Fox News And GOP Fanatics-- Skunks At The Inauguration

I don't watch a lot of TV. When Joe Scarborough isn't on and I have some need for TV News, I watch MSNBC. I've loved watching Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow over the last few months. Sometimes, like when MSNBC has Scarborough on or those shows about living in prison, I'll try CNN. But this morning I did something I've never done before. I actually found Fox News on my TV and watched it for 15 minutes.

Despite the Obama post-partisan mantra I've seen enough anti-American GOP websites and heard enough vicious and obstructionist rhetoric from hard core right-wing fanatics from Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Paul Broun (R-GA) in the Congress to some of the kooks running for RNC Chair to the likes of GOP psychotic drug addicts like Rush Limbaugh, to know that for many Republicans bringing down America so they can blame Obama is the name of the game. One of the extremists running for RNC chair is the former Secretary of State of Ohio who helped Bush steal the 2004 election, Ken Blackwell. Friday he wrote a piece on a neo-fascist website about sabotaging Obama's rescue plan for the economy. Citing John Boehner as his source, Blackwell rants and raves about why Republicans should oppose the stimulus package.

While only a few details are known, one overlooked issue is that it could create a major electoral advantage for Democrats at taxpayer expense. That would be unacceptable for what is being touted as a nonpartisan measure, and gives Republicans yet another reason to oppose it if not restructured... But most federal employees, that are not political appointees, vote Democrat. Since Washington, DC is the seat of government, whenever new federal bureaucrats are created many live in Maryland and Virginia. In 2008, Virginia went Democrat for the first time since 1964, and Mr. Obama won it by 130,000 votes. Creating 600,000 new jobs might help cement Virginia in the Democrat column, making it harder for Republicans to retake the White House.

Clearly, Blackwell has no interest in Obama's post-partisan vision. But neither do the other nutjobs running for the RNC post. South Carolina fringe radical Katon Dawson is a serious contender too. Take a look at his vision of the role of the Republican Party going forward:



Limbaugh:

"My hope, and please understand me when I say this. I disagree fervently with the people on our side of the aisle who have caved and who say, 'Well, I hope he succeeds. We've got to give him a chance.' Why? They didn't give Bush a chance in 2000. Before he was inaugurated, the search-and-destroy mission had begun. I'm not talking about search-and-destroy, but I've been listening to Barack Obama for a year-and-a-half. I know what his politics are. I know what his plans are, as he has stated them. I don't want them to succeed
.
"If I wanted Obama to succeed, I'd be happy the Republicans have laid down. And I would be encouraging Republicans to lay down and support him. Look, what he's talking about is the absorption of as much of the private sector by the U.S. government as possible, from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care. I do not want the government in charge of all of these things. I don't want this to work. So I'm thinking of replying to the guy, 'Okay, I'll send you a response, but I don't need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails.' (interruption) What are you laughing at? See, here's the point. Everybody thinks it's outrageous to say. Look, even my staff, 'Oh, you can't do that.' Why not? Why is it any different, what's new, what is unfair about my saying I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what's gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here. Why do I want more of it? I don't care what the drive-by story is. I would be honored if the drive-by media headlined me all day long: 'Limbaugh: I Hope Obama Fails.' Somebody's gotta say it."

Well on Fox News they're afraid to say it-- overtly. But the sentiment is behind every line uttered over their airwaves. Despite approval ratings around 80% for Obama-- compared to 13% for Cheney and 22% for Bush-- and despite tremendous optimism throughout the country, Fox is clearly the skunk at the Inauguration Party. When I watched today they had a right wing radio talk show host, Laura Ingraham, on to diminish and disparage the national joy and to sow discord where Obama is trying to forge unity. Ingraham warned that Obama is lying about wanting to run a post-partisan administration and was moaning and groaning he wouldn't adopt Republican policies. (I can't imagine why not, can you?) Interestingly, Schumer was assuring CNN viewers at the same time that Obama won't be leading a left-wing government. Meanwhile, Ingraham and the crazed, sullen Fox hosts started whining that Jesus isn't welcome and that Bishop Gene Robinson wasn't Jesus-oriented enough and that there was no room at the inn for Jesus and that he had to sleep on the Mall in a sleeping bag. These people are demented and poisonous and having them dominate the public airwaves is harmful to the nation's unity and security. Fox, Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity, Ingraham... they're the living, breathing best promotion for reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, the far right's greatest fear-- along with taking away roadblocks to unionization (via the Employee Free Choice Act)-- in an Obama Administration. I hope Obama lives up to those fears... but I wouldn't put money on it.


