Karl the Rat and Tricky Mickey Mouse

So where does the ABC/Disney propaganda piece fit in? According to "thoughtful" Republican blogger, Andrew Sullivan, Karl Rove intends to make 2006 election the most exploitive, most partisan abuse of the 9/11 story yet. The Bush administration push to legalize torture and get what amounts to Congressional approval after the fact for war crimes and broad ranging violations of US law and the US Constitution is the keystone.

They are hoping that Americans will see Democratic opposition to torture as being "appeasing the terrorists" and this ABC propaganda piece is their little version of Aleksandr Nevsky. It is the film they hope will prime people's minds to the idea that Democrats are soft on terrorists because ...well, pick a stereotype: liberals are effeminate (let's psychoanalyze that little mantra some day), liberals hate America as much as Bin Ladin does, liberals are soft in the head etc.

I am hoping that two things will keep Rove from using this strategy effectively. 1) John McCain seems to have taken a principled stand against the Bush position on torture and it is damn hard for a draft dodging, ANG gold bricker to call McCain a coward or unpatriotic. 2) Most of the American people seem sick of hearing about 9/11 all the time. I get the impression the country is finally ready for closure and may not appreciate such naked politicization of 9/11.