War of the Roveses
For all of its incompetence, greed, lying, looting, and criminality, for all it’s hypocrisy, scandals, and military blunders, there are two things that modern Republicanism does well: accrue power and defeat liberals at the polls.
The Neo-con cabal, in spite of its anti-government rhetoric has succeeded in centralizing power in the executive branch to a degree heretofore undreamed of except perhaps in some paranoid and dystopian science fiction. Clearly, at some point the executive branch must voluntarily cede some of its power back to Congress and the judicial branch.
Additionally, over the last thirty years they have trained a large segment of the public to react emotionally to “cultural issues”, turning the 60’s on its head. Now it’s liberals who are old fashioned, hypocritical, and ideologically inflexible. This has been done using tactics perfected and instituted by that most foul of all Karls, Rove.
This is what worries me about the Clinton bid for the nomination. Beyond the daily insults to my intelligence, which are merely annoying, one’s tactics speak loudly as to what one’s motivations are. If the Clintons are willing to use Rovian tactics on Obama–whom nationwide polls indicate is the most popular Democrat in America, what does this say about how president H. Clinton will preside?
Like mustard gas and anthrax bombs, the mere existence of Rovian tactics doesn’t mean that they must be used. They contaminate the battlefield for everyone and must never be used except as a last resort on an enemy who has used them first. A Democrat should never use them on a Democrat. Ape shall NOT kill ape!
This brings us to the crux of the matter: these are not people whom I trust to pare back the executive branch’s power. Hillary promises health care and troop withdrawal. What if she decides to triangulate to the right as she has done so often in the past when faced with a tough political battle? Will she “go Rovian” on Democrats who stand in her way?
Because of the Supreme Court situation, I will vote for Ms. Clinton should she receive the nomination, but under extreme duress. Like the Third Degree, smallpox blankets, and McCarthyism, Rovian politics must be brought down. They have made the American voter a laughing-stock, an object of pity and scorn around the world. Rovism must be torn town like Saddam’s statue. This can only be done when it is no longer tolerated by decent people. It is the issue of this primary and indeed the whole election; it’s the one that History is watching.