UPDATE: OBAMA'S SPEECH

In his Inauguration Address today President Obama was eloquent and inspiring. He spoke about the greatness of our country and "the need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America." He acknowledged that "greed and irresponsibility on the part of some," careful not to mention George Bush, the Republican Party or the banksters, have brought our economy low. But the thrust of his speech was anything but blame; instead it was about going forward and getting things right again-- boldly and swiftly. (From his mouth to God's ear; Obama even honored "non-believers" in his speech.) Here's part of what he had to say:

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land-- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.  

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America-- they will be met.
 
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
 
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
 
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted-- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things-- some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
 
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. 

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions-- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act-- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions-- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
 
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them-- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works-- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account-- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day-- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control-- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart-- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. 

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort-- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus-- and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace. 

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West-- know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment-- a moment that will define a generation-- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate. 

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends-- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism-- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility-- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence-- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed-- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

Bush is finally gone-- and America is safer already!

Another Republican Senator Calls It Quits After Helping Bush Bring The Country To Its Knees-- Who Will Replace Voinovich?

Although George Voinovich had been elected a state representative and, in 1978, Ohio's Lt. Governor, his debut on the national scene didn't really come until he resigned as Lt. Governor after one year to run against-- and beat-- Cleveland Mayor Dennis Kucinich. Later, after a disastrous run for the U.S. Senate in 1988, Voinovich was elected Governor of Ohio. My own awareness of him came because of the tremendous support (both as mayor and governor), to the tune of $65 million, he offered the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Since 1999 he has been a U.S. Senator and, at least in the beginning, was one of the Republicans most willing to vote with the Democrats on behalf of working families. (Right wing fanatics still haven't forgiven him.) And you may recall that he broke with the far right by refusing to back Bush's choice of extremist sociopath John Bolton as UN ambassador.

Today Voinovich announced that he would retire from the Senate after finishing his second term in 2010. Demographic and political trends, as well as recent polls, showed that he would probably lose a bid for a third term. His excuse for skipping out on the job?

"I have never seen the country in such perilous circumstances.  Not since the Great Depression and the Second World War have we been confronted with such challenges, as a nation and as a world," Voinovich said. "I must devote my full time, energy and focus to the job I was elected to do, the job in front of me, which seeking a third term-- with the money-raising and campaigning that it would require-- would not allow me to do."

OK... I hope some of his GOP colleagues come to identical conclusions, particularly obstructionist extremists like Jim DeMint (R-SC), David Diapers Vitter (LA), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tom Coburn (R-OK). But what's on everyone's mind now is who's going to be Ohio's next U.S. Senator?

There are four likely Republicans eyeing the seat: Bush's spectacularly failed Director of the Office of Management and Budget (as well as inept U.S. Trade Representative), ex-Congressman Rob Portman; John Kasich, another former Republican congressman, although he had been gearing up to run a hopeless campaign for governor; defeated ex-Senator Mike DeWine; and former vote-stealin' Secretary of State, the much-loathed Ken Blackwell. Four complete losers. The Democratic Party's most likely nominee is Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, although popular Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who did a decent job cleaning up after Blackwell, is also a top contender. There are also four members of Congress considering the race, 2 progressives (Betty Sutton and Mary Kaptur), a moderate (Tim Ryan) and a reactionary whose voting record looks suspiciously Republican (Zack Space). And what about Paul Hackett? [UPDATE: Paul's not interested, according to a mutual friend.]


UPDATE: SENATE "LEADERSHIP" BACKTRACKS ON BURRIS... AGAIN

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Illinois senior senator and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin said in a Monday statement that the Senate would accept the credentials of Roland Burris. He should be sworn in later this week. I wonder if Reid is embarrassed. Even Oklahoma kook Jim Inhofe likes Burris! They wound up having dinner at the Monocle and afterwards Inhofe said “I was very much impressed with him. From my little, meager research, I thought, ‘This guy looks like Senate material’.”

And you know that Florida Senate seat Mel Martinez is giving up in 2010? The one Jeb isn't running for? It looks like Rep Kendrick Meek will be announcing his candidacy tomorrow.

DWT Is Sticking With KKK Grand Dragon Chip Saltsman For RNC Chair But It Looks Like The Extremists Are Lining Up Behind Mr. Blackwell

The most extremist of the Republican Party bosses have endorsed defeated Ohio ex-Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, who is, after all, experienced in working the only levers that Republicans can use to win elections. The list of endorsers is like a Hall of Shame of America's Far Right:

Gary Aldrich, Chairman, CNP Action Inc.

