Slash-and-burn

October 18, 2004 8:45 PM

American Savagery. "Our role was to try to keep people motivated about [the] election and then to undermine the other side's support by casting them as liars, cheaters, stealers, immoral—all of that." The brutal chicanery of Karl Rove.
posted by four panels (25 comments total)

Interesting tidbit:

Then Rove turned up the heat. "There was a whole barrage of negative attacks that came in the last two weeks of our campaign," says Joe Perkins, who managed Hornsby's campaign along with those of the other Democrats Rove was working against.

Seeing as how the last two weeks of the campaign started today, it'll be interesting to see what Rove can come up with. Is it really a coincidence that Drudge's headline currently states "Now it's personal"?
posted by clevershark at 8:59 PM on October 18, 2004

They have no choice, given that they have no shame--Bush's approval ratings are in the 40s, which makes reelection unthinkable without some dirty shit. We still haven't gotten the Teresa stuff, whatever it is they're going to make up.
posted by amberglow at 9:03 PM on October 18, 2004

Haven't you heard, amberglow? Unlike the Bush family, TERESA'S RICH! They've been telling me so over and over and over on Fox News.
posted by interrobang at 9:06 PM on October 18, 2004

that's not dirty enough--i'm thinking John McCain type stuff.

additionally: Wash. Post: What's Karl Rove Up To?
posted by amberglow at 9:08 PM on October 18, 2004

Rove's lack of real action right now scares me a little. I read this article when I bought the magazine a week ago, and its thesis partially meant that either Rove has nothing, and is not sure what to do, or has *something really big* and is waiting for the right time to pull it out.

I'm afraid that it's going to be the latter. Good for him that Sinclair Media's on their side, and that they have their own television station....
posted by interrobang at 9:18 PM on October 18, 2004

Well, today they launched their "John Kerry = terrorist attacks on Americans" television campaign. I'm sure it'll only get worse from here on in.
posted by The God Complex at 9:19 PM on October 18, 2004

maybe this? Kerry said to be excommunicated

I've also heard something about another trip a la thanksgiving with the troops.
posted by amberglow at 9:21 PM on October 18, 2004

What is up with that picture of Kerry on Drudge's site? It looks like he's addressing the armies of darkness.



Also, Bush accused his rival of "shameless scare tactics." In an Associated Press interview aboard Air Force One, Bush said Kerry is "trying to scare our seniors" with false charges of a secret Republican plan to privatize Social Security.

Ooops. My hypocrisy meter just broke again. Damn, I hate it when that happens.
posted by psmealey at 9:56 PM on October 18, 2004

I gotta wonder what this is about?
posted by cookie-k at 12:06 AM on October 19, 2004

This is what I've seen coming all along from Karl and Co. since the RNC and I've been posting it all over the internets: Cheney pulling out for "health/heart reasons" and McCain being put in as number 2. these guys (democracymeansyou.com) appropriated it and added the Mary Cheney spin on top.
posted by Skygazer at 12:10 AM on October 19, 2004

"Our role was to try to keep people motivated about [the] election and then to undermine the other side's support by casting them as liars, cheaters, stealers, immoral—all of that."

I thought for a moment that the “election” being referred to was the current one; God forbid such a thing.
posted by ed\26h at 1:34 AM on October 19, 2004

Interestingly enough, excommunication might actually help Kerry. The conservative Catholics who would eat it up are already voting for Bush, and a move like this would really anger the moderates and libs.
posted by TungstenChef at 1:58 AM on October 19, 2004

I have a whole lot of Catholic friends who have been struggling with their loyalty to the church since the sex scandals last year. Kerry's excommunication might very well be the straw that breaks the camels back for them. So many Americans got upset when England (in the form of the Guardian) tried to "meddle" with the election. Just imagine the negative reaction this would engender! I have a hard time believing it is true because I think it would be a disaster for the Catholic church in America.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:26 AM on October 19, 2004

I think maybe the Republicans are getting genuinely rattled. Even the usually temperate-toned David Brooks is starting to sound a bit shrill.
posted by twsf at 5:03 AM on October 19, 2004

Another piece on Rove here. He's as dirty as they come.

