Bush using wiretaps to blackmail the media?

Extending upon my earlier diary about Karl Rove possibly ordering wiretaps, I'd like to call you attention to this article by Paul Craig Roberts:

http://www.counterpunch.org/...

Roberts believes that Bush has been using illegal wiretaps for YEARS to silence critics in the media, and perhaps even Democrats. That would explain a lot... Judge for yourself.

FYI, Roberts held editiorial positions in both the Wall Street Journal, and the National Review, and was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He's no liberal lackey. And he remains well connected in the media. Although I'd be more convinced if he had some hard evidence.

Some choice quotes from the article:

We have reached a point where the Bush administration is determined to totally eclipse the people. Bewitched by neoconservatives and lustful for power, the Bush administration and the Republican Party are aligning themselves firmly against the American people. Their first victims, of course, were the true conservatives. Having eliminated internal opposition, the Bush administration is now using blackmail obtained through illegal spying on American citizens to silence the media and the opposition party.
...
The TV networks mimic Fox News' faux patriotism. Anyone who depends on print, TV, or right-wing talk radio media is totally misinformed. The Bush administration has achieved a de facto Ministry of Propaganda.

The years of illegal spying have given the Bush administration power over the media and the opposition. Journalists and Democratic politicians don't want to have their adulterous affairs broadcast over television or to see their favorite online porn sites revealed in headlines in the local press with their names attached. Only people willing to risk such disclosures can stand up for the country.

Roberts suggests the best hope is NOT to oppose Bush, but give him enough rope to hang himself. Want a swift end to the Iraq war? Support yet more invasions of Iran and Syria. It will collapse the war machine before they can create a police state.

Yikes... Im not quite that cynical... but its an intreresting read.