Opening The Files: 10/03/06
States of Denial and Foley Follies
This weekend was pretty busy. The thing getting the most media coverage has been what some are calling Foleygate. Many are salivating over the potential damage Rep. Mark Foley's internet liaisons with underage House pages (and possible cover-up by House leadership) could do for the GOP as we approach the mid-terms. The White House has tried to steer clear, while making some pretty asinine comments to try to downplay the scandal.
Of course the sad thing about this whole Foley Affair is that it has overshadowed both the torture bill and the damning revelations in Bob Woodward's latest tome "State of Denial". Makes you wonder why, since Foley's foibles had apparently been known for a while, it would choose now to break. While it's possible that the Dems were the ones who let this slip, I think a far more likely scenario is that Karl Rove might have been behind this.
Consider that the White House had to have known Woodward's book would be coming out soon (books like this always have to be vetted first). So they knew that they needed something to distract from the book's revelations. What better distraction then a scandal involving a member of Congress and underage boys? And so far the distraction has worked. The GOP might not like it but I'm sure Karl has no qualms about throwing some allies under the bus so as to keep his benefactor's anemic approval ratings from taking a dive.
Among the most damaging revelations the White House would rather be ignored was Woodward's account of a pre-9/11 meeting where then CIA Director George Tenet warned then National Security Advisor Condi Rice of the looming threat Al-Qaeda posed. Rice denied the meeting ever too place, saying it was 'incomprehensible' she would ignore such dire warnings. Too bad they have records.
As for the torture bill, AG Gonzales has fired a warning shot across the bow of the Supreme Court (or as Jill put it, replicated a scene from The Godfather). This might be something SCOTUS should pay attention to. Because as was predicted that a court challenge to the torture bill would come in "days", a pre-emptive lawsuit has now been filed.
Josh Marshall says that Foleygate has pretty much decapitated the House GOP leadership. They do seem to be running around like a certain headless farm animal.
Kos points that whether it's the safety of our soldiers or House pages, there is no one the GOP wouldn't sell out. For them, power is everything.
Virt, as is his usual, writes a snarky post about the Republican leadership blaming the pages. He's kidding of course, but Matt Drudge isn't. By the way, Matt, Kolchak called. He wants his wardrobe back.
Carpetbagger also noticed the fortuitous timing of this Foley scandal and discusses some of the implications of that pre-9/11 meeting.
Arianna says that Woodward is only restating what many of us have known for a while.
Tristero points out that Newt Gingrich is also pushing the "ignore the Supreme Court" meme. Digby weighs in on Gonzales' warning.
And finally, Creature points out that in his haste to throw others under the bus (as I speculated above), Karl may have lost control of the message.
This weekend was pretty busy. The thing getting the most media coverage has been what some are calling Foleygate. Many are salivating over the potential damage Rep. Mark Foley's internet liaisons with underage House pages (and possible cover-up by House leadership) could do for the GOP as we approach the mid-terms. The White House has tried to steer clear, while making some pretty asinine comments to try to downplay the scandal.
Of course the sad thing about this whole Foley Affair is that it has overshadowed both the torture bill and the damning revelations in Bob Woodward's latest tome "State of Denial". Makes you wonder why, since Foley's foibles had apparently been known for a while, it would choose now to break. While it's possible that the Dems were the ones who let this slip, I think a far more likely scenario is that Karl Rove might have been behind this.
Consider that the White House had to have known Woodward's book would be coming out soon (books like this always have to be vetted first). So they knew that they needed something to distract from the book's revelations. What better distraction then a scandal involving a member of Congress and underage boys? And so far the distraction has worked. The GOP might not like it but I'm sure Karl has no qualms about throwing some allies under the bus so as to keep his benefactor's anemic approval ratings from taking a dive.
Among the most damaging revelations the White House would rather be ignored was Woodward's account of a pre-9/11 meeting where then CIA Director George Tenet warned then National Security Advisor Condi Rice of the looming threat Al-Qaeda posed. Rice denied the meeting ever too place, saying it was 'incomprehensible' she would ignore such dire warnings. Too bad they have records.
As for the torture bill, AG Gonzales has fired a warning shot across the bow of the Supreme Court (or as Jill put it, replicated a scene from The Godfather). This might be something SCOTUS should pay attention to. Because as was predicted that a court challenge to the torture bill would come in "days", a pre-emptive lawsuit has now been filed.
Josh Marshall says that Foleygate has pretty much decapitated the House GOP leadership. They do seem to be running around like a certain headless farm animal.
Kos points that whether it's the safety of our soldiers or House pages, there is no one the GOP wouldn't sell out. For them, power is everything.
Virt, as is his usual, writes a snarky post about the Republican leadership blaming the pages. He's kidding of course, but Matt Drudge isn't. By the way, Matt, Kolchak called. He wants his wardrobe back.
Carpetbagger also noticed the fortuitous timing of this Foley scandal and discusses some of the implications of that pre-9/11 meeting.
Arianna says that Woodward is only restating what many of us have known for a while.
Tristero points out that Newt Gingrich is also pushing the "ignore the Supreme Court" meme. Digby weighs in on Gonzales' warning.
And finally, Creature points out that in his haste to throw others under the bus (as I speculated above), Karl may have lost control of the message.
Labels: OTF
Post a Comment