Many on here, me among them, sense a potential turning of the tide. Some on here are expressing frustration regarding slow movement in the polls. Others believe there is no way that Karl Rove can spin this one. But think again.
Last night at a holiday fireworks event, I encountered a middle aged well educated, intelligent man from California visiting Cincinnati for the weekend. Clearly he was a Republican, but what shocked me was as the evening's conversation went on he asked "so what happened in New Orleans last week?"
(More below the fold)
Those of us on here of course are acutely aware of what went on, but sadly a large part of the American public is paying only mild attention at best. They see just another hurricane. That man was not the rare exception.
It may take the body count to get their attention and by then Karl Rove will have had plenty of time to spin this such that blame is pointed at the Mayor and the Governor, maybe even Senator Landrieu. It will all be "because local Democrats screwed up," not because the federal government (FEMA in particular) was, as we can see, and incompetent failure.
Get ready its coming. There will be an investigationm, but it will be run by Republicans who can control the flow of information and the questions asked. It will be like the (911 Commission which was blocked from looking at the question of pre-war manipulation of intelligence. When its done the white wash will be complete.
We see the turning of the tide and I hope to God it is. I was inspired by Kingubu's diary the other day (RIP, GOP (An Exhortation) http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/2/20401/46134)
But the fact is, these people are not going to go down with out a fight. They are on the verge of the complete victory they've always dreamed of; the death of Rehnquist puts them a bit closer, so to have it snatched from them by what they see is "bad luck" is not something they'll take kindly too. They will fight like the cornered animals they are.
The fact that many people in this country have really not paid attention this week is dispiriting but, it's important to realize that the slow movement in the polls comes in part from that. The tide is potentially turning, but the fight has only just begun.
If we're not careful, the Republican machine will throw money at this, control the flow of information, control the investigation, control the spin and what seems like the light at the end of the tunnel will become the oncoming train. You can almost see it happening now.
Too often we have underestimated their maliciousness, cynicism and capacity for spin.
We must not let ourselves forget that most people are not paying nearly as close attention to what is happening as we are. We cannot count on the MSM to do that for us. We must not let them get away with it - but its no forgone conclusion that they won't.
So- how do we make sure they don't?