Dean Goes Jujitsu, Throws Back on Rove

This came as an email from Howard, but it's helpfully reprinted at MyDD. All the PACs--DFA, ACT, Kerry and the DNC--send these periodically, pointing towards the outrage du jour, and asking for money to stop the madness. I get it--it's not free to try to manipulate to media into your favor, so everything has to be an encouragement to send money, yes yes. I'm just getting a Boy Who Cried Judicial Emergency sort of feeling.

But Rove is certainly something Dean should be hammering on, because it's exactly the kind of emblematic behavior that the Democrats will need to affix to Republicans by rote in the mind of the voter, if they're going to succeed electorally in the future.  But it's mostly an effective appeal because he brought some rhetorical ringers:

Here's what former president George H.W. Bush said about that kind of crime: "Even though I'm a tranquil guy now at this stage of my life, I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors." That's from a speech on April 26, 1999.

I agree. But as it became clear this week that Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove is a subject of the criminal investigation into the leak, the second Bush administration has gone silent. And its operatives have launched a cover-up and smear campaign against anyone raising questions.

...

You don't have to be a former intelligence official to understand the implications of this crime.

Here's what former Republican Party chairman Ed Gillespie had to say on 'Hardball' on September 30, 2003: "I think if the allegation is true, to reveal the identity of an undercover CIA operative -- it's abhorrent, and it should be a crime, and it is a crime." Asked by MSNBC's Chris Matthews if it would be worse than Watergate, he said, "Yeah, I suppose in terms of the real world implications of it. It's not just politics."

George W. Bush said when this leak became public that he "welcomed the investigation" and called the leak a "criminal action." He pledged that anyone found to be the source would be "taken care of".

But the New York Times reported that when asked yesterday if he would fire Karl Rove, the question was met with a "stony silence".

Throwing the former RNC head and George's Dad back at Dubya--that's harsh. But how can you feel sorry for them? Rove smirking while issuing the "didn't leak her name or know who she was" alibi back in 2003--that was an "I'm parsing on your ass" smirk. You could tell he didn't think he'd have to use it, so he didn't really work on it that hard. And when the time actually came when he had no choice but to whip it out, it fizzled pretty badly.

--TJ

Comments

[Torrid]

I need to clean up that first paragraph. It stinks.

[carla]

What you're witnessing with Dean there is the hitting out of a hanging curve ball. The GOP has been serving them all week.

They're a ballsy lot..the GOP..I'll give them that. Floating the idea that Rove "deserves a medal" for outing a CIA agent is pretty damn gutsy.

Only the truest of true believers will swallow that one.

[Torrid]

Better opening now, although in retrospect the entire topic seems a bit of a pointless exercise. Bush administration, hypocrites. Right.

But the story definitely did make it the entire week as a lead story. The fact that it seems Luskin is feeding the media little revelations, is going to keep it going.