Morton C. Blackwell, Virginia Republican National Committeeman

Robert B. Bluey, Contributing Editor, RedState

L. Brent Bozell, Founder and President, Media Research Center

Kellyanne Conway, CEO and President, the polling company, inc./WomanTrend

T. Kenneth Cribb Jr., Former Domestic Adviser to President Reagan

James C. Dobson, Ph.D., Founder and Chairman, Focus on the Family

Becky Norton Dunlop, President, Council for National Policy

Stuart W. Epperson, Chairman, Salem Communications Corp.

Steve Forbes, Chairman & CEO, Forbes Media

Dr. Ronald Godwin, Vice Chancellor, Liberty University

Rebecca Hagelin, Author and Conservative Columnist

Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring

David Keene, Chairman, American Conservative Union

Tim LaHaye, Founder and President, Tim LaHaye Ministries

Ed Meese, Past President, Council for National Policy

James C. Miller, Past President, Council for National Policy

Tony Perkins, President Family Research Council

Ken Raasch, Chairman & CEO, Creative Brands Group

Alfred S. Regnery, Publisher, The American Spectator

Phyllis Schlafly, President, Eagle Forum

Pat Toomey, President, Club for Growth

Richard Viguerie, Chairman, ConservativeHQ.com

As my friend Teddy mentioned in an e-mail, if someone were writing a book, Who's Hurting America?, it would be hard to omit any of these.

Right wing extremists are concerned that a mainstream conservative, Michael Steele, might beat one of their favorite fanatic lunatic candidates and he's being attacked. The far right blog Red State piled on today, insinuating Steele is unqualified by dint of incompetence, corruption and, sin of sin, reaching out to Republican "moderates."

Steele boasts that his chairmanship of GOPAC qualifies him to run the RNC. He cites GOPAC’s work to elect Republicans as good preparation. So how did GOPAC fare under Steele’s leadership? During the 2008 cycle, GOPAC gave 11 candidates seeking U.S. House seats nearly $20,000. Six won and five lost.

Among GOPAC’s expenditures in 2008 was $5,000 to Steele for Maryland, even though Steele wasn’t on the ballot. The money probably went to pay off Steele’s 2006 campaign debt. It also happened to be the third largest expenditure for GOPAC, raising questions about the organization’s priorities under his leadership.

Money has been a problem for Steele in the past. Jennifer Skalka of National Journal’s Hotline reported that when Steele’s consulting business struggled financially, two banks threatened to place liens on his house. Although Steele cleared his debts, these financial issues are factors that must be considered for anyone seeking the RNC chairmanship.

Steele’s well-documented role with the Republican Leadership Council and association with co-founder Christie Todd Whitman is perhaps the most egregious political error he’s made. Any conservative who partners with the liberal Whitman must be viewed skeptically. Steele claims he was trying to broaden the party’s base by appealing to moderates. “We have to elect moderates in the party,” he told CBN’s David Brody.

Maybe they should give the job to Norm Coleman. Although he may have to spend a lot of time in court on his own behalf, he certainly needs a new job.


UPDATE: NOT THAT OBAMA'S CHOICE IS ANYTHING TO DANCE IN THE STREETS ABOUT EITHER

In another example of Obama putting all the levers of power in the hands of conservative Democrats, Virginia's plodding and "moderate" governor, Tim Kaine, was chosen to head the DNC. Yes, you read that right-- not the DLC, the Democratic National Committee.

This unfortunatel decision comes on the heels of corrupt corporate Democrat, Terry McAuliffe, who was a major embarrassment and an abject failure as DNC head under Clinton, announcing that he wants to take over the Virginia governor's mansion when Kaine steps down. Boo Man adequately summed up how most progressives feel about McAuliffe:

I ordinarily am not much interested in who runs states that I don't live in, although I obviously prefer Democrats to Republicans. Mr. McAuliffe is an exception. He represents everything that I see as being wrong with the Democratic Party over the last 16 years. I would actually prefer that a Republican run Virginia than to see McAuliffe raise his profile and influence within the party.

Everyone acknowledges that McAuliffe's main qualification is his prolific fundraising prowess. He's a glorified bagman...the nuts-and-bolts-guy of the DLC's corporatocracy. If he holds a progressive idea anywhere in his head, it is merely a branding decision that makes him distinct from George Allen-Republicanism. It's little more than a charade. McAuliffe is every bit the Economic Hit Man. He's a James Carville 'D' to Mary Matalin's 'R'. They are so in bed with each other that they're raising each other's kids. That kind of branding is no branding at all. It's just a deceit.

