Howard Dean showed that he is willing to fight back against the hypocrisy of Karl Rove and his boss, George Bush:
Democrats were quick to respond, with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean challenging Rove's fitness to serve. "Karl Rove only has a White House job and a security clearance because President Bush has refused to keep his promise to fire anyone involved in revealing the identity of an undercover CIA operative," Dean said in a statement. Dean added: "The truth is, Karl Rove breached our national security for partisan gain and that is both unpatriotic and wrong."Yes, Rove, that is the truth. The guy who put our national security at risk, wants to make national security an issue again in 2006, just like he did in 2002:
It was four years ago this week when Rove, appearing at another meeting of the RNC, said Republicans would make terrorism a central issue of the 2002 midterm elections. Rove's remarks infuriated Democrats, who protested that, until then, Bush had stressed bipartisanship and national unity in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.It's the only strategy they have. It's not even true that the Republicans are better on national security. 9/11 happened on their watch. Iraq is creating terrorists. Bin Laden is still alive. But, it's all they have. Think about that.
Republicans made historic gains in 2002, and Bush successfully used the issue again to help secure his reelection in 2004, despite growing public dissatisfaction with the administration's handling of the war in Iraq. Yesterday's speeches by Rove and Mehlman signaled that the White House and the RNC intend to pursue much the same strategy in a midterm-election year that begins with Republicans on the defensive.
That's why the Democrats need to fight back hard on this one. They know it's coming. You can't promote national security if your staff violate national security. Bush, Rove and the GOP put our security at risk. Don't just think Americans are going to that. Make sure they do.
