OpEdNews » "Shallow Throat": Playing Chicken on the Big Stage

Tags for This Article:

Populum Tag Cloud Control Panel
	Fine tune your search to access content

Articles	Links
Diaries	Products
Events	All

All time
Last 6 mos
Last month
Last week
Last 24 hrs

From:
Month Day Year

To:
Month Day Year

Alphabet Popularity	Count ON Count OFF
This Level	Sub-levels

Tag(s): Bush Admin; Bush Admin; Bush Failed Policy International; Cheney Dick; Impeachment; Iran; Iraq; Rove Karl; Rove Karl
Add to My Group

April 4, 2007 at 09:57:39

"Shallow Throat": Playing Chicken on the Big Stage

by Bernard Weiner, The Crisis Papers Page 1 of 4 page(s)

www.opednews.com

SAVE FAVORITES

VIEW FAVORITES

View Ratings | Rate It

I thought "Shallow Throat" would be positively giddy, given how the Administration's disastrous war policies and ongoing scandals are painting CheneyBush into a tighter and tighter political corner.

But the high-ranking GOP mole inside the corridors of federal power looked anything but exultant as we walked at fast pace around the track at a local Virginia park.

"What's going on?" I asked ST, who was wearing a new wig and large dark shades. "Gonzales' days are waning at DOJ, the number two guy at Interior is heading for the clink, the public overwhelmingly has turned against the war in Iraq, Libby was convicted for the lies he told about the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame, the Abramoff corruption story continues giving, etc. etc. Am I missing something here? Where's the negative in all this?"

Per usual, Shallow Throat looked at me like I was a dummy. "Sure, the Bush bunker crew are cornered and hassled and in potential legal trouble. But you 'progressives' don't see what's really going on. The Bush cabal still, and for nearly two years more will, control the Defense and Justice Departments and much of the court structure, including the Supreme Court. The damage they can do is humongous.

"But they're wild-eyed in their rush to escape possible criminal indictments or impeachment. The Bush approval numbers are so low, everything looks up to them. They're in so much trouble, they feel they have nothing to lose. Cornered, wounded animals are always at their most dangerous, since threatening and attacking is about all they have left to save themselves. And that's what they're doing now."

ROVE: THE ATTACK MEISTER

"But they're on the defensive," I countered. "They are increasingly dysfunctional in the White House these days."

"That's what I mean," Shallow Throat roared. "After six years, you still forget that Karl Rove always attacks when they're most vulnerable, usually aimed at the perceived strengths of his opponents.

"I'll get to how this translates to Iraq and Iran in a moment. But for now, let's just talk about the U.S. Attorneys scandal.

"So follow this out. The Democrats have been gaining political traction by pointing out the election fraud that took place in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006: easily manipulated computer-voting machines, inflated tallies, ballots gone missing, GOP-friendly corporations counting the votes, hundreds of thousands of minority voters stricken from the rolls, key states' returns altered, etc. etc. So Rove is seeming to grab the same issue. That's partially what the U.S. Attorneys scandal is all about: claiming that these U.S. Attorneys were forced out because they weren't moving on 'vote fraud' charges. They--"

"Hang on," I interrupted. "I'm confused here. How does the Administration's 'vote fraud' issue differ from the Democrats' 'election fraud' issue?"

THE KEY IS THE 2008 ELECTION

"Don't go for the spin moves, Bernie, stay focused on the ball," said Shallow Throat. "The term 'vote fraud,' which would seem to be aimed at alleged electoral hanky-panky, for Rove&Co. really refers to creating electoral conditions that favor Republicans and diminish Democrat turnout. GOP operatives claim that huge hordes of ineligible individuals (mainly poor and minorities) cheat in order to vote, and their aim is to make it harder for those groups, who tend to vote Democratic, to cast their ballots. Rove wants U.S. attorneys to start bringing cases against Democrat voter-registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns, so that by November 2008, the GOP will have a leg up in key states and districts.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

www.crisispapers.org

Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at universities in California and Washington, worked for two decades as a writer-editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, and currently serves as co-editor of The Crisis Papers (www.crisispapers.org).

	Contact Author
	Contact Editor
	View Other Articles by Author

Bookmark this page: (what's this?)

(More...)

2 comments

Been around the block a few times.
Blue PilgrimBeen around the block a few times.

It's all going down in six months

We've seen privatized military with non-American forces, we've seen the outsourcing of jobs -- it's all been for practice: the next big thing is Halliburton buying the electorial process -- no bid, of course. I don't mean machines -- I mean they are outsourcing the election to India. Americans hate having to go out and vote, and next election they won't have to: the whole think will be done in India, by phone vote. The Indian phone banks will just call up the election boards and give them the results of what the polls in India were, and the American voters can spend their time shopping.

What the Republicans don't realize yet is that it's a globalized operation: the front runner for U.S. president so far is Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (the current Indian veep), and new members of the House will all be from Dubai. Senatorial candidates are being recruited from Israel.

It'll work out fine: the American people won't even notice the difference.

by Blue Pilgrim (0 articles, 3 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 997 comments) on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 11:31:03 PM

Previously Staff Physician, California Department of Corrections43 years in practicewriter on Social, Jewish and Medical issuespilot, skiier, and perpitetic philosopher
Moss David Posner, M.D.Previously Staff Physician, California Department of Corrections43 years in practicewriter on Social, Jewish and Medical issuespilot, skiier, and perpitetic philosopher

Bush's urge to surge

Looks like you read my mind and my articles before you wrote yours; but that's alright, I forgive you.

What scares the hell out of me is the propensity to (mindless) active anti-Semitism on the part of just about everybody when they're unhappy with themselves. Add to this the collusion with the Neocon mirror image, the Israeli leadership, and you can become wobbly again.

You've again proven the validity of the PPP (Posner's Pessimistic Premise) which holds that in the presence of a situation in which the pieces fit, albeit loosely, something not quite right, a piece missing--just think of the most degrading, cynical morally outrageous, depraved, and simplistic explanation, because it's the right one.

In a parallel universe, the Israeli (read corrupt) leadership is on the horns of a similar dilemma. At the same time, the history of blind trust and passivity that has brought the Israeli people down from proud winners in 1967 to what they have become, could explode into a general anarchy with an Arab attack, with the very real possibility of the use of nuclear weapons.

Moving metaphor into reality, it could be said that everyone has their head in the sand.

by Moss David Posner, M.D. (7 articles, 1 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 43 comments) on Thursday, April 5, 2007 at 2:24:13 AM