Neutralizing Rove: Bright Light on the King Roach

[Beetwasher]

This Plame scandal, if it takes off, will have a very important secondary effect. Karl Rove would be at least somewhat neutralized by defending himself against allegations. The light will be shone directly on him, and he doesn't like that. He likes staying behind the scenes. Wilson's mentioning of his name will put him under much more scrutiny, regardless of whether he's eventually found to be culpable (though I suspect his is) and he will be expending a lot more of his time and resources defending himself, leaving the Chimp w/out his guidance.

The Chimp w/out Rove constantly babysitting him will be a walking mess of a timebomb just waiting to fuck up. It just makes me giddy thinking about it.

[FauxNewsBlues]

1. What would be perfect though...

Is if the two leakers are Rove and Karen Hughes.

Chimpy would hit the bottle hard if both of them went down.

[wryter2000]

2. Hmmm...

I was thinking Condi and someone. It would be fabulous to get rid of Rove! And he's exactly the sort of vermin who would do a thing like this.

Did you see (somewhere on DU) that whoever it was told 6 reporters. Maybe some of those other five will come forward and spill.

Bye-Bye KKKarl. :bounce:

[peacetalksforall]

3. Karen for handling and

Rove's soldiers in waiting will step right in with the dirty tricks, the worse-than-Atwater could have dreamed of tricks. Karen was always the handler, Rove the manipulator. There's a difference.

[salin]

7. Karen would have to be brought back to the WH

but you are correct - she is NOT the political strategist. They might just have to try to channel Lee Atwater.. but being careful that they get the Old Lee, and not the deathbed converted Lee (who appologized for his part in making politics get so much uglier vis a vis Willie Horton.)

[grasswire]

11. Hughes is still "in" the White House

She's just paid as a consultant, not a staffer.

[salin]

13. I thought she went back to Texas and only is 'in house'

from time to time. Did she go back to full time in DC?

[Melinda]

14. She just spoke in Sacramento & praised the idiot to the heavens

I'm trying to find a transcript of her actual speech, but in the meantime you might "enjoy" http://www.metrochamber.org/chamber/perspectives.htm"> her publicity "bio":

Karen Hughes served as the chief spokesperson for George W. Bush during his presidential campaign and then as a White House counselor. She resigned in April to be with her family in Texas but still advises the president. She was part of the "Iron Triangle" of senior advisers along with campaign manager Joe Allbaugh and chief strategist Karl Rove, who ran Bush's campaign.

Hughes is known for her blunt style, booming voice, and fierce advocacy of Bush, who describes Hughes as "frank and straightforward" in her role as one of his most trusted advisers. Hughes meticulously managed Bush's relations with the media and closely monitored all the spokespeople in the campaign, making sure everyone adhered to the same carefully crafted message.

After college, she worked as a local television reporter before moving into politics, first for the Reagan-Bush re-election campaign in 1984, and then on local Texas campaigns. By 1991, Hughes was named executive director of the Texas GOP. And in 1994, she joined the gubernatorial campaign of George W. Bush, who was challenging Texas Gov. Ann Richards, and she continued to work for Bush when he was the governor.


"My commute is going to be a bit longer, but you’re going to continue seeing me." -- Karen Hughes (April 22, 2002, on resigning her White House post to move back to Texas.)

[Melinda]

15. (Imagine/insert gag smilie here)

From the Sacramento Bee:

September 11th was a common theme in the speeches. Karen Hughes, a longtime adviser of President Bush, talked of being in the White House during the early hours of chaos and fear following the attacks. A key part of leadership, she told the gathering, was maintaining an optimistic spirit.

"The day after September 11th," Hughes recalled, "President Bush said, 'Through my tears, I see opportunity.' We are living in amazing times. All kinds of boundaries are changing. Yes, this is a moment of peril, but, with strong leadership, it can be a very optimistic moment."

In a lighter vein, she noted that humility is another key to great leadership. She remembered the time she gently advised the president not to call the terrorists "these folks." Bush was open to the advice, Hughes said.

[Beetwasher]

9. But it would still be a SERIOUS drain on their resources

Remember, they are criminals, there's only so many people they can have "in" on their dirty little secrets. Tying one up as powerful as Rove and having Hughes have to step up to take over some his duties would have a deleterious effect on their already shaky control of a an already extremely volatile and chaotic situation...

