chilling article about Karl Rove in current issue of The Atlantic

[drumwolf]

The gist of this article is that Rove is most dangerous when his back is up against the wall, as is the case right now, and that he will stop at absolutely nothing to get Bush a second term. So remember, it's not over until November 2nd -- or, for that matter, if Kerry is sworn in during inauguration (and yes, I said "if," not "when.")

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200411/green

Karl Rove is at his most formidable when running close races, and his skills would be notable even if he used no extreme methods. But he does use them. His campaign history shows his willingness, when challenged, to employ savage tactics.

If this year stays true to past form, the campaign will get nastier in the closing weeks, and without anyone's quite registering it, Rove will be right back in his element. He seems to understand—indeed, to count on—the media's unwillingness or inability, whether from squeamishness, laziness, or professional caution, ever to give a full estimate of him or his work. It is ultimately not just Rove's skill but his character that allows him to perform on an entirely different plane. Along with remarkable strategic skills, he has both an understanding of the media's unstated self-limitations and a willingness to fight in territory where conscience forbids most others.

Rove isn't bracing for a close race. He's depending on it.

[Kolesar]

1. and he is down in the White House gym, pumping iron

He making himself the super toughest man ever, with defense forces at the ready, and a rolodex full of destruction!

[Shopaholic]

2. Read the article about him and the rest of BushCo in the new

Vanity Fair (November issue with Johnny Depp on the cover)--it details what they did to McCain in South Carolina in 2000. It'll scare the hell out of you and make you realize just how nasty these men are and how they will stop at nothing at all to win.

[Cha]

12. I already know...murder is nothing to

them!

[kikiek]

3. I didn't think I could hate him anymore..then I watched Bush's Brain.

I read the book when it first came out, but had forgotten a lot of the specifics. He is evil. Nothing else to say about him. Ruins lives without thought.

[farmbo]

4. What's REALLY scary is how he works the recounts after he loses

Not just Florida in 2000-- though that's by far the most egregious example.

In that piss-ant Alabama Supreme Court race in 1996, he did the same damn thing: planted stories of "widespread voter fraud" (which the press dutifully headlined); lined up ample corporate contributions to saturate the state with the message that his opponents were "stealing" the election; and gamed the legal system masterfully to ultimately do his bidding.

But, as our fearless leader says: fool me once...can't get fooled again.

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. Who's going to believe those allegations from this bunch after '00?

Can't get fooled again is right!

[KoKo]

6. Excuse ME! Rove would not be so important and powerful with a FREE

Press. It's our "Whore Media" who allow the "Rove Myth" to thrive and prosper, making him into a Bogeyman" with incredible Machiavellion powers when in fact he's a "puny wimp" with some Chimp Skills whose been allowed to terrorize us all ..because of the laziness and sold out hack press. :shrug: jmho..here.

[Cha]

13. When you're Right you're

RIght!

[Warpy]

7. Don't make the mistake of confusing ruthlessness with skill

Rove is ruthless, but I've seen little evidence of true skill. His attacks have been hamfisted and clumsy and vulnerable to the quick fact checking available on the net. He has failed to lay any traps for Kerry and has seen his own candidate put on the defensive over the coming draft and other issues.

Kerry's only real blunder so far was not in hitting the Smear Boat book with a libel suit the day it came out. Sending Bush and Cheney out to speak only to hand picked and carefully screened crowds of idolators has been a tactical blunder that greatly eclipses it. Requiring loyalty oaths of supporters has been another amazing blunder, and evidence of Roves lack of skill.

Rove is a junkyard dog, but that species isn't noted for its brains.

[Cha]

Yeah, I've seen tons of his mistakes..

I'm not as impressed as tweety is.

How bout that blunder in New Jersey yesterday..fearmongering in a blue State this close to the election?

[juliagoolia]

8. He still only has one brain

There are way too many of us..

dont you think the Sinclair was his idea too>?? the Swifty thing?? all a Rove thing..

We can do this folks.. he is only one and we are millions.

[Plaid Adder]

9. Well, I'm goin' out on a limb tomorrow on this...

I dunno, this may just be me trying to keep my spirits up, but I don't think it's going to play out that way. I'm sure Rove will try to be as nasty as he can. But just being nasty is no guarantee of victory.

I understand the importance of getting a realistic assessment of your enemy, but I also think that analysis like this, which paints him as an all-powerful evil genius who cannot be defeated, is both overblown and ultimately disabling. These are people who have basically bought into Rove's image of himself and although they may profess to be critical of it they are in fact simply reproducing it by making it look as if he's winning by losing. Do they really think Rove wouldn't be happier if he was going into November with a 15-point lead? Come on. All kinds of vicious animals get nastier when they're cornered, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they all win.

We've seen a number of Rovian schemes blow up in his face over the past four years. Have we forgotten the "Mission Accomplished" debacle? The great and powerful Oz set that thing up thinking he was going to use it for the campaign. Sorry, Oz, reality intervened. The presidential midnight trip to Baghdad generated some short-term buzz which then faded away as reports of more casualties began to come in. Putting the foreign policy debate first, which was supposed to allow Bush to storm out of the gate on the offensive, turned out to trigger the biggest setback of the race so far.

The one thing that I can say he has pulled off successfully is the forged memos trick with CBS. (I am assuming he was behind that, though so far we have no proof.) OK, that bought them some time; but how much does it all matter now? Dan Rather still has his job, people are still watching CBS, and their monkey still can't keep the drool off his chin.

This is just an article of faith with me, I guess, but I do think the past year has borne it out: you cannot treat reality with the kind of contempt Rove has displayed and not pay the price eventually. You can do whatever you want with our lame-ass mainstream media, but there are two things you will never do. 1) You will never convince people that they have money when they don't. 2) You will never convince people that their children are alive when they are not. Until Rove learns how to do both of those things, he and his minions are fucked.

We have to remember that Rove does not operate in a vaccuum. His tricks will be read in context, and part of that context is a war in Iraq that Bush clearly has no way of controlling and an economy that is headed straight down the drainpipe to Hell. Sure, he's been devastatingly effective in the past. You know what? Everything changed after September 11. And not all the changes are going their way.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it,

The Plaid Adder

[WoodrowFan]

18. you make some good points

you make some good points, (as always)


However, I'll relax when Kerry is in the White House and not before.

[blm]

10. Two sitdowns with a grand jury may have thrown Rove off his game.

He has never felt accountability before. It's a foreign concept to him.

He has made enemies in the CIA and intel community. He knows THEY know.

[Cha]

11. Yeah, because rove is goin' Down with

bush and that won't be pretty!

Who cares if he's more dangerous..wait until he gets a load of Millions of Dangerous Democrats!

[high density]

14. And Kerry is "The Closer"

Rove is going to lose this time.

[Doctor_J]

15. one word for KKKarl

malignant

[DeepModem Mom]

16. kick

[tsuki]

17. Karl Rove,

Roy Cohn, hmmmm...anyone believe in reincarnation?