a couple weeks ago i made a bunch of posts here about CBS and the texas guard memos. i had a crackpot theory that rove got someone to fake up the memos and release them, after making certain the originals would not be available -- and they deliberately made them look fake, but left the content reasonably close to the original, knowing that someone would discover the forgery, and knowing that CBS would end up looking bad no matter what. if CBS acknowledged the forgery, it would make it look like bush was being set up by someone [some group of crazy liberal commies]; or if it was revealed later, CBS would be suspected of having an agenda, or at least of being sloppy and reckless.
but forget all of that. it wasn't based on research anyway. it was fascinating to me as a strategy -- if they really did make those moves, it's pure genius, once again. they control the outcome, regardless of any possible consequence of their actions.
then i read "what's the matter with kansas?". thomas frank explains how the rep cons kept after the rep mods and dems for years, by advancing debate on abortion, evolution, gays, the content of movies and TV, etc. -- all battles which they had absolutely no hope of winning, or even having a meaningful impact. now, if you were the GOP why would you even go there? the fundies have been a joke for years, not many wanted anything to do with them. it seemed harmless enough, right? let them court those people until they both become aware of the hopelessness and futility of it.
it's all part of the plan! the lack of effectiveness, the lack of outcome/closure is key to its success. somehow when the world looks like it is unraveling, their plans are working perfectly. the continuous obsession of trying to roll back reproductive rights, "clean up" entertainment, etc. when society is moving in the opposite direction will keep their side fighting harder than ours, and make them seem like they are still losing after they have gained full control.
my nightmare is that rove is two or three steps ahead, and we'll spend the next two decades going down the tubes, and read about it later in rove's autobiography. what does the future hold? [and will we get any better at anticipating it?]
anything can become a "wedge issue" if it's couched properly, right?