Karl Rove says you're a traitor

The politics of hatred in our own New York.

Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers.

I don't know about you, but moderation and restraint is not what I felt when I watched the twin towers crumble to the ground, a side of the Pentagon destroyed, and almost 3,000 of our fellow citizens perish in flames and rubble."

Mr. Rove also said American armed forces overseas were in more jeopardy as a result of remarks last week by Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, who compared American mistreatment of detainees to the acts of "Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others."

"Has there ever been a more revealing moment this year?" Mr. Rove asked. "Let me just put this in fairly simple terms: Al Jazeera now broadcasts the words of Senator Durbin to the Mideast, certainly putting our troops in greater danger. No more needs to be said about the motives of liberals."

Senator Schumer properly said: "In New York, where everyone unified after 9/11, the last thing we need is somebody who seeks to divide us for political purposes."

Gadflyer says Schumer should have used stronger language:

"Karl Rove's comments are even more despicable than what we've come to expect from Republicans. There is no depth to which they will not sink, no tragedy they will not exploit for political gain. The next time Mr. Rove wants to come to New York to lecture us about what September 11 means, he'd better hope this New Yorker isn't in the room."

Also: the point has properly been made that Durbin didn't compare what happened at Gitmo to nazis, Pol Pot, or gulags. He read something by the FBI and made a perfectly valid point: that if he hadn't told you that it described American actions, you would have thought that it described the actions of some totalitarian dictatorship. And you know what? He's right.

Leave it to Karl Rove to use 9/11 to divide New Yorkers on their own turf.

Honestly, I just edited a string of expletives before posting. I do very much hope he's not in the same state as I anymore.

Express your opinion on the matter:

CPNYS State Headquarters
Michael R. Long, Chairman
Conservative Party of New York State
486 78th St., Brooklyn, NY 11209
Voice: 718-921-2158 FAX: 718-921-5168

Albany Office
Shaun Marie Levine, Executive Director
Conservative Party of New York State
325 Parkview Drive, Schenectady, NY 12303
Voice: 518-356-7882 FAX: 518-356-3773

info@cpnys.org

Also: if you're in Reynold's district, as I am, ask him if he shares Karl Rove's opinion about his own liberal constituents. Does Tom Reynolds also believe that the liberals living in the 26th want troops to die?

http://www.house.gov/writerep/

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WNY Coalition for Progress gets a plug

I got a call today that Bauerle was talking about the Bass Pro deal, and apparently he was on the Jim O "corporate welfare" bandwagon. (This is a repost off my BuffaloPundit weblog).

I called in as "Alan" (natch) and said that I think the Bass Pro deal is a great one for Erie County. I managed to give the screener about 5 reasons, but on the phone, I only got one out: that Bass Pro wouldn't be spending $57 million on a losing proposition.

Bauerle said that I was wrong, and that Jim O had told him that Bass Pro only commits to 22 million in the MOU. Well, Jim O's wrong. Two sentences control Bass Pro's outlay (section (B)(4)); the first one is written horribly, and seems to indicate that the $57 million includes the public money. But the next sentence clarifies that Bass Pro itself is going to pay $57 million. You have to read both sentences, and not take the first one out of context. That being said, I actualy spoke with a Bass Pro rep in early April, and he confirmed the $57 million figure for me, so that's that.

Next, I mentioned that I belong to a group that was analyzing the Bass Pro deal, and he asked me which one, and I plugged the WNY Coalition for Progress. He asked me who funded it. I was quite taken aback, (what the hell's the point of this inquiry?), and replied "just people - average citizens." Bauerle was quite intent on ferreting out whether we were a developer's group, or what. I replied that it's a progressive group, and he called it liberal-socialist. I replied that I'm a centrist - a former Republican who switched democrat, and that we have members from all political spectra. We have socialists and conservatives as members, we're non-profit and don't endorse candidates.

He said I was being defensive, and I replied that I was frankly surprised by these questions. I said he could read all about it at www.wnyprogress.org. Then I got cut off.

Then I turned on my radio, and heard that he'd love to have me and Ostrowski on at the same time.

I called back and asked for his producer, but only got the screener. I told the screener my name, the name of this blog, and told Tom I'd go on with him and Jim O any day, any time.

And look for the WNY Coalition for Progress to come out with a real analysis of the Bass Pro deal, and not a droll hit piece like Free Buffalo's.