Democrats Demand Rove Apologize for 9/11 Remarks (Part 2 of Post)

I've been thinking about my original post of Karl Rove's comments on liberals and Democrats. As I have said, Karl Rove is a political mastermind and any comments he has made, is a part of some overall-reaching political goal. Liberals and Democrats should not underestimate him.

I've been asking myself why would Karl Rove say what he said? The most obvious answer is that he's using this as a wedge issue, to divide the different views of how to fight terror according to Republican perceptions and debate guidelines. A second answer is certainly--keep the American public focused on the war on terror, and not let the public think about the other problems of this country--such as the economy, social security, the war in Iraq, the budget deficit, the job losses, high gas prices.

I saw an interesting paragraph in The New York Times where a ranking Republican official argued "that Democrats were blowing Mr. Rove's comments out of proportion, noting that his comments specifically pointed out the post-Sept. 11 positions of MoveOn.org, the filmmaker Michael Moore and former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont, not Congressional Democrats or the party itself."

The Times article then stated that a parade of Democrats attacked Rove which included "Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Senators Jon Corzine and Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey; and Senators Christopher J. Dodd and Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut."

I'm wondering whether this was staged by the Republican Party to generate this chorus of criticism by top Democratic Congressional leaders, after which the Republican Party will use those statements--especially any television coverage--against the Democrats in either the 2006 or 2008 elections. It certainly wouldn't be beyond the Republican dirty tricks playbook to manufacture this political crisis, record the TV coverage of top Democratic leaders critical remarks, then use those remarks for attacking the Democrats in campaign commercials--after the American public would have forgotten that it was Karl Rove's mouth that had started this critical flap in the first place.

At this point, the Democrats are simply reacting. They are reacting to this manufactured speech by Rove. The Democrats are reacting to the battles that the Republicans can pick and choose on the Republican Party's own terms. That is not how you beat Karl Rove, or the Republicans. The Democrats have got to find issues that they can use to attack President Bush, Karl Rove, and the Republicans with a sustained ferocity. There are plenty of issues to choose from--the war in Iraq, high gas prices, jobs, the income inequality between the rich and poor. Pick two issues that will resonate with the American public and pound the Republicans with them. The Democrats have got to start developing a pro-active game plan now.

Otherwise, they may start losing again in 2006.