GOP Saw Pandemic Flu Prep As "Wasteful Spending"

It almost feels like on every "do-gooder" issue, the Republican party falls woefully behind. Two months ago Bobby Jindal was ridiculed for mocking volcano monitoring, only to be further embarrassed when Mt. Redoubt in Alaska blew its top. While the lava and ash was thankfully going in the direction away from population centers, we knew that because there was money to fund programs that (gasp!) monitored the volcano.

Now the big panic in this country is all about the dreaded swine flu, infecting thousands in Mexico and somewhat sparsely (for now at least, hopefully) here in the U.S. and many other countries. Pandemic flu preparedness has been a concerning matter for health experts for many years, especially when the avian flu made news from East Asia a few years back. In this year's stimulus bill, Democratic Representative David Obey wanted to put in a measure for flu preparedness but guess who helped block that "wastefulness"?

From The Nation:

When House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey, the Wisconsin Democrat who has long championed investment in pandemic preparation, included roughly $900 million for that purpose in this year's emergency stimulus bill, he was ridiculed by conservative operatives and congressional Republicans.

Obey and other advocates for the spending argued, correctly, that a pandemic hitting in the midst of an economic downturn could turn a recession into something far worse -- with workers ordered to remain in their homes, workplaces shuttered to avoid the spread of disease, transportation systems grinding to a halt and demand for emergency services and public health interventions skyrocketing. Indeed, they suggested, pandemic preparation was essential to any responsible plan for renewing the U.S. economy.

But former White House political czar Karl Rove and key congressional Republicans -- led by Maine Senator Susan Collins -- aggressively attacked the notion that there was a connection between pandemic preparation and economic recovery.

Now, as the World Health Organization says a deadly swine flu outbreak that apparently began in Mexico but has spread to the United States has the potential to develop into a pandemic, Obey's attempt to secure the money seems eerily prescient.

And his partisan attacks on his efforts seem not just creepy, but dangerous.

Dangerous is the key word here. It is dangerous when partisan hacks like Rove can dictate to supposed "moderates" like Susan Collins that investing money in flu preparedness is something to attack Democrats on. If anything, there should have been more money in there for disease control and prevention, not less. In a country where tens of millions are uninsured and many more are under-insured, the potential for a pandemic is serious business. Yet the only thing Karl Rove and his disciples care about is scoring cheap political points and defending the tax breaks given to the rich.

That isn't only dangerous, it's psychotic.

Bush Catches Rove Lying About "Benefits" Of Torture

It may not have been on purpose but even the ex-President can disprove the pathological liar that is Karl Rove.

From DailyKos:

Over the past couple of days, Karl Rove and Fox News have offered a new argument in defense of the Bush administration’s torture policies.

Now, they say, waterboarding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) yielded intelligence that led to the disruption of an al Qaeda plot to attack the tallest building in Los Angeles, the Library Tower (which both Bush and Rove called the Liberty Tower, for some reason). There’s just one problem with Rove’s new story: it couldn’t possibly be true.

As Timothy Noah pointed out in Slate, the Los Angeles attack was foiled in February of 2002. KSM was not captured until March of 2003, however — more than a year later.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that timeline is impossible. Perhaps appropriately, then, here’s a video of George W. Bush — in his own words — proving that Karl Rove and Fox News are lying about torture:

I know, Karl Rove, blatant lying about the Bush White House, who da thunk?

Chuck Todd Calls Out Karl Rove For Being A Liar

Well, in so many words, Chuck did the best he could do, but I'll take it:



The only polarization is coming from Rove and the wingnuts like him, whether or not Karl Rove has the guts to say it (he doesn't).

Rachel Maddow Asks Don Siegelman About His Thougts on Rove's Upcoming Testimony

Former Democratic Governor of Alabama Don Siegelman went on Rachel's show this week to talk about what Rove might say. He wants Congress to take their time to ensure that Karl Rove and the entire appartus behind him is held fully accountable.

Rove Believes Bush Did Enough For Hurricane Katrina Victims

If there was any defining event in Bush's eight years that showcased his utter failure as President, it was the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The nation and the world watched as a city drowned, losing nearly two thousand residents due to ineffective levees, not the actual hurricane. The government response was a disaster. When seen through the ideological lens of movement conservatives (who wish for less government by starving it of resources) the response was a huge success. While that sounds awful, Karl Rove affirmed that callous opinion yesterday on live television.

