Karl Rove has emerged from his White House cave to start the 2006 campaign. Karl wants to make national security the issue. Think about that -- the guy who violated national security by leaking the name of an undercover CIA operative during the war he helped start -- wants to make national security an issue:
"Republicans have a post-9/11 worldview -- and many Democrats have a pre-9/11 worldview," Rove told Republican activists. "That doesn't make them unpatriotic, not at all. But it does make them wrong -- deeply and profoundly and consistently wrong."Actually, it was George Bush's pre-9/11 worldview -- his August 6th 2001 worldview to be specific -- that got us in to this mess. Bush was told on August 6th, 2001 that Bin Laden was going to attack the U.S., but stayed on vacation. Now, four and a half years later, despite Bush's promise and threats to the contrary, Bin Laden is still free to taunt the U.S.
Karl and the GOP desperately need to change the subject. The Plame scandal is still ongoing, the Iraq war is a mess, the Abramoff debacle is exploding, the Bush/DeLay Medicare drug plan is a complete disaster....So, Karl is starting the war drumbeat again. Remember, Karl gave a similar speech in 2002 and, in return, we got the Iraq war:
In 2002, Rove caused a stir among Democrats when he told RNC members to make the war on terrorism an issue in the midterm elections. "We can go to the country on this issue because they trust the Republican Party to do a better job of protecting and strengthening America's military might and thereby protecting America," he said at the time. Rove made the same case Friday, though his words were a bit more measured.So, he's playing the same hand. The 2002 Rove/GOP political campaign plan spawned the Iraq War. It worked for them electorally before so they're using the same playbook (absent Judith Miller.)
Which country does the GOP start a war with this year in order to further their political agenda? The other question is whether the Democrats are going to be smarter and bolder fighting back this time around.
And will anyone in the traditional media note the irony of Rove talking about national security after he leaked the name of an undercover spy? Probably not.
