The Straight Stick

I recall one of my teachers in Bible college telling me about how to discern truth from error:

"The quickest way to tell if a stick is crooked," he said in his South Texas drawl, "is to lay a straight one down next to it."

Such is what presidential adviser Karl Rove did when he told a gathering of the New York Conservative Party that "Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers." Conservatives, he said, "saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war."

(The AP story can be found at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050624/ap_on_go_pr_wh/rove_speech;_ylt=AqAit15SiaFzf32g8TQVRxayFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl )


By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jun 24, 5:06 PM ET

WASHINGTON - A White House official said Friday the administration finds it "somewhat puzzling" that Democrats are demanding presidential adviser Karl Rove's apology or resignation for implying that liberals are soft on terrorism.

"I think Karl was very specific, very accurate, in who he was pointing out," communications director Dan Bartlett said, contending the comments weren't aimed at all Democrats. "It's touched a chord with these Democrats. I'm not sure why."

I wish that I could have seen Bartlett's face when he said that. There HAD to be a sarcastic grin going on.

When I saw that comment, it reminded me of the teacher I mentioned above. The point being that if you want to see who's who on the ideological spectrum, run some truth up the flagpole and see who salutes.

Notice that Rove never used the words "Republican" or "Democrat".

He didn't have to. Once the meat was tossed into the yard, only the ravenous ones showed themselves.

Back to the article:

"It's somewhat puzzling why all these Democrats ... who responded forcefully after 9/11, who voted to support President Bush's pursuit of the war on terror, are now rallying to the defense of MoveOn.org, this liberal organization who put out a petition in the days after 9/11 and said that we ought not use military force in responding to 9/11," Bartlett said on NBC's "Today" show. "That is who Karl Rove cited in that speech ... There is no need to apologize."

But Eli Pariser, executive director of the MoveOn political action committee, said the online group didn't oppose U.S. military action in Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

LIAR!!!

From this link: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/6/23/202013.shtml

we find a litany of sources from MoveOn.Org opposing an armed response to the 9/11 attacks:

Immediately After 9/11, MoveOn.Org Petition Urged "Moderation And Restraint" And Use Of "International Judicial Institutions."
"We, The Undersigned, Citizens And Residents Of The United States Of America ... Appeal To The President Of The United States, George W. Bush ... And To All Leaders Internationally To Use Moderation And Restraint In Responding To The Recent Terrorist Attacks Against The United States." (MoveOn.Org Website, "MoveOn Peace,"

"We Implore The Powers That Be To Use, Wherever Possible, International Judicial Institutions And International Human Rights Law To Bring To Justice Those Responsible For The Attacks, Rather Than The Instruments Of War, Violence Or Destruction." (MoveOn.Org Website, "MoveOn Peace,"

"(W)e Demand That There Be No Recourse To Nuclear, Chemical Or Biological Weapons, Or Any Weapons Of Indiscriminate Destruction, And Feel That It Is Our Inalienable Human Right To Live In A World Free Of Such Arms." (MoveOn.Org Website, "MoveOn Peace.")

The article also contains quotes from various LIBERAL DEMOCRATS who did exactly what Karl Rove said that they did. You'll find quotes from John Kerry, Joe Biden, Al Sharpton, Barbara Lee, Neil Abercrombie and others.

What's also insulting is that they think we have such a short memory.

New York Governor George Pataki read Sen. Hillary Clinton the riot act on Thursday after she demanded that he condemn comments by White House political advisor Karl Rove.

In an article found at http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/6/23/235044.shtml

Pataki said this:
"I think it's a little hypocritical for Sen. Clinton to call on me to repudiate a political figure's comment, when she never asked Sen. Durbin to repudiate his comments,"

"She never responded to Howard Dean's insult to every single Republican, saying that they never earned an honest day's living.

"She never responded to Sen. Reid's unfair criticism of the president - he called the president a loser and a liar. He's never apologized - she never requested that."

"She never called for an apology or clarification when Moveon.org called for moderation and restraint in response to the terrorist attacks."

"So, when she does that, I'll be glad to listen to her call for me to ask someone to apologize."

And the AP story we started with ends with a pot-calls-kettle-black paragraph:

Democrats said Rove, and his Republican allies, were now trying to change the subject when Democrats, and many Americans, are becoming increasingly critical of the course of the war in Iraq. For Rove "to try to exploit 9/11 for political purposes once again just shows you how desperate they are," said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California, who in recent days has been the target of Republican attacks for saying that the Iraq war was a "grotesque mistake."

Thank you Karl for laying down a Straight Stick.