[salin]

10. That is a very good point... and Cheney is also neutralized for a bit

due to the heating back up of a) Halliburton nobid HUGE contracts; and b) that law suit he petitioned for the SC to pick up because he keeps being ruled against - regarding releasing the names of who participated in his supersecretenergytaskforce.

[Beetwasher]

12. Additional Fallout

The re-emergence of the "16 word's" and Nigergate, no WMD's...This little affair ties it all together in a nice little package that has on hell of a whollop. Essentially, this story HAS to be told in the context of those already damning and damaging elements. It just keeps bringing it all back up...The gift that keeps on giving...

[realFedUp]

4. I hate to be pissy

but can't this comment go into a thread that's already
going on Rove/Wilson/the CIA investigation?

[annagull]

5. Think how HATED this traitor will be when found out--

Seriously, there are 2 TRAITORS to this country sitting in the White House at this very moment!! 2 people who gave up a CIA agent's identity!! Who knows, at this very moment in another country someone Plame had contact with either as a CIA agent or not is sitting in a little room with electrodes.... :mad:

They better give these TRAITORS of the U.S. up immediately or face the prospect of aiding and abetting TRAITORS to our country!! Off to Gitmo with the lot of them!!!

[DrBB]

6. Another version of this

The attack on Wilson's wife has all the reek of a Roveian dirty-trick. That's actually where the biggest political hurt in all this comes: that it presents Bush as a petty, vindictive vengeance-taker, contrary to the image of him as a decent, just-folks, honest guy that a majority seem to accept. Even if Rove is not "led away in handcuffs" this may force them to curtail some of the slimier stuff they are already getting up to in order to ward off that devastating counter-impression.

[calimary]

8. That's why it's SO CRITICAL to call your reps about this!

See the TOLL FREE Capitol Hill switchboard numbers below:

1 (800) 648 - 3516

1 (800) 839 - 5276

They'll connect you to anybody's office just for the asking.

Also: www.congress.org - in the directory - for local AND Washington office numbers for everybody on the Hill.

Beetwasher is correct. This will do for KKKarl what the rethugs in general tried to do to Clinton - as in - tie him up defending himself from 1000 dog bites so he becomes far less effective and has to redirect his energies fending off attacks.

For Rove, it would mean too many holes springing in the dike for him to find patches for. Too many fires breaking out all over for him to stamp out. And with the elections coming up, this would be a strategically excellent time to tie him up.

[candy331]

16. Serious Crack in

the armor. I sure hope this renders it irreparable.

[Beetwasher]

17. I think they really may have fucked w/ the wrong guy here

AND they fucked w/ his wife. Wilson's very smart and he's been in the business for a loooong time w/ obvious deep Company connections. The CIA has now picked sides, and they've lined up against the admin., that is now obvious.

Tenet would not have done what he did without all his ducks in a row.

Now that I think about it, ALOT of thing make more sense and seem like they might be more coordinated than at first glance. There have been a string of now related scandals and leaks. These are combination punches we're seeing here being orchestrated, no doubt, by the CIA...People are being taken out by being systematically targeted and compartmentalized, Rumsfeld by defending the war and people in concert calling for his resignation, Cheney now w/ Halliburton, and now Rove. Resources are being occupied. I sense a full court press happening...

Thanks for the contact numbers!

[proud patriot]

18. I just saw the ABC news

What great coverage ...people should be pissed off about this

[Beetwasher]

19. I think this is going to be THE LEAD News Story Tomorrow

It's topping Yahoo, Google, MSNBC etc. It's on all the home pages...Dare I get my hopes up?

[Beetwasher]

21. Kick

n/t

[frank frankly]

20. kick

mu importante!

[Ugnmoose]

22. This mess has Rove's finger prints all over it

Nobody in the White House sneezes in front of the press without his permission. Something of this magnitude would never just leak out from a staffer.

Now the question is how far will the Bushistas go to protect him. I would say very very far. Bushie owes his alot an awful lot.

I will start to get interested in this story if a Special Prosecutor is appointed.

[Beetwasher]

23. Why and how did the leaker get this classified info?

The reaction of the DOJ will be intensely scrutinized. The press is on this today like sharks on chum...