From RawStory:

Don't be surprised if this causes you to spill your coffee. When pundits began to critique the recent speech of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in an ABC News green room on Sunday, former Bush adviser Karl Rove declared that the federal government met its responsibilities with regard to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

The following exchange appears on the video below at 2:11.

"With all due respect, the government official who was responsible for managing Katrina under the Stafford Act was the governor of Louisiana and she lost office in large measure due to the poor quality of her performance," Rove quipped.

To Rove, this was about politics, pure and simple. He doesn't mention how FEMA didn't have the funds or manpower to take care of thousands upon thousands of refugees. How the director of FEMA had no training in disaster management does not figure into the political calculus that Rove considers. Though if he really wants to talk about politics, can he tell us which party went on to lose resoundingly at the polls this past November and the midterm elections in 2006? Louisiana was sick of all their political leaders (save for Ray Nagin who talked a lot of serious shit) but the country was collectively disgusted with Bush and the neo-con ideology for which he...and McCain are associated with.

Karl Rove Gets A Smackdown!

There was no fear, only stone-cold resolution in the eyes of Katrina vanden Heuvel as she ripped Karl Rove for trying to talk about deficits when he was one of the principal players who put us in the economic mess are dealing with now.

Rove Will Now Cooperate, But How Much Can He Recall?

Abruptly and all of a sudden, Karl Rove has decided to cooperate with investigators concerning the politically motivated firings of several U.S. Attorneys. He had stonewalled officials for quite some time, claiming executive privilege and hiding behind the Bush Administration. Well the White has changed hands, but it didn't sway Rove until yesterday. So I wonder, did Alberto Gonzales give him some tips to help make this all go away?

From TPM Muckraker:

Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, said that Rove, however, will cooperate with a federal criminal probe of the firings being led by Nora Dannehy, the Acting U.S. Attorney for Connecticut who was selected by former Attorney General Michael Mukasey to lead the investigation. Dannehy has recently empaneled a federal grand jury to hear evidence in the matter.

Luskin told me that Rove had earlier not cooperated with the Inspector General and OPR probe into the firings because "it was not his [Karl's] call... it was not up to us decide." Luskin said that Rove was directed by the Bush White House counsel's office not to cooperate with the Inspector General and OPR.

Perhaps he thinks (or knows?) that Dannehy will throw him soft ball questions since she's a Mukasey pick. She was after all installed long after the Department of Justice was tainted by Bush's quest to politicize everything about our government. Or Rove could just pull that Gonzales defense and claim to not know anything of any importance. Karl has never had much regard for the law, so why should he start now?

Rove Subpoenaed Again, Ignores It, Again

Surprise, surprise, Karl Rove will not comply with the latest Congressional subpoena from John Conyers. The difference of course this time is that the Attorney General will now be Eric Holder and not Bush apologist Michael Mukasey. Will he force Rove to show up after he is held in contempt of Congress?



He better.

Friend Told Connell Not To Fly Before The Crash

This past Friday Michael Connell's small plane went down and crashed in Akron, Ohio, killing him instantly. The cause of the crash was supposedly due to the fact that he ran out of gas. Yet the background story and details surfacing today are showing that this could possibly be much more than a simple mistake of not putting enough fuel in the tank. His connection to Karl Rove as the so-called Bush Brain's IT guru is well known, as well as threats made on his life because he was supposedly ready to talk about what he did for Mr. Rove. Now we have more information that Connell was aware of possible sabotage.

From RawStory:

The Republican consultant accused of involvement in alleged vote-rigging in Ohio in 2004 was warned that his plane might be sabotaged before his death in a crash Friday night, according to a Cleveland CBS affiliate.[...]

Without getting into specific details, 19 Action News reporter Blake Renault reported Sunday evening that 45-year-old Republican operative and experienced pilot had been warned not to fly his plane in the days before the crash.

"Connell...was apparently told by a close friend not to fly his plane because his plane might be sabotaged," Renault said. "And twice in the last two months Connell, who is an experienced pilot, cancelled two flights because of suspicious problems with his plane."

Of course, this isn't definitive proof that Rove had something to do with Connell's death. With something as serious as the death of this man, there is no need to rush to pick up the tin foil hat but calling for a thorough investigation is certainly more than necessary in this case. If Mukasey's DOJ was warned about threats on Connell's life before the crash occurred, then we at least need to make sure every detail is examined with extreme care.