Rove's own tendency to be sick-minded originates with his mentor Segretti. The 2000 GOP primary was a chance for Rove to hone his skills in dirty tricks. His target then was Senator John McCain who appeared to be within striking distance of Dubya in South Carolina after the then-GOP maverick's surprise upset victory in New Hampshire. Rove's operation proceeded to target McCain with false stories: McCain was a stoolie for his captors in the Hanoi Hilton (this from a lunatic self-promoting Vietnam "veteran"); McCain fathered a black daughter out of wedlock (a despicable reference to McCain's adopted Bangladeshi daughter); Cindy McCain's drug "abuse"; and even McCain's "homosexuality." In the spirit of Segretti, Rove engineered a victory for Dubya but at the cost of trashing an honorable man and his family. Muskie, McGovern, Carter, Mondale, Dukakis, Gore, Hart, Tsongas, Clinton, Biden, Dole, Perot, and others had all seen the Segretti/Rove slash and burn tactics before.

posted by skallas at 5:08 AM on October 19, 2004

Skygazer, that would explain why McCain has been appearing all over the country for Bush even tho they savaged him.
posted by amberglow at 5:26 AM on October 19, 2004

From today's www.electoral-vote.com;

"Are the voters stupid? It is not considered politically correct to point out that an awful lot of voters don't have a clue what they are talking about. A recent poll from Middle Tennessee State University sheds some light on the subject. For example, when asked which candidate wants to roll back the tax cuts for people making over $200,000 a year, a quarter thought it was Bush and a quarter didn't know."

Citizens as ill-informed as this are clay in the hands of Rove and co.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:10 AM on October 19, 2004

Are the voters stupid?

Yes! Literally seconds ago I was listening to a BBC World News report (via my local NPR affiliate) from the campaign trail in Oregon. It went like this:

According to at least one American woman, Bush wasn't aggressive enough in the War on Iraq. "I think Bush waited too long to go into Iraq, we should have been there on September 14th. I mean they declared war on us." "But," the BBC correspondent protested, "it was Al Quaeda that attacked on September 11th." "I don't care," replied the woman "they're all the same. We should blow them all off the face of the earth." (crazy laugh follows)
posted by psmealey at 6:32 AM on October 19, 2004

...looks like he's addressing the armies of darkness.

LOL! Points to psmealey.

Yeah, Rove is pretty much the ventriloquist whose hand is up Bush's ass. Rove, as a "kingmaker," is actually a bit scary in his effectiveness.

While the significance of Rove's power has been pointed out (see below), the significance of Geo W Bush as a complete puppet figurehead president has been implied but not significantly addressed. Rove effectively IS the president, he and various lobbying/interest groups, big business and the Military-Industrial Complex.

Due to his close personal relationship and unlimited access to George W. Bush, as well as his control of the information that reaches the president, this "permanent consultant" occupies a unique spot in Bush's inner circle and in history. "His influence marks a transcendent moment in American politics: the rise of an unelected consultant to a position of unprecedented power," write authors Moore and Slater. Since Rove is ultimately responsible to Bush only, not to American citizens, he is not required to work openly. As a result, Rove is hardly a household name, despite his considerable clout ... While the president chafes at the description of Rove as 'Bush's Brain,' he can hardly deny that every policy and political decision either goes through, or comes from, the consultant"...

