The Rover Ranges On

This frightening piece of Capital J Journalism connects all of the dots, painting a disturbing picture of a fat, flabby, balding, TurdBlossom of a Man, whose slithery hands are behind much of the power in today's RepubliCon Party. Thank you Amy Goodman, and Craig Unger, via Alternet.org

A must read.

Look Who's Covertly Controlling the GOP: Karl Rove, Scheming Election Theft and Raising a Fortune for Vicious Attack Ads

August 22, 2012

Karl Rove is no longer merely Bush’s Brain; he’s the man who swallowed the Republican Party.

The following is a transcript of a Democracy Now! interview with Craig Unger on Karl Rove's comeback.

SNIP!

CRAIG UNGER: Right. Well, Rove did a lot of things that were sort of under the radar and that I think have enduring consequences, and they represent real threats to democracy. One of them was the U.S. attorneys scandal, and I think it was widely misunderstood. And, you know, this was—became best known when eight United States attorneys were fired for sort of not toeing the Republican Party line. Now, in fact, to me, the real question is not what happened in the unjust firing of those eight people; it’s what about the other U.S. attorneys who were appointed by the Bush administration and were toeing the party line? What were they doing? And what we see happening is that they were prosecuting Democrats, essentially. This is best—it came through best in—I think the most egregious case of this is in Alabama, and it’s the case of former Democratic Governor Don Siegelman, who will probably—in early September, will face going to jail for eight years. And I think this is one of the most egregious, unjust acts we’ve seen from the Justice Department.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: I want to turn former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, who was found guilty in a 2006 corruption case. Critics say Siegelman was the target of a political witch hunt, in part orchestrated by former Bush administration deputy Karl Rove. Democracy Now! spoke to Siegelman about his case in early 2009. We asked if he believed Karl Rove was involved in his prosecution. Let’s just go to his response.

DON SIEGELMAN: I was brought to trial one month before the Democratic primary by Karl Rove’s best friend’s wife, who was the U.S. attorney in the Middle District of Alabama, on charges that the New York Times said have never been a crime in America. Grant Woods, who’s the Republican—was the Republican attorney general from Arizona, said that they couldn’t beat Siegelman fair and square, so they targeted him with this prosecution. We have sworn testimony from a Republican political operative, Jill Simpson, who said that she was on a conversation with my prosecutor’s husband, who said that he had talked to Karl Rove, and Rove had spoken to the Department of Justice, and everything was wired in for them to—for the Department of Justice to pursue me.

... SNIP!

From his rise to power in Texas, to 2000's notorious Bush v. Gore ruling, to Ohio in 2004, to the disturbing and indefensible prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegleman, to Citizens United . . . . the picture is made complete. And it all leads back to Karl Rove's slithery fingers pulling the strings.