Sullivan warns about coming campaign
I don't know how good Sullivan's White House sources are, but I'm sure they're better than mine. Here's what they're telling him:
Hint to anyone wanting to advance ideas of unlimited executive power: it might help your cause if the executive in office were actually popular. The current one is decidedly not. Right now, I think this would-be "unitary executive" is sounding more and more like a lame duck. The conventional wisdom is that the Democrats will take the House, and if that happens the quacks will be even more recognizable as such.
Of course, I agree that this bunch will try a number of desperate strategies to hang on to power, and that makes this a very dangerous time. Let's be on guard and hit back hard. In fact, why wait to be hit in the first place? Let's get that war criminal out of office. (Impeachment poll watch: 30% in favor, 69% against, 8/30 - 9/2/2006. We've got a ways to go, but 30% isn't a bad place to start from, given how little play the idea has had.)
UPDATE: Sullivan links to his Sunday Times (the UK one) column which elaborates more.
Next week, I'm informed via troubled White House sources, will see the full unveiling of Karl Rove's fall election strategy. He's intending to line up 9/11 families to accuse McCain, Warner and Graham of delaying justice for the perpetrators of that atrocity, because they want to uphold the ancient judicial traditions of the U.S. military and abide by the Constitution. He will use the families as an argument for legalizing torture, setting up kangaroo courts for military prisoners, and giving war crime impunity for his own aides and cronies. This is his "Hail Mary" move for November; it's brutally exploitative of 9/11; it's pure partisanship; and it's designed to enable an untrammeled executive.If it was anyone but the Bush administration, I'd say there's no way they would be so stupid, brazenly selfish, crass, vile, and ugly. But then this is the Bush administration. I guess we'll find out soon if Sullivan is right or not.
Hint to anyone wanting to advance ideas of unlimited executive power: it might help your cause if the executive in office were actually popular. The current one is decidedly not. Right now, I think this would-be "unitary executive" is sounding more and more like a lame duck. The conventional wisdom is that the Democrats will take the House, and if that happens the quacks will be even more recognizable as such.
Of course, I agree that this bunch will try a number of desperate strategies to hang on to power, and that makes this a very dangerous time. Let's be on guard and hit back hard. In fact, why wait to be hit in the first place? Let's get that war criminal out of office. (Impeachment poll watch: 30% in favor, 69% against, 8/30 - 9/2/2006. We've got a ways to go, but 30% isn't a bad place to start from, given how little play the idea has had.)
UPDATE: Sullivan links to his Sunday Times (the UK one) column which elaborates more.
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