Karl Rove Contemplates Fine Distinctions

Karl Rove Contemplates Fine Distinctions

Karl Rove Contemplates Fine Distinctions

To Bush, Karl Rove is fine–as long as his leaking is not a crime.

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If somebody committed a crime, they will no longer work for my Administration.
   –George W. Bush

Ann Richards wasn’t hard to beat–
Not once we said she seemed to greet
A lot of girls who looked quite burly
And, all and all, just not too girly.

We smear, we smear. We slime, we slime.
It’s fine if it is not a crime.

McCain, a hero, led the pack,
Until our whispered sneak attack
Said, “Hero, sure, but he was changed
By prison. John is quite deranged.”

We smear, we smear. We slime, we slime.
It’s fine if it is not a crime.

Though our guy’d hidden in the Guard,
John Kerry, hero, soon was tarred
By Swift-boat proxies who’d exact
A fearful price without one fact.

We smear, we smear. We slime, we slime.
It’s fine if it is not a crime.

Joe Wilson’s op-ed piece implied
When we lacked facts we simply lied.
We showed our toughness in this strife:
When he struck us, we smeared his wife.

We smear, we smear. We slime, we slime.
It’s fine if it is not a crime.

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

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