The health of the Democratic Party depends on it ridding itself of the soulless moneygrubbers, like McAuliffe, that stole its soul during the 1990's and delivered one devastating defeat after another. But McAuliffe prospered anyway. That's how that game is set up. Mark Penn made a killing last year, too.

The mysterious, convenient solo-plane-crash death of "Karl Rove's IT guru" has to turn the soberest soul into a Konspiracy Kook

Thanks to Brad Blog for digging out this lovely photo. Brad recalls that Mike Connell "had reportedly been threatened by Karl Rove over the summer, just prior to being forced to testify by a federal judge in Ohio in a 2004 election fraud lawsuit."

"I'm loyal to my friends and I'm loyal to the Bush family."

-- the late Mike Connell

"I deeply resent the way this administration makes me feel like a nutbar conspiracy theorist."

-- Teresa Nielsen Hayden

by Ken

I didn't pay much attention to this story at first. But it caught Howie's attention in Africa, and I took a closer look. Here is Lisa Derrick's account on FireDogLake's Campaign Silo:

Plane Crash Kills Rove IT Guy, Testified in OH Voter Fraud Case, Key in White House Email Scandal

By Lisa Derrick Saturday December 20, 2008 9:47 am

Mike Connell, Karl Rove's IT guru -- who was compelled six weeks ago to testify in an Ohio vote-tampering case -- was killed late Friday night in a solo plane crash. His plane crashed into the garage of an empty house. Per Cybrinth CEO Stephen Spoonamore, Connell was also considered "vital to uncovering the truth" about the missing White House emails considered a critical link to the Justice Department and White House's involvement in the firings of nine US attorneys.

According to Spoonamore, as reported by Rebecca Abrahams, at an October 11, 2006 meeting between Spoonamore, Connell, and GovTech Solutions President Randy Cole -- who ran and lost for State Representative in Ohio this election --

Connell asked him about ways to "permanently destroy hard drives." Spoonamore said "If this is what I think you're talking about, this meeting is over."

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are on site today. Investigations typically take weeks and even months or longer to complete, according to an FAA spokeswoman.

Connell, president of GovTech Solutions and New Media Communications, was a website designer and IT professional who created the website for Ohio's secretary of state Kenneth K. Blackwell that presented the 2004 election results in real time as they were tabulated.

Connell created websites for Blackwell's election runs was well as the one which tabulated and displayed votes in real time. During the 2004 elections, Blackwell was also chairman of Bush-Cheney 2004 reelection effort in Ohio, successfully leading the campaign for the 2004 Ohio Constitution Amendment banning state recognition of same sex marriage or civil unions. Blackwell was unseated in 2006 by Ted Strickland.

Connell refused to testify or to produce documents relating to the system used in the 2004 and 2006 elections until compelled by a judge on on November 1 of this year.

The Ohio RICO lawsuit King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association v. Blackwell, brought by Cliff Arnebeck, alleged alleging that vote-tampering during the 2004 presidential election resulted in civil rights violations. The lawsuit maintains that Karl Rove, with the assistance of Mike Connell, designed, built and directed a strategy to manipulate elections through the use of computers. On November 1, 2008, a judge ordered Connell to testify, though his resulting deposition two days later was disappointing to many. Connell's attorney advised him to not answer many questions including, "Who directed you to set up the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth IT Network?"

In addition to his with his work creating Blackwell's election websites and the anti-Kerry website swiftboatvetsfortruth.org, per reporter Rebecca Abrahams, Connell also developed websites for the House Intelligence, Judiciary, Financial Services, Ways and Means, and Administration Committees. The builder of RNC.org, and head of IT for the McCain campaign, Connell was also

the architect and cyber keymaster of George W. Bush election websites including GeorgeWBush.com and GWB43.com, the site Karl Rove used for 95-percent of his email communication. Connell is also the CEO of Govtech Solutions, the company responsible for building and managing congressional email servers and firewalls.

In 1999, Connell told Inside Business magazine, "I'm loyal to my friends and I'm loyal to the Bush family."

Let's pause here and take a deep breath before venturing into territory where sensible people really shouldn't be venturing. Breathe in, breathe out. Again.

Okay. So in other words:

* Mike Connell knew all of Karl Rove's electronic secrets. All of the systems by which Rove organized and exercised his control over the GOP and executive-branch propaganda operations, which of course were merged into a single operation,
went through Connell.

