Dear Markos,
Yes, I know that you hate it when people ask you to write about something specific. I know that the standard answer is "start your own blog." (I did. It's here.) But we need some leadership on an issue here and you and your Merry Pranksters are just the ones to provide it.
I look at the Republican attempt to argue that they are not morally culpable for torture because Nancy Pelosi was briefed about it (to some extent, which of course they'll lie about) and I think "this has got to be the most flagrantly stupid use of Rove's "attack their strengths" idea since Swiftboating itself. Yet, as with Swiftboating, your poll today tells us that the plan to obfuscate by dropping the Mighty Wurlitzer onto Nancy Pelosi's head is working.
We can't allow Republicans this victory. It's time to break out the Weapons of Mass Derision.
This site has been doing a good job of covering the Dick Cheney Tour overall. In particularly, mcjoan has, characteristically, been all over it lately, especially when it comes to the Wilkerson revelations. Barb and Jed have weighed in well. But something has been missing.
Snark. Sharp-edged, red-eyed, radioactive, steaming piles of snark!
I know that you have your problems with Pelosi. She's not progressive enough, not aggressive enough. I know that. But the Republicans are using attacks on her as they way to cloud over their culpability. We may disagree with her about impeachment or Iraq or FISA or a hundred other things, but this is the time to close ranks. Their victory is our defeat. Our victory is their defeat. They must not be allowed to use Nancy Pelosi's partial knowledge of aspects of their villainy to convince the public that their own planning, approving, implementing, and defending torture is not the issue. It is the issue. Dumping this onto Pelosi is brazen and absurd.
There is only one way to approach this battle: Gleefully. That means making vicious fun of them. I don't mean making vicious fun of Cheney; we've done that. I mean a narrower target. We need to make vicious fun of the notion that Nancy Pelosi's glum partial knowledge in any way detracts from Republican culpabiity. This is, coincidentally, a target the size of an elephant for our best, funniest, most joyous, endless derision. Let's aim for it and keep shooting until it's nothing but sound waves.
We need to be united here. Like it or not, we need to rally around Pelosi, as that's who they've chosen as their target. We should call for a Special Prosecutor -- to investigate the mote in Pelosi's eye and the forest full of logs in Republicans' eyes -- and tell stories about what will happen when Nancy and Dick testify in the same room. We should trot out our best analogies, our best photos, our best cartoons and illustrations, our best videos, our best vials of Poisonous Truth to fling at the Republicans on this very narrow point, on which they seem to have staked so much, that someone Nancy's behavior excuses Dick's. We should put this poison in a frosty mug and make them drink it.
You -- along with Atrios, Digby, and a other blogerati -- are the ones to lead us here. I hope to see deadly snark all over the front page, day after day, the way we gleefully see it in other instances when we're involved in a rout. Let's show the Party what we can do. Help us unite in a joyous, decisive repulsion of this attack. When it's over, we can go ahead and criticize Nancy about one or another thing, but for now, during this important battle, we have to have her back.
Lead us in this critical time, Markos! Break out the WEAPONS OF MASS DERISION!