Lemony Zest :: Kim Lewandowski

Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

Are you shocked at the indictment of Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney‘s former chief of staff, for perjury, making false statements, and obstructing justice? Or are you more surprised that Karl Rove escaped indictment, at least for the time being?

What do you think will happen next?

• Karl Rove will be indicted for perjury, obstructing justice, and conspiracy
• Dick Cheney will be indicted for conspiracy to out Valerie Plame
• The Bushies will try to somehow discredit Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald

Funny as hell – I just heard the Capitol Steps on NPR: Imitating Bush, they said:

These are uncertain times. And uncertain times call for uncertain leadership.

With Karl Rove still under investigation, Bush’s Brain is preoccupied, so naturally Bush is uncertain of what to do next.

I am convinced that, whether it can be proved or not (probably not, unless Libby rolls), it was Dick Cheney’s idea to out Valerie Plame in retaliation against her husband Joseph Wilson writing an op-ed debunking one of the administration’s false premises for war against Iraq: That Saddam Hussein was trying to buy uranium in Africa to build nuclear weapons. They scared people to death with lies, so they could take the country to war against Iraq and take control of its oil.

Tell me what you think in the comments.

Slate, an online magazine, has a fascinating article called “An Imperfect Storm: How race shaped Bush’s response to Katrina,” which asserts that, while the government’s response was not overtly racist, the plight of black people in LA, MS, and AL was not taken seriously by Bush because those states are reliably Republican and black people in general don’t vote for him anyway.

A quote:

Because they don’t see blacks as a current or potential constituency, Bush and his fellow Republicans do not respond out of the instinct of self-interest when dealing with their concerns. Helping low-income blacks is a matter of charity to them, not necessity. The condescension in their attitude intensifies when it comes to New Orleans, which is 67 percent black and largely irrelevant to GOP political ambitions. Cities with large African-American population that happen to be in important swing states may command some of Karl Rove’s respect as election time approaches. But Louisiana is small (9 electoral votes) and not much of a swinger these days. In 2004, Bush carried it by a 57-42 margin. If Bush and Rove didn’t experience the spontaneous political reflex to help New Orleans, it may be because they don’t think of New Orleans as a place that helps them.

It’s an interesting idea that seems to have a lot of merit. Florida got a lot of attention last year after its hurricanes. Some say that’s because the governor of Florida is the president’s brother. It’s possible. It’s also possible, and very plausible, that it’s because Florida has 25 electoral votes and is essentially a toss-up. Comments?