Karl Rove's Ridiculousness Continues On Economy

Karl Rove was once thought a political mastermind, now he's just another wingnut spouting garbage on Fox News. The latest drivel out of his mouth is that Obama is causing the markets to sink because he hasn't picked a treasury secretary. Nevermind the greed and lack of oversight for the last decade, it just has to be Obama not picking the head of Treasury with two months left until the inauguration.



Hopefully his opinions stay at the home of the deranged echo chamber that is his current employer.

Karl Rove Sounds A Lot Like Obama

Say what Joshing? Karl Rove sounds like Obama, never! Well, at his job on Fox News he described Pennsylvania voters who cling to their guns and their faith, just as Obama mentioned a while back. Yet I doubt McCain and the rest of the GOP will attack him for saying such things as they did to Obama.

It's Bad When Rove Calls Out Your Lies

Even the official chief liar and manipulator Karl Rove couldn't spin away the blatant string of lies that McCain has tried to pull over the American people:

Karl Rove's Debate With Karl Rove

Jon Stewart walks us through Rove's personal battles between his inner scumbag and his inner hypocrite:

Rove Urges Lieberman Not To Be McCain VP, Joe Laughs Him Off

Karl Rove is still up to his old tricks, but it seems that his influence isn't what it used to be. According to the well-sourced Robert Novak, he tried to get Lieberman to take himself off the short list of McCain's Vice-Presidential considerations. Obviously Holy Joe doesn't think much of Bush's Brain anymore, because he laughed at the suggestion of calling McCain to take his name out of the running.

From Politico:

Republican strategist Karl Rove called Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) late last week and urged him to contact Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to withdraw his name from vice presidential consideration, according to three sources familiar with the conversation.

Lieberman dismissed the request, these sources agreed.

Lieberman “laughed at the suggestion and certainly did not call [McCain] on it,” said one source familiar with the details.

“Rove called Lieberman,” recounted a second source. “Lieberman told him he would not make that call.”

Well, it is nice to see that George Bush's main man is dabbling in the Republican VP selection process. Except for the President himself, there is no one better to tie the disastrous and bitterly partisan era of the last eight years to John McCain. I hope Karl gets his pick, because shredding Mitt Romney can be done blindfolded with one arm tied behind your back. Rove likes him because he "saved the Olympics" (for Utah in 2002 I presume) and he's good on the economy. Oh Karl, you really are losing your edge. If you want to talk economics and the two men debating them on the VP ticket are Joe Biden and Mitt Romney, then by all means, select Mittens. He is no match for Joe Biden, not even close.

Rove Defends Lobbyists

Alan Colmes calls Karl Rove out on McCain's lobbyist connections...and Rove performs poorly:

House Cmte Votes For Rove To Be In Contempt, Now What?

First of all I'd like to congratulate the House Judiciary Committee on showing the tiniest hint of a spine by holding Karl Rove in contempt of Congress. He feels that since he worked for George Bush, that magically puts him above the law. Well the framers of our country and our Constitution felt differently, and so should all of us. So procedurally speaking, Chairman Conyers did his job by moving this along to the full House.

From Bloomberg:

The House Judiciary Committee's 20-14 vote along party lines escalated the dispute between the Bush administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress over lawmakers' demand for testimony by presidential aides.

President George W. Bush has invoked executive privilege to bar his aides from testifying under oath in Congress about the firing of nine U.S. attorneys. The president also barred Rove's testimony on the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.

The panel has asked a federal judge to order Bush's chief of staff, Joshua Bolten to turn over documents about the firings and to direct former White House counsel Harriet Miers to testify about the dismissals.

So now that John Conyers had his committee vote for contempt, it is up to the full Congress to vote on it. Say they hold him in contempt in a week or two from now. When Rove sticks his middle finger at that, will Congress go all the way and put him in jail? More than a hundred-thousand have already signed the pledge (including myself) for them to do so. This is really simple, Karl Rove broke the law for political reasons, going as far as having a governor put in jail for purely vindicative reasons. Now that we found out what he was up to, it is time to have justice give him the swift kick in the ass that he justly deserves. Any other conclusion is completely unacceptable.

Siegelman Speaks At Netroots Nation

Don Siegelman knows what Karl Rove did (illegally) to him and isn't afraid to talk about the abuse of power used by Rove and the White House to go after the former Governor.

