Will the SCOTUS nomination today take the focus off of Rove/Traitorgate?

[goodboy]

Poll question: Will the SCOTUS nomination today take the focus off of Rove/Traitorgate?

I fear the MSM will drop Rove-Gate/Traitor-Gate like a hot potato to cover the SCOTUS nomination.

What do you think?

[ecdab]

1. It'll decrease,

no doubt about it. I don't know if it will disappear, but don't look for Rove on the front page or CNN in the near future without very large new information being added to the story.

[goodboy]

2. Welcome to DU. I hope coverage doesn't disappear, but we know

the MSM are whores---and that's what really makes me think they're going to go with the SCOTUS story.

[DemonFighterLives]

3. Maybe for a few days

Butt, Rove's dirty laundry will smell up the place.

[goodboy]

4. Hmm...also the Abu Ghraib pics/video are due out...what will they

need to do to divert attention from those horrors?

terror attack?>

[jzodda]

5. It depends

If she is viewed as a "consenus" choice that will sail smoothly through the nomination process then the heat is still on Leakgate

If she is somebody who is viewed as somebody the James Dobsons of the world likes? Then forget everything else in the news period as this will consume all other news for some time to come. Only thing in that case that will bring it back is an indictment

[goodboy]

8. I doubt very seriously the monkey will choose ad 'concensus' nominee

the dems rolling over on Brown, Owen, etc. proved to the bushies that they could get whomever they want. And *'s base expects him to pick someone to the right of Jerry Falwell or John Asscroft.

[ThomWV]

6. Yes, It Will. But It Doesn't Matter

If the fire under Rove dims just a bit, or even a good bit, it really doesn't matter. The day the Grand Jury puts out its indictments the whole ball of shit will come apart. That dear friends will be sometime within the next 102 days.

[goodboy]

9. How did you come to the 102 day figure? (nt)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. Whatever sells more advertising will take off the "focus".

And, the SCOTUS nominee is far more important than embarrassing (maybe) BushCo.

[Tactical Progressive]

10. Of course it will take the focus off

but only temporarily.

America's right-wing corporate journalism mills want, deep-down, not to have to confront Republicans on any level. They are right-wing themselves - what we used to think of as Conservative until the nutcases gained power - and they greatly fear the political force of those farther to the right than themselves.

You can hear it in their voices any time they have to go up against them. They avoid that wherever possible with distraction, deflect it as much as they can if it's not possible to avoid, minimize what can't be deflected, and in general get past it as quickly as possible with token coverage. After which they can say 'We covered that. (on page A-18 once) It's old news.'

They aren't going to get better; they're going to keep getting worse. American journalism is right-wing and getting moreso all the time.

Traitorgate is a long, hot boil though, and it's going to keep coming back. The problem isn't that something like the Supreme Court vacancy is going to send Traitorgate packing, it's that a series of events and distractions and deflections and minimizations, every step of the way, is going to water down the reality of BushCo treason in just the same way they have done with everything else, from Bush's intentional 9/11 negligence to lying through their teeth to start the Iraq war.

The media have picked up and projected every right-wing defensive meme that has come along, from 'he never said her name so no foul' to 'it isn't illegal' to 'Wilson is the liar' to 'Bush stands by his men like a real leader' to you name the inanity. This is what the media has been telling America, not just what comes out of right-wing operative mouths.

That's how they do their job. The SC nomination is just one small piece of it. Traitorgate will keep coming back and they will keep watering it down as much as they can.

[goodboy]

11. I see what you're saying. It's not just the scotus nomination, but

a series of events that will gradually water down rovegate until it fades into oblivion.

makes sense. unfortunately.

[Mr_Spock]

12. Only if he picks a whack job!

What do you think - wack job or no?

[catmandu57]

13. That's what they want right now a distraction

without having to pull the big one out of their sleeve, that's why I believe they'll put up a nomination that's odius and people will go to war over. In the meantime they can get their shit together on Plame and Iraq, it's only temporary though, eventually the grand jury will be handing down indictments, and the Abu Graib story is going to be hot.
Also, if there would happen to be noticible losses in Iraq that's not going to help, and that's one hand grenade they can't control. So, I look for them to float a real bad nominee knowing that they'll never get a nod. Plus, it'll be a bone to the ravenous rightwingnuts.

[goodboy]

14. Whack Job for sure. 100% whack job. There'd be no point using

the nomination as a diversionary if it wouldn't completely take the focus off of TraitorGate.

[LSdemocrat]

15. Exactly. Someone so vile we HAVE to spend our resources fighting.

Also someone vile enough to get right-wing fundies to enthusiastically spend their resources.

[goodboy]

16. Who do you think it'll be? (nt)