to need to remind us of how "macho" they are - before carefully hand-picked audiences.