With Karl Rove’s Plame scandal finally hitting the big time, Republicans are taking a wait-and-see approach. They’re inclined to stand by him, but they don’t want to get caught supporting a guy who’s going to be fired, or worse, indicted.
There was, however, one interesting response yesterday from one of the few high-profile party officials willing to speak out on this scandal.
The only Republican to issue a statement on the matter Monday was Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee. “It’s disappointing that once again, so many Democrat leaders are taking their political cues from the far-left, MoveOn wing of the party,” he said, referring to the online advocacy group MoveOn.org.
What an odd comment. The president’s top political advisor, the “architect” of the president’s campaign, and the deputy White House chief of staff seems to have been caught leaking classified information to help cover-up lies about Iraq. And to hear Ken Mehlman tell it, the real problem is MoveOn.org. It’s enough to make one wonder if children have taken over the RNC and have started issuing statements to make look Mehlman ridiculous.
Alas, Mehlman was serious, and as it turns out, it’s part of a concerted strategy to attack MoveOn before it helps Dems too much.
From top White House operative Karl Rove to two of the party campaign committees, Republicans have launched a full-scale attack on MoveOn.org, questioning the liberal group’s patriotism and worldview.
These attacks appear to have two purposes: One is to put the group and its Democratic allies on the defensive over support for the war on terror. And the second is to drive a wedge between Democratic candidates and the millions of dollars that MoveOn’s supporters have pumped into their campaigns.
With MoveOn fast becoming one of the Democratic Party’s most important fundraising sources, the second goal may end up being the more important one.
How typical.
If MoveOn is raising money that helps progressive candidates, Republicans naturally do what they do best: attack, smear, and do whatever they can to tear the enemy down. No wonder so many high-profile GOP officials have taken to lambasting the group so much.
For what it’s worth, the attacks haven’t tempered Dems’ enthusiasm for the group. In the Roll Call article on the Republican efforts to discredit MoveOn, Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Charles Schumer (N.Y.) offered effusive praise for MoveOn and its efforts. They’re not the only ones.
Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.), who’s running for the Senate in a conservative state by positioning himself as a centrist, said he has no problem if MoveOn wants to help him raise cash.
“MoveOn.org hasn’t placed one road-side bomb in Iraq,” Ford said. “Nor did MoveOn.org fail to plan an exit strategy.”
While the group hasn’t yet helped him, Ford said Rove’s attacks on MoveOn smacked of “childish instinct.”
MoveOn, take heart. If the Republican Attack Machine wants to destroy you, you must be doing something right.