Karl Rove Can Suck It

I've been a bit befuddled at the response to Karl Rove's asinine remarks this week (Which, by the way, if you haven't read all of, you should... the whole speech is bothersome), but I've had trouble understanding exactly why I'm bothered by the general Democratic response.

Then I read Digby's post today.

[...]Karl's not playing chess; he's playing dodgeball.

Neither did Rove invent this technique of derisively referring to Democrats as liberal hippie fags and dykes. Republicans have been doing this for a long, long time. As long as we've been losing they've been doing it with gusto.

Dukakis didn't respond. Gore didn't respond. Clinton did respond, (although I suspect that the real reason it didn't work as well with him was because his womanizing problems made it difficult to subtly label him unmanly.) They just spent a hundred million dollars calling Kerry a "flip-flopper" which in case you didn't get it, was designed to make you think of a flaccid penis. These guys aren't very subtle.

Bingo.  The problem I've had has been all of the "Oh man... Karl didn't say what I think he did, did he?  That's just mean... and wrong... and... man... um... he should resign!!! Yeah!!! Karl Rove should RESIGN!"

I get why people are saying it, especially in the light of the attacks on Dick Durbin in the past week...  It would be nice to get a head for the mantle.  But that isn't how we should be reacting.  We should be saying "God Damnit! I'm sick and tired of these Toby Keith, Flag-wrapped conservatives questioning my patriotism.  Why doesn't Karl Rove come up to me and say it to my face?"

Think about what they are trying to do here.  Support for the war is dropping, and the President's approval ratings are lower than Clinton's were on the day he was impeached.   It's getting embarrassing out there.  So Rove and Bush decided that this week was the time to to fire the opening salvo for the midterm elections by trying to stir up the pot -- to mobilize the base -- and go back to their tired cliche of "Liberals are just basically terrorists in northeastern elitist clothing." 

Forget trying to point out that the Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, voted overwhelmingly to go into Afghanistan.  Forget trying to point out that our opposition to the war in Iraq nowadays is more based on the fact that we are losing and the President is doing nothing about it.  Forget all of this.  Karl Rove isn't trying to outmaneuver us here: He's trying to pick us off, one by one by one, until we are too week or too poisoned to make a difference.

This is just one of those times when getting even won't give us the effect we want.  All we have to do is get mad.  We need to get mad and scream with Howard Dean like intensity because what Karl Rove is saying is that we don't have balls enough to do what it takes to protect this country.  This is our opportunity to get mad as hell.  It's the greasers vs. the socias, and right now it's time to rumble.  All term long we've been winning the battles.  We aren't the outsiders anymore, and now it's time to stay gold, Pony Boy, and do it for Johnny.

Comments

[bullwinkle]

How many times have politicians on the left referred to conservatives as Nazis? Which is worse, Durbin and lage part of the left claiming to support our soldiers and referring to them as torturing Nazis in the same breath or Karl Rove pointing out that they are doing it? Read the whole speech he made, he said liberals were doing it, not democrats. Since almost all democrats and the majority of liberals deny being liberal, I have to assume that the people, and I use the term loosely, that he was referring to as "liberals" are liberal hippie fags and dykes. You probably like to think of yourself as "progressive" and not a liberal. And, like you point out there was bi-partisan support for the war on terror at the start, you forgot to mention that those liberal hippie fags and dykes dropped the support when the campaigning started to support the democrats, preferring to support their party rather than supporting our soldiers. If you can't see the difference you can suck it, only liberal hippie fags and dykes can't see it. And they don't mind sucking it one bit.

[Dylan]

Hey! Check it out guys! It's working!

Use your words, bullwinkle.

[Rusty]

Goddamn, I hate Toby Kieth. The store I work at is playing that motherfucker's songs in their loop.

Bullwinkle,
Suck it buddy. That "it's liberals, not democrats" tagline is the biggest steaming hunk of shit of a rationalization I've ever heard or read. Can't you defend your boy's words without dissembling?

[bullwinkle]

So finally someone admits that democrats are liberals. I don't need to defend Rove's words, you just proved the biggest lie of all is is just that. BTW, I'm not the type that "sucks it", that would be the people on your team. You know, to use the words of one you liberal/democrats, "the liberal hippie fags and dykes". What hurts worse, realizing that when the truth gets told it hurts or realizing what the truth really is?

[Dylan]

Of course, Bullwinkle, your rhetoric completely defeats your arguments. You aren't worth engaging with because you are already lost to malice and prejudice anyway.

Just how far did you think that trying to insult the "fag and dyke" democrats that write and read this site would go, considering that we're the ones that like homosexuals in the first place. An insult that you and your buddies tell one another around the tire-fire at the trailer park isn't going to be insulting to us.

Along those lines, the only people who think "liberal" has a bad connotation or conservatives. I'm proud to be a liberal.

The other thing you've done to prove my point, however, is not leave an email address or blog address that I can come talk to you on your home turf either. Just like Karl Rove, you don't have the guts to spew your epithets and rhetoric to my face, but merely behind the mask of anonymity.

I find you pathetic and silly.

[Rusty]

The shallow end of the gene pool comes out to play...

Bullwinkle,
It cracks me up when your ilk starts to impugn other mens' cocksmanship. Repressed homosexual desires, much? If conservative could lay the pipe, their wives wouldn't cheat with us liberal fancylads so often.

I suggest channeling your hatred into your wiener and boning your wife/girlfriend/inflatable doll with it. Then maybe she won't be so prone to cheat on you later on, and you won't need to blame us for your cocksmanship problems.

[Jim]

Classy comments on this here blog...

