Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Daily Kos contributor “Hunter” thinks he’s spotted a sea change in inside-the-beltway political discourse, one likely to have national impacts if it really exists.

[Newsweek’s Howard] Fineman was remarkably blunt in his assertions that the “ethics” and other attacks on Murtha are being orchestrated by Karl Rove — by name — and the White House, which intends to hit Murtha with everything “necessary”. He stated directly that the White House sees everything as a political operation. He was blunt in Murtha’s record and leadership position in the war, and in attributing to Murtha the behind-the-scenes voices of many top Pentagon voices who are unhappy with both the state of the war effort and with Rumsfeld’s planning in the specific.

In short, he made it perfectly, bitterly clear that the White House itself sees Murtha as a tremendous threat, considers itself at war with Murtha, and that Rove — again, by name — intends to hit him with everything at the administration’s disposal.

And without betraying any secrets of the Washington press corps, I’d have to say that Fineman, for one, met the airways today genuinely either angry or disgusted with the effort.

… There is something different in the air, the past few weeks. Murtha has managed to tap a tuning fork that the whole war sounds off of — one I’m not sure he ever intended to find.

…

Whether or not Karl Rove survives the excesses of being Karl Rove, I have to wonder if the same crass, one-note song will play, or if the audience has changed. When the only weapon the White House is capable of using is to impugn the very patriotism and Americanness of their opponents, what happens if the reactions to that attack change?

What happens if the press decides that dissent is, after all, patriotic?

Now wouldn’t that be something.

Obligatory Bob Dylan reference.