SPIN OR FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY? :

What Would Bobby Say? Karl Rove Spins RFK to the Right (John Nichols, 06/06/2002, The Nation)

Rove's message in recent weeks has been an interesting one. He is telling Republicans that, as the party gears up for 2002 congressional and gubernatorial elections, its candidates must stop sounding so mean and greedy. At a May appearance before Republicans in Wisconsin, he explained that Republicans must "raise our sights and lower our voices."

Astute political observers will recognize this as a return to the "compassionate conservatism" that Rove used in 2000 to make Bush's right-wing stances more palatable to a country that stands well to the left of the GOP on most issues. With mid-term elections posing challenges and opportunities for the Bush White House, Rove is buffing up the mantra, suggesting that "compassionate conservatism" is now about shaping "a different kind of politics" that eschews the "blame culture" for a "responsible culture."

The message is that Republicans aren't about cutting needed programs in order to give tax breaks to the rich, said Rove. Rather, he explained, the point is "not to spend more or spend less, but to spend on what works."

If it wasn't Rove talking, that would be dismissed as the incomprehensible gobbledygook of pop psychology and political spin that it is.

I think Mr. Rove is wrong and that the GOP should call for spening less, but is saying that whatever we do choose to spend should at least be spent effectively really "gobbledygook"? I realize that The Nation would spend more and more, faster and faster, but do they truly not comprehend that we should try to spend wisely? No wonder the Left has ceased to exist. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 19, 2002 9:38 PM