Polishing a Big Steaming Pile of Dung

Nothing, and I mean nothing, gets my blood boiling like Republicans patting themselves on the back and holding forth on their core values as being everything good for the great unwashed. And none of them, not even Cheney and Bush, can make me more angry than two-faced Karl Rove. I know you're probably saying that David Broder likes him so he can't be all bad, right? I mean, how bad can a guy be that invites reporters to his porch to dine on local small fowl?

Atrios calls Gerson his wanker of the day for this column and to be sure, Gerson is a wanker. On what a true beneficent souls is the great Rove:

Third, Rove has argued that the Republican Party will need to appeal to minorities or gradually decline. "We can't be the party of America," he says, "and get 13 percent of the African American vote." And given demographic trends, it is hard to imagine that Republicans will remain a national party if they alienate Latinos. Looking back at his career, Rove is particularly proud that "when we ran in Texas in 1998, among the statewide Republican ticket, a minority of the candidates were white men." Rove has shown a consistent commitment to inclusion, as both a moral good and a political necessity.

The party of America? If he had written Teh party of America it would have made more sense. And the need "to appeal to minorities", now that is rich. I have an idea, why don't you just tell us how you really feel about where minorities belong: in the poorest neighborhoods, in slums, in squalor, then at least you would be honest. I have an idea white man, keep telling the black man what is good for him. That is a sure way to appeal to minorities.

The money shot here is worth the entire price:

It is sometimes alleged that Rove's arguments have not fully prevailed in the GOP -- which is true. It is further alleged that these arguments have been discredited by events -- which is not true. The complications of Iraq have obscured Rove's victories, not undone them. And his key historical insight is unavoidable: Republicans win as conservative reformers.

As if only more of Karl Rove's ugly zero sum politics hadn't oozed into the zeitgeist we would never be where we are now. If they had only listened to Karl, then maybe there would have been no intervening causes like a war we should have never fought. Apparently we've been wrong about Karl all along.