[bullwinkle]

I have more than enough guts to spout whatever I'd like to your face, do you have the guts to come see me? It's KM 42.3 Ubero-Tampalam, Qintana Roo, Mx. Since you're a liberal that depends on handouts to buy groceries go beg for plane fare then come see me. Bet you don't. Even if you could. Let me know in advance if you're coming, I travel a lot and wouldn't want to miss your suffering. Coward.

[Melissa]

I'm going to say something simple and straightforward:

I wish hangings and mob lynchings would come back in to fashion.

Well, sort of.

[Dylan]

I think the point of my post has been made. The only way that the Republicans can fight back if we just force them to back up their words with actions is to make themselves look silly. Bullwinkle has made my point better than my post ever could have.

[bullwinkle]

That's just unbelievable, some gutless windbag liberal says I wouldn't say something to his face and wants me to post an email address so I can get spammed by liber-o-trash so I offer him my home address instead, you know, a REAL face-to-face on my home turf and he sends a chick reply. I'd have more luck finding backbone in France. Exactly why liberal scum won't protect the country, no guts. Exactly why they keep losing elections and are going to lose a lot more. It looks like Dylan voted for the show of bravery before he voted against it.

[Dylan]

Obviously, Bullwinkle, you missed the nuance of my post. Unsurprising, however, that you wouldn't understand nuance.

My point was/is that if we hold Karl Rove to his words, forcing him to back up his words by actually saying them to an audience that doesn't agree with him (like the national meeting of the Conservative Party), he'll back down. We, as Liberals/Democrats don't do a good enough job at that.

And you proved my point... you hide behind anonymity and throw insults and epithets that don't make you seem witty, but rather make you seem silly and unintelligent. I wasn't, however, trying to start a fist fight. And, I'm not sure exactly what kind of address that was anyway, so I'm not sure I could find it.

[Sue Dohnim]

Liberals. ROFL!

Do that google-eyed crazy handwaving jumping-up-and-down thing some more. I'll hold your "Che Rules" protest sign.

[Lori]

Time to move on to more productive exchanges?

Sometimes you just have to give up trying to have an intelligent conversation and back slowly away from the crazies....believe me, I know what I'm talking about...I've been seasoned by the toe people.

;^)

[bullwinkle]

I didn't miss the nuance of your post, you said, "Just like Karl Rove, you don't have the guts to spew your epithets and rhetoric to my face, but merely behind the mask of anonymity.", basicly calling me a coward. Now you've shown without a doubt what liberals think of doing in case of an attack, fire off an angry e-mail or maybe even spamming the attacker. You are all too afraid I'd say it to your face and I would, if only you had the spine to provide me an address. Your nuances are a weak and dishonest as your ideology. How does it feel to deal with someone that doesn't use nuance, you know, someone that says what he means and means what he says rather than using gutless nuances to get his message across? You side lives by the nuance, all mouth and no action, you proved Karl Rove was right while trying so hard to prove him wrong. I guess he forgot to include that not only are you leftists cowards you are idiots too.

[Dylan]

Yes, perhaps you are right, Lori. Time to move on to bigger and better things.

[Dylan]

Hey, guess what? today's Dictionary Word of the Day is "callow."

[Megarita]

Sheesh, I was all excited to talk about how angry I get at my own party, but WOW am I on the defensive now! It doesn't hurt the cause that Bullwinkle (the real one) was a dumb moose led around by a flying squirrel. Hard to get really jacked up about a dumb moose.

I do think that the dick-holding needs to cease and desist, however. FlipFlop on yer own time, kids...

[Amber]

My classy and ever so topical contribution to this thread: "cocksmanship" is a word that is not used often enough.

[Dylan]

Now, that's true, Amber. If we take nothing away from this whole conversation than that, I'll find it all worthwhile.

[Devo]

Y'know, one frustrating thing that I've seen on so many blogs, whether they be progressive blogs with conservative trolls or conservative blogs with progressives commenting, trying to have a rational discussion, is that the conservatives are far less rational than the progressives. They hit early and hard, FORCING the progressives into a defensive stance. Then they capitalize on their tactical advantage and prevent any rational discussion by hacking away with their blunt, unintelligent and frankly, meaningless billy clubs. If we want to discuss this, let's DISCUSS rather than talking about each other's dicks.

As far as that goes, this tactic seems to be pretty ubiquitous among the conservatives, from politicians to pundits to bloggers to 24 Hour News Networks. All empty anger and substanceless horn-blowing. That practice makes me very skeptical of whether there's any actual substance to any of these arguments.

Bullwinkle, start over, this time using tools like logic, reason and a civil discussion voice. Otherwise, you will forfeit any credibility whatsoever.

[maurinsky]

I don't know if bullwinkle himself is a coward, but he votes for the pussies who let other people go fight in wars for them. The guys he likes don't have the balls to even fight for the things they believe in. They can smear and slime patriotic Americans who disagree with them, but if we challenged them to take the discussion outside, Cheney & Bush & Rove would hide behind bullwinkle.

And what's hilarious is that bullwinkle doesn't seem to realize that he is carrying water for the cowards. Have some self-respect, bullwinkle. Anyone can talk a good game, but look at what the craven, pussy cowards *do*. When these pussies were asked to put their lives on the line for a war they supported, they showed their true colors.

If you support President Pussy and Cowardly Cheney, you support two assholes who don't even have the courage of their convictions. All talk, no walk.

Rove looks like he went through school with a kick-me sign on his back and wedgie marks imprinted on his ass. I think he's turned his hurt feelings into a crusade to destroy the world, like many a supervillain.

And these are the guys you respect, bullwinkle? Heck, even when they think they're doing something powerful and strong, they fuck it up. Exhibit A: Osama bin Laden is still free. They go after the guy who DIDN'T attack us, and you're the schmuck who supports them.