The Modern Conservative Movement’s Battle With Reality

The following quote is from one of Trump’s minions on an NPR show a few days ago. It is, of course, a classic example of alt-reality, the belief that reality is actually in the eye of the beholder.

“One thing that’s been interesting this entire campaign season to watch is that people that say facts are facts. They’re not really facts,” Trump surrogate Scottie Nell Hughes said on “The Diane Rehm Show” on NPR. “It’s kind of like looking at ratings or looking at a glass half-full of water. Everybody has a way of interpreting them to be the truth or not true. There’s no such thing, unfortunately, anymore as facts.”

The other guests on the NPR show were understandably shocked by the assertion that facts don’t exist anymore, but it is coming from the Trump camp after all. When I first read it I thought something about the quote was familiar. Then I remembered what Karl Rove said shortly after George Bush stole the White House in 2001.

“We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality — judiciously, as you will — we’ll act again, creating new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”

The modern conservative movement does not accept the concept of a shared reality. For people like Rove and Trump, and religious zealots and fascists around the globe, reality is what you say it is. The only facts that count are those that support your views. Hitler created his own reality and convinced a whole lot of people to join him. It only ended after horrific worldwide destruction and bloodshed.

Trump’s alt-reality and that of his supporters will end as well, the only question is how big a price will we all have to pay?

The Iraq War: No Apologies, No Justice

This is the golden age of unaccountability. In the past week, Bush’s Brain Karl Rove and the Bush Administration stenographer, New York Times reporter Judith Miller, have both refused to apologize for their roles in selling the disastrous Iraq war to the American people. Like the snakes that they are, they both wriggled and squirmed and hissed indignant rejoinders to those who believe in the antiquated concept of justice. Having thrown the gas and lit the match that set the Middle East on fire, Rove and Miller and Cheney and all of the other pyromaniacs associated with President Bush retain their jobs and esteemed status in Washington.

Despite sending thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis to their deaths, sparking violent clashes throughout the region and creating new terrorist groups, no one is paying any price for one of the biggest international blunders in American history. Obama’s reluctance to bring anyone to justice over the Iraq debacle is maddening. Clinton was impeached for lying about a brief romantic fling, yet no one today has the courage to indict actual war criminals who were responsible for torture and untold death and destruction.

The rewriters of history are already trying to work their magic by claiming the Bush Administration didn’t actually “lie” to the American people, but were simply misled by the intelligence. This is, of course, a blatant lie, but as time goes by, who knows which version of events will become the historical record. With their power, influence and money, the Bush’s have a long record of avoiding accountability and escaping punishment. Why should Iraq be any different?

Time For Some Outrage

What is more undemocratic, more un-American than trying to steal an election? For a moment, forget about Citizens United and negative political ads and the truckloads of money spent on presidential campaigns. These are all serious issues, but even these pale in comparison when measured against outright theft, or the attempted theft, of an election.

I’ve known about the problems inherent in electronic voting machines for years, but after reading Anonymous, Karl Rove and 2012 Election Fix? by Thom Hartmann and Sam Sacks at Truthout, I’m convinced that someone in the federal government should be investigating the activities of Karl Rove and his minions and their connections to SMARTech.

The evidence against Rove is circumstantial at this point, but very compelling and warrants deeper investigation. We Americans send poll watchers to various countries around the world to help verify the legitimacy of their elections, while our own results are highly suspect. There are a lot of things related to U.S. political campaigns that should elicit outrage, but none more so than the attempted theft of an election. We can’t allow this to happen.

Karl Rove Named New Presidential Envoy to Paraguay.

Washington, D.C. – Embattled former Bush advisor Karl Rove held an impromptu teleconference this morning form his new office somewhere in northern Paraguay. Sweating profusely, Mr. Rove appeared to be delivering his announcement from inside a small metal hut. His speech was interrupted several times by chickens fighting in the background and what appeared to be native tribesmen pointing machetes at Rove and screaming. The text of Mr. Rove’s speech:

“Fellow Americans. I am very excited and honored to tell you that President Bush asked me yesterday to spearhead a new diplomatic initiative in the strategic South American country of Paraguay. As a special envoy, I will work to establish strong diplomatic ties with the Paraguayan government and oversee the building of a strategic complex to house other American diplomats who will work with me on this endeavor in the future. I truly regret not being able to testify before congress, which I was honestly looking forward to, but my duty to my country and my president must come first. God bless America. Thank you.”

Some on the far left have suggested that Rove went to Paraguay to escape criminal prosecution in the United States because there is no extradition treaty with that country’s government, a charge vigorously denied by a White House spokesperson.

“Everyone knows Karl loves Paraguay and its people. This was an opportunity for him to work in an environment where he can really make a difference. To suggest otherwise is to provide our terrorist enemies with fodder for their propaganda efforts.”

The aide refused to say when Mr. Rove would return to the United States.

Congressional Dems to Grill Rove During Golf Outing

Washington, D.C. - Backing off their insistence that former Bush advisor Karl Rove appear before congress and testify under oath, a spokesperson for Representative John Conyers said today that congressional Democrats have decided to change their tactics.

“We’ve decided that a non-confrontational approach will yield better results. Congressional leaders will interview Mr. Rove about his participation in the Valerie Plame outing at the Renditions Golf Club in Davidsonville, Maryland in three weeks. Our feeling is that we will garner better information in a relaxed atmosphere without the pressure of a subpoena or being under oath. We feel vindicated by the fact that Mr. Rove agreed immediately.”

Questioned about whether this approach was too lenient based on the gravity of the accusations, the spokesman scoffed.

“Believe me, Rove will be thoroughly questioned during our time on the links. The fact that this won’t be recorded or written down is of no consequence in the bigger scope of things. Listen, there’s a small element of radical bloggers out there who won’t be satisfied with anything less than a public lynching, but that’s not the way we work.”

According to the spokesperson, the day will end with a reception in Rove’s honor at the clubhouse.