AlterNet: MediaCulture: Rove re-politicizes 9/11... but where's bin Laden? (guest commentary from Media Matters' Senior Advisor)
Rove re-politicizes 9/11... but where's bin Laden? (guest commentary from Media Matters' Senior Advisor)
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Posted by Evan on June 23, 2005 @ 9:25AM
Last night -- in Manhattan of all places -- Karl Rove made this idiotic (but highly calculated) statement:
"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."
Senate minority leader Harry Reid responded with a statement (reprinted below as it's "hot off the presses") calling for Rove's resignation which begins:
"I am deeply disturbed and disappointed that the Bush White House would continue to use the national tragedy of September 11th to try and divide the country...Karl Rove should immediately and fully apologize for his remarks or he should resign."
Media Matters' Jamison Foser proposes a complementary effort:
As an alternative to (or in addition to) complaining that Rove has insulted us, perhaps this provides opportunity to remind people that -- thanks to George Bush’s misplaced priorities -- nearly four years after September 11, Osama bin Laden is still alive, still plotting to kill us and our children.
Rove’s speech was pretty tough talk coming from an administration that says it knows where bin Laden is – but won’t go get him because they’re afraid of offending some foreign government. Every day that George Bush sits idly by, while bin Laden plots his next attack, America becomes less safe. Every day George Bush fails to bring Osama bin Laden to justice – whether because he’s fighting the wrong war in the wrong country for the wrong reasons, or because he doesn’t want to offend our enemies – makes it more likely that bin Laden will attack again.
Should Karl Rove resign for insulting me? Sure. But I’m more interested in the resignation of any Bush administration official who knows where bin Laden is and argues against going to get him.
It may be worth keeping in mind that – as the Durbin situation illustrates – conservatives want to have fights over rhetoric because they are losing fights over substance.
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REID CALLS ON BUSH TO REPUDIATE ROVE’S REMARKS
Democratic Leader Harry Reid released the following statement:
"I am deeply disturbed and disappointed that the Bush White House would continue to use the national tragedy of September 11th to try and divide the country. The lesson our country learned on that terrible morning is that we are strongest when we unite together, that America’s power is in its common spirit of democracy and freedom.
"Karl Rove should immediately and fully apologize for his remarks or he should resign. The lesson of September 11th is not different for conservatives, liberals or moderates. It is equally shared and was repeatedly demonstrated in the weeks and months following this tragedy as Americans of all backgrounds and their elected representatives rallied behind the victims and their families, united in our common determination to bring to justice those responsible for these terrible attacks.
"It is time to stop using September 11th as a political wedge issue. Dividing our country for political gain is an insult to all Americans and to the common memory we all carry with us from that day. When it comes to standing up to terrorists, there are no Republicans or Democrats, only Americans. The Administration should be focused on uniting Americans behind our troops and providing them a strategy for success in the war on terror and the conflict in Iraq. I hope the president will join me in repudiating these remarks and urge Mr. Rove to take appropriate action to right this terrible wrong."