To the extent that communications were involved in Rove's far-flung machinations to subvert the Constitution and the whole body of federal law in order to perpetuate the totalitarian regime he had played such a large role in establishing, which is to say both his life's work and his every waking hour's occupation, to that extent, everything went through systems devised Connell. This included the creation of parallel e-mail systems devised to circumvent the government record-keeping requirements of federal law, and also to circumvent the requirements for separation of government business and partisan political activity, a separation that ran directly counter to the fundamental operating principle of the Bush regime, which was not only to break down the separation between government business and partisan political activity but to make them exactly the same thing.

* Clearly, e-mail communications were not only central to the political purge of U.S. attorneys who resisted participating in Rove's transformation of the Justice Dept. into an agency of political hatchet folk and partisan enforcers, but were central to the unraveling, documentation, and eventual prosecution of the various conspiracies.tiy, we'll never know.

* What's more, Connell was deeply involved with the Karl Rove of Ohio, former Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, including the period in which Blackwell likely oversaw the theft of the state's 2004 electoral votes for the presidential reelection campaign of George W. Bush, which enabled the never-elected president to steal a second term.

* Six weeks ago, after exhausting all efforts at stonewalling, Connell finally was forced to give a deposition concerning the Ohio electoral matters, though questions seem to have ranged into some of his other Rove-commissioned work.. He lawyered up, but what methods of persuasion might eventually have been brought to bear to persuade him to be more forthcoming, or what legal compulsions might in future have been applied to unearth what he knew about such other Rove secrets as the U.S. attorney firings, regarding which Rove himself is under increasing legal pressure to testy. Everything Connell knew about those activities also died with him in Friday night's plane crash.

* And that crash was of a single-passenger plane. All of a sudden, poof! No more Mike Connell. Oops. Well, accidents happen.

Now, I realize that this sounds like the most hysterical of conspiracy-mongering. It's just that where the activities of Karl Rove is concerned, it seems pretty clear that vast networks of conspiracies were in fact in daily operation, and that a substantial portion of the activity specifically involved bypassing or flouting the law. Where organized crime is concerned, such coincidences become automatically suspect, it seems hard to resist the suspicion that Karl Rove was a sort of operations manager for the most extensive political crime operation in the history of the republic.

Hmmm.


YOU ASK, WHO WAS MIKE CONNELL ANYWAYS?

Brad Blog has a veritable Mike Connell archive. The links are available on-site:

* 7/17/08: Ohio Attorney Files to Lift Stay on '04 Election Case, Cites Allegations, Evidence of Massive Fraud by a Number of GOP Operatives
* 7/22/08: GOP Tech Guru Mike Connell 'High IQ Forrest Gump...At Scene of Every Single Crime' Say Ohio Attorneys
* 7/24/08: Rove Threatened GOP IT Guru If He Does Not 'Take the Fall' for Election Fraud in Ohio, Says Attorney
* 7/25/08: Cliff Arnebeck, OH Attorney, Interviewed Live on Peter B. Collins Show
* 7/26/08: So Who Is Mike Connell? A Clip from 'Free For All' Gives You an Idea...
* 9/29/08: STAY LIFTED IN '04 OHIO ELECTION FRAUD CASE, GOP 'TECH GURU' SUBPOENAED
* 10/31/08: BREAKING: Federal Judge Compels GOP IT Guru Mike Connell To Give Deposition in Ohio '04 Election Case
* 11/24/08: 'Document Hold' Served by OH Attorney to GA SoS in Advance of State's U.S. Senate Run-off Election

LARISA ALEXANDROVNA REPORTS: "HE WAS AFRAID"

Raw Story, whose investigative team headed by Larisa Alexandrovna has been all over the Connell story, naturally is on this story too.

Alexandrovna revealed on her own blog that Connell was a source of hers, adding:

[H]e had information that he was ready to share.

You see, Mike Connell set-up the alternate email and communications system for the White House. He was responsible for creating the system that hosted the infamous GWB43.com accounts that Karl Rove and others used. When asked by Congress to provide these emails, the White House said that they were destroyed. But in reality, what Connell is alleged to have done is move these files to other servers after having allegedly scrubbed the files from all "known" Karl Rove accounts.

In addition, I have reason to believe that the alternate accounts were used to communicate with US Attorneys involved in political prosecutions, like that of Don Siegelman. This is what I have been working on to prove for over a year. In fact, it was through following the Siegelman-Rove trail that I found evidence leading to Connell. That is how I became aware of him. Mike was getting ready to talk. He was frightened. . . .

I am not saying that this was a hit nor am I resigned to this being simply an accident either. I am no expert on aviation and cannot provide an opinion on the matter. What I am saying, however, is that given the context, this event needs to be examined carefully. [emphasis in the original]

#