1 Boring Old Man

Connect the Dots: Karl Rove’s Politics Uber Alles Strategy and the Utah Mine Disaster

What makes Karl Rove’s politics uber alles strategy chilling is connecting the dots between it and the Utah mining disaster.

Rove’s unprecedented use of federal assets for political gain, laid out in yesterday’s Washington Post, meant that every tool at his disposal was employed to help foster his goal of a permanent Republican majority. "It was all politics, all the time," Rep. Henry Waxman told WaPo.

"It was total commitment," marveled Rep. Thomas Davis III, who worked closely with Rove in 2002 on the GOP’s House reelection campaign. "We knew history was against us, and [Rove] helped coordinate all of the accoutrements of the executive branch to help with the campaign."

These accouterments included, in the words of the Post, "enlisting political appointees at every level of government in a permanent campaign that was an integral part of [Rove’s] strategy to establish electoral dominance." But Rove’s plan involved much more than having Cabinet officials make election year visits bearing federal goodies to the districts of embattled Republicans; it also meant using the government’s regulatory mechanisms to reward major GOP contributors. Major contributors such as Big Coal.

Coal mining interests have donated more than $12 million to federal candidates since the Bush-era began with the 2000 election cycle, with 88% of that money — $10.6 million — going to Republicans.

And what did that largess buy the coal mining industry? Mine safety regulators far more interested in looking out for the financial well-being of mine owners than for the physical well-being of miners.

Exhibit A is Bush’s "mine safety" czar, Richard Stickler, whose agency both approved the controversial mining technique used at the Crandall Canyon Mine before the collapse, and oversaw the rescue operation.

Stickler is a former coal company manager with such a lousy safety record at the companies he’d run that his nomination as head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration was twice rejected by Senators from both parties, forcing Bush to sneak him in the back door with a recess appointment.

In other words, the guy the White House tapped to protect miners is precisely the kind of executive the head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration is supposed to protect miners from. And now Stickler is the one who will lead the "investigation" into what happened in Utah — unless there is enough public outcry to force a truly independent investigation.

The accusation is that the Bush Administration has only been about political advancement of the Republican Party and the agendae of it’s more affluent constituents. It has not been about government of whole country. Dick Cheney’s first job in Washington was under Nixon to assist Donald Rumsfeld in stopping the Office of Economic Opportunity from functioning. He’s been at it ever since. As Gerald Ford’s Chief of Staff, as a Representative for 10 years, or as Secretary of Defense, he has consistantly shown a talent for political manipulation, always in the negative – finding ways around obstacles in the way of some interest he’s trying to help. He may be a Conservative – but his real forte is as a behind the scenes political operator. Karl Rove is the same way. Since he’s resigned, he’s made the talk show rounds speaking of lofty policies and vision. He’s simply a political hack who has abused the power of government to promote the Republican Party. Who knows what Bush is? Whatever he is, he’s no leader nor is he a man of vision. They all three know how to get their way, but none of the three have a "way" for us to go. They’re just taking care of their pals – mostly businessmen who need government to increase their profits and others [like the Religious Right] who control a lot of voters.