Rove has been involved with the Bush family for nearly 30 years and has worked on every one of George W.'s campaigns. In great detail, the book shows how Rove led Bush, a "reluctant political warrior," all the way to the White House. The portrait of Bush and Rove's relationship is fascinating. Though opposites in many respects, they are an unusually effective political team. But where Bush seemed to fall into politics, Rove has been preparing for his current job all of his life, and Bush has served as a vehicle for Rove's considerable ambitions, the authors contend. "Without Karl Rove, there would be no President George W. Bush," they write. Moore and Slater look deeply into Rove's past to offer copious evidence of his political genius, his tenacity, and his remarkable success rate in getting his clients elected. The facts also portray Rove as unethical, vindictive, and a chronic abuser of power. Loaded with revealing anecdotes and inside information, this is essential reading for anyone looking to understand not only the Bush administration, but how politics really work. --Shawn Carkonen
posted by Shane at 7:42 AM on October 19, 2004

Conscientious Objector by Robert A. George

Sixteen years ago, just out of college, I volunteered at the Republican National Convention as a man named George Bush prepared to begin a fall campaign that would see him defeat a Democrat from Massachusetts. The sparkling words of an acceptance speech crafted by Peggy Noonan--and delivered almost flawlessly--helped him inspire his party and a country that saw him as an extension of Ronald Reagan. It fell to that George Bush to "close out" the cold war and launch a different one in the Persian Gulf.

Now, sixteen years later, after tenures working for the party and a couple of Republican members on Capitol Hill (including a speaker named Newt Gingrich) and becoming an earnest fellow traveler of the conservative movement, I find it impossible to support the current George Bush--whom his party sees as the ideological extension of Ronald Reagan--as he faces his own showdown with a Democrat from Massachusetts and oversees a war centered in the Middle East...

A permanent war would be dangerous enough if the public could be confident in its execution. But we cannot. That's because President Bush has failed to live up to the second key tenet of conservative government: accountability...

At crucial points before and after the Iraq war, Bush's middle managers have failed him, and the "brand" called America has suffered in the world market. In any other corporate structure plagued by this level of incompetence, the CEO would have a choice: Fire his middle managers or be held personally accountable by his shareholders. Because of his own misguided sense of "loyalty," Bush won't dismiss anyone. That leaves the country's shareholders little choice.
posted by y2karl at 8:52 AM on October 19, 2004

Is he the one that stutters, from the NY Post and CNN?
posted by amberglow at 9:35 AM on October 19, 2004

Cheney pulling out for "health/heart reasons" and McCain being put in as number 2.

Bollocks.

Now my theory is much more plausible: Bush has a sudden health crisis, dies, and his 11th hour replacement (Jeb? Frist? DeLay?) wins in a sympathy vote landslide.

SS/FBI note: In no way is this a call for the intentional causing of death to the current sitting President, nor should it be construed as such.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 9:44 AM on October 19, 2004

Cheney pulling out for "health/heart reasons" and McCain being put in as number 2.

Bollocks.

Yeah, it's admittedly within the realm of tinfoil hat land. But it was the only explaination I could find for the cognitive dissonance engendered by McCain's performance at the RNC. Considering how he was savaged by Rove/Bush in 2000. I mean it's either he's going to get a big juicy nugget of a post (eventual VP? Sec. of defense? Sec. of state?) or they have his nuts in a vise, as from what I understand about McCain and his bipartisan approach to government, Bush would be pretty repellent. It's funny how they prop him up every chance they get for a photo shoot with him and McCain sorta stands there awkward, dutiful.
posted by Skygazer at 11:50 AM on October 19, 2004

>Considering how he was savaged by Rove/Bush in 2000.

He's married to the party. What do you expect him to do, try to join the democrats after a lifetime of ultra-conservative votes?

The dems are like herding cats, the GOP is like a well oiled conformist machine. No need for conspiracy theories, its a two party system, and McCain is stuck in one.
posted by skallas at 12:27 PM on October 19, 2004

For the record, Kerry has not been excommunicated:

the opinion that John Kerry has automatically excommunicated himself by virtue of his pro-abortion position is a private opinion of Father Cole and not an official opinion of the Catholic Church, DiNoia explained.

In an interview with CNS, Father Cole agreed with DiNoia's assessment and said his letter represented his own views and not the Vatican's.

CNS reports that an unnamed Vatican official it contacted confirmed that the Catholic Church has not officially excommunicated Kerry and had not seriously investigated doing so.

posted by pmurray63 at 2:01 PM on October 19, 2004