TERRORISTS DEPSERATE FOR REPUBLICANS TO WIN NOVEMBER 7 SO BUSH CAN CONTINUE HELPING THEIR CAUSE

I woke up so early this morning... like 3:30, I think; too much, even for me. If it had been an hour later I would have dragged myself downstairs to the war room computer, and started writing about Larry Craig (R-ID), Denny Hastert (R-IL) and Phil English (R-PA) being closeted homophobic homos or something like that. But instead, I just put CNN on to lull me back to sleep; the only thing they're good at. Instead of lulling, though, the talking head on there was yapping about a general in Baghdad who was mentioning that everything was a friggin' disaster and that we'd better change our so-called "strategy." And then he seemed to tack on something clearly written afterwards, probably by "someone else." That was a statement that the terrorists were killing everyone in sight to try to influence the midterms. I guess that was the draft-dodging Rove's contribution to the U.S. military. [Later in the day, when I heard the general's speech on NPR I heard him choke on Rove's addendum.]

Briefly, General Caldwell said that the new security plan for Baghdad hasn't reduced violence there at all. "Instead, attacks have actually jumped more than 20 percent over the first three weeks of the holy month of Ramadan, compared to the previous three weeks... In an unusually gloomy assessment, General Caldwell called the spike in attacks 'disheartening' and added that the American military was 'working closely with the government of Iraq to determine how to best refocus our efforts'... In a worrisome development, General Caldwell revealed today that American troops had to return last week to Dora, a troubled southern Baghdad neighborhood that had been a showcase of the new security plan and was one of the first areas to be cleared."

The Rove, or perhaps just Rovian, line was "We also realize that there is a midterm election that's taking place in the United States and that the extremist elements understand the power of the media; that if they can in fact produce additional casualties, that in fact is recognized and discussed in the press because everybody would like not to see anybody get killed in these operations, but that does occur."

Presumably, the message Caldwell delivered is meant to telegraph that the terrorists want Bush's rubber stamp Congress defeated by Democrats. This, of course, is patently absurd. If it's actual "terrorists" we're talking about, there is no greater boon to their cause than the bumbling Bush. It has long since been demonstrated that Osama bin-Laden did all he could to manipulate the 2004 presidential election-- second only to Ken Blackwell-- to insure a victory for BushCheney. Even Bush himself has admitted bin-Laden helped him "win" the election!

Meanwhile, President Clinton explained why it is crucial that Bush and the terrorists be defeated in the midterm elections, eloquently pointing out that "the governing Republican majority has abandoned the common good in favor of ideologically driven politics that demonize its opponents, [and] has forced ordinary Americans to fend for themselves and has too often left the United States isolated internationally."


UPDATE: SEE? THEY'LL STOP AT NOTHING TO SCARE AND TERRORIZE THE ELECTORATE INTO VOTING FOR THEM. IT WON'T WORK THIS TIME

The Associated Press ran a piece today warning of a Republican warning that the terrorists are coming for us. They'll start running TV spots this weekend with the tens of millions of dollars they've gotten from their Big Business clients meant to keep their undeserving asses in power. Hopefully the ads will remind people that Bush has failed to capture or kill Osama bin-Laden because he's "not concerned."


UPDATE: AND ALL THE CRAP FLYING IN REPUBLIWORLD? BAD NEWS FOR THE BAD GUYS

Today's Moonie Times speculates that conservative votes, as repulsed by Bush and the rubber stamp Congress as they are, will in all likelihood spend election day at home, wishing they had never heard of George W. Bush. "Conservatives aren't motivated to come out, is what I'm finding," say right wing consultant Rick Shaftan. "They see no reason to re-elect the people who are in office." Another anonymous wingnut consultant told the Moonies that "there are very definitely trouble signs in many states of what we call the 'LRs'-- the lethargic Republicans. They are unhappy with the president and have little love lost for Congress."