Cybrpnk's Rantings

There is much and sound and fury over what Karl Rove knew, when he knew it, how he learned it, and to whom he disclosed it. This is a mistake. There is a very clear and simple indictment of the Bush administration to make, and we should make it. Churning up lots of arguments and engaging counters from the right on each one is wasted energy. You want traction, stick to a simple message. There are only two possible interpretations of Rove's actions, neither of them reflect well on the Bush White House. Either Rove passed on solid information which he had used government resources to confirm, or he passed on unsubstantiated rumour. The first is a crime, the second is pure slime, which this administration claims to be above. Sure, none of us who are politically engaged think that they believe that line, but lots of ordinary people do, and they are the ones we want to get to.

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In a discussion over at The Left Coaster I offered the suggestion that the recently announced alliance between Iran and Iraq could give the American left lots to cheer about: increased stability in Iraq improving the lives of the people and allowing us to bring our troops home AND Bush and the neocons coming out of it looking horrible! Steve Soto asked for some further elaboration, and here is what I came up with.

I think that the Iraqi government is starting to recognize that the United States is not capable of giving them security in either the short- or long-term. While they are happy that they are now in power and not Saddam, they don't see any road to stability in their country that involves the US. They will either find their own way to democracy, which the presence of US troops complicates, or they will find a new strongman.

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With today's surprise announcement of the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor we are entering a period of what will probably be intense partisan wrangling over what sort of person should replace her. Unfortunately for the American left there is unlikely to be one clear voice of advocacy for what we want. Already the pro-choice groups have been ramping up for a battle focused entirely on the issue of protecting Roe v. Wade. I am concerned that this is playing into the hands of the Bush Administration. While I am sympathetic to the position, and a strong supporter of the government staying out of personal health decisions, I think that fighting this battle may do more harm than good. If the left cannot unify and present a coherent clear platform as to minimal standard of acceptability, look for Karl Rove and company to practice their rhetorical Kung Fu and use the strength of our many individual positions to defeat us on all counts. I don't think the GOP really wants to overturn Roe, but will use a push to preserve Roe to their advantage.

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