Waxman Wants To Eliminate The Next Karl Rove

The current Karl Rove has already done irreparable damage to the American political debate and the Constitution by his sinister and illegal actions. He has already left the current White House, escaping from justice with the help of the unconstitutional actions of George Bush such as floating above the law with a Congress too inept to do its part to stop him. Despite the shamefulness of many invertebrates on the Hill, there is hope for the future from one Representative who walks with his shoulders back and his head held high.

From The Hill:

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who has primary jurisdiction over the executive branch, is considering legislation to eliminate Karl Rove-type advisers in future administrations.

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hints broadly that such a bill could ban the use of federal funds to finance such a politically partisan office.

“Why should we be using taxpayer dollars to have a person solely in charge of politics in the White House?” Waxman said in an interview. “Can you imagine the reaction if each member of Congress had a campaign person paid for with taxpayer dollars?”

Congressional oversight of its members can be stringent at times when it comes to mixing politics and government business, at least superficially. Seriously though, the White House has no business employing Karl Rove or anyone else like him in a political role. For the past seven and a half years George Bush has treated the White House as a never ending political tool to extend power as far as he can possibly reach for. Having Karl Rove around for the majority of that time was a huge asset in that regard. Now in 2009 as we try to return to a more democratic country, ridding ourselves of a political office in the White House is smart idea, though still far short of holding Karl Rove and the rest of Bush's cronies responsible for their heinous crimes.

Edwards v. Rove: One Debate You Won't Want To Miss

John Edwards fared poorly against Dick Cheney four years ago when the two were Vice-Presidential opponents, but now John has a chance to redeem himself. On September 26th both the Senator and Republican strategist and fuzzy mathematician Karl Rove are set to debate each other at the University of Buffalo.

From The Buffalo News:

GOP strategist Karl Rove and former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards will debate the issues of the presidential campaign Sept. 26 as part of the university’s Distinguished Speakers Series, The Buffalo News has learned.

As surrogates for the parties’ standard bearers, the two also could square off more than once at other locations around the nation.

“We’re working on something like that for our Distinguished Speakers Series,” said Bill Regan, UB’s director of special events. “We’re not really sure of the format yet. But we do think they are scheduled to do it at least once together before they come to UB.”

This is one debate that I will definitely not miss. Buffalo may be a few hours away from NYC, but it is definitely worth the ride up there. I suggest everyone get a way to follow this, because watching Karl Rove with John Edwards outside of the safety net that is Fox News will be priceless.

Karl Rove, Master Hypocrite

Karl Rove, Fox News contributor and McCain adviser has been busy in his new roles, but that old one is still gnawing at him like a mosquito with the West Nile virus. He knows that there are plenty of people who believe that he was responsible (because its true) for helping to out Valerie Plame and break the law. With his massive ego though, he conveniently forgets about all that to criticize the NY Times for outing a different CIA agent.

From ThinkProgress:

Yesterday, on The O’Reilly Factor, Karl Rove slammed the New York Times for supposedly leaking the name of a CIA agent. “[T]hey’ve got a very callous view about our nation’s security and interests,” Rove charged:

ROVE: Well, I read their explanation. And basically, it sounded to me like they were saying we put his name out there because we decided we could. And I mean, they didn’t have a good explanation for it.

How ironic that Karl Rove says that the country is put “at risk” when a CIA agent’s name is exposed. A quick recap of Rove’s role in leaking undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity for political retribution:

– Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper said, “Karl Rove told me about Valerie Plame’s identity on July 11, 2003. I called him because Ambassador Wilson [Plame’s husband] was in the news that week. I didn’t know Ambassador Wilson even had a wife until I talked to Karl Rove.”

– A week prior to publishing his column which outed Plame, Robert Novak spoke with Rove. Novak brought up Plame’s role at the CIA, and Rove confirmed that Plame worked at the CIA: “I heard that too,” said Rove.

In an addendum to the article, the Times explained its rationale: “Mr. Martinez had never worked under cover and…others involved in the campaign against Al Qaeda have been named in news stories and books.”

Karl truly does have selective reading habits, easily reading what he wants to in an article by ignoring the rest of the facts (that don't suit him). Talking about an agent who has already been mentioned in the press is far different from putting an agent in the press when the were covert, for purely petty political reasons, such as the agent's spouse having spoken badly about the White House a few days beforehand.

Karl, Karl, Karl.....I hope one day you get to sit in jail for a long, long time for you to think about all the crap you've pulled....or at least be prevented from spewing more crap into our lives.