Oooh, nuance!

In light of Cindy Sheehan's recent grandstanding on her personal schedule for impeachment and the evils of the Democratic Party, I feel compelled to point out the true genius of Karl Rove.

No, he is not a political genius. After decades of efforts by his billionaire allies to take over and consolidate the media, and his own stacking of the deck in every conceivable manner (vote-rigging, election fraud, redistricting, court-packing, etc. etc. etc.), Rove has managed to, in only six years of one-party dominance, completely destroy the Republican Party. About 70% of Americans disapprove of Rove's beloved boy George Bush as President, and the Republicans in Congress are poised for another, even more crushing defeat in 2008. Rove's desire for Permanent Republican Majority seems to be as delusional as his "The Math" predictions were in 2006.

But what KKKarl is really, REALLY good at is creating frames which hit you in the gut. Never mind that they have no basis in reality - they are real-ish. They have truthiness.

Take Cindy Sheehan's point (despite my feeling that she has gone off the rails at this point, she does have one). She states that we elected the Democrats to stop the war and they haven't. Therefore, she feels the Dems have let her - and the American people - down.

But why does she feel this way? Factually speaking, the Democrats have done quite a bit to try and stop the war. And quite simply, they don't have the votes to override a veto in the Senate. Why isn't Cindy Sheehan, for example, placing the blame where it belongs - on George Bush, who vetoes every measure the Democrats put forward, and on the Republican Senators who refuse to do the will of the American people and vote with the Democrats? Because of the excellent, diabolical frame Roverer has put on the Democratic Party.

Here's how it goes.

1) If Democrats try and fail to pass a measure that they don't have the votes for, they are ineffectual losers. See: First attempt to cut off funding for the war.

2) If Democrats do NOT try to pass a measure that they don't have the votes for (i.e., impeachment, which will not pass the Senate), then they are spineless cowards.

3) If Republicans do anything that raises the outrage meter, make sure you pull out the false equivalency wand and wave it around until people become so cynical they don't even bother to analyze what's going on. See: Libby's commutation is JUST TEH SAME as Bill Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich.

4) When all else fails, blame anyone else - never admit responsibility. See: The failure of the Iraq war is the media's fault.

It pains me greatly to see a passionate, intelligent woman like Cindy Sheehan falling for Rove's sleight of hand. But that's the true genius of the Turd Blossom. His frames stop your rational mind and make you feel like you've heard emotional truth. But all you've heard is truthiness.