David
01-28-2008, 04:32 PM
Rove: an abhorrent choice
Editor:
Karl Rove will be the commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2008 at Wallingford’s Choate Rosemary Hall. Headmaster Edward J. Shanahan said he “looks for commencement speakers who will be interesting and provocative,” though a more provocative choice was not possible since both Jack Abramoff and Duke Cunningham are serving jail sentences.
Rove is not simply a controversial figure of the contemporary political scene, he was the architect and chief strategist of an administration that polarized this nation to an extreme unseen since the Civil War. He epitomizes the strategy of the ends justifying the means and has shown no remorse over the costs to professional integrity, political careers, or even human lives.
Rove stands accused of numerous criminal acts including the disclosure of the identity of a covert CIA agent, illegal terminations of District Attorneys for not prosecuting Democratic opponents of Republican candidates, and manipulating intelligence for the purpose of invading and occupying a sovereign nation without cause.
A recent report by the Center for Public Integrity and the Fund for Independence in Journalism found that the Bush administration lied to the American people a total of 935 times in an orchestrated strategy to “galvanize public opinion and lead the nation to war.” Also, his illegal destruction of White House emails has prevented any serious prosecution to date. Rove’s reputation as political strategist was earned by destroying the character and credibility of opponents using innuendo, rumors and lies while failing to promote his candidates attributes, usually because they possessed none.
Many students have spoken out against the selection of Rove and a movement is underway to engage Stephen Colbert, from Comedy Central, as an alternative speaker. This crystallizes the stigma of Rove’s presence upon the students and Headmaster Shanahan should rethink his abhorrent choice for commencement speaker.
JERRY HARRINGTON, WALLINGFORD
Editor:
Karl Rove will be the commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2008 at Wallingford’s Choate Rosemary Hall. Headmaster Edward J. Shanahan said he “looks for commencement speakers who will be interesting and provocative,” though a more provocative choice was not possible since both Jack Abramoff and Duke Cunningham are serving jail sentences.
Rove is not simply a controversial figure of the contemporary political scene, he was the architect and chief strategist of an administration that polarized this nation to an extreme unseen since the Civil War. He epitomizes the strategy of the ends justifying the means and has shown no remorse over the costs to professional integrity, political careers, or even human lives.
Rove stands accused of numerous criminal acts including the disclosure of the identity of a covert CIA agent, illegal terminations of District Attorneys for not prosecuting Democratic opponents of Republican candidates, and manipulating intelligence for the purpose of invading and occupying a sovereign nation without cause.
A recent report by the Center for Public Integrity and the Fund for Independence in Journalism found that the Bush administration lied to the American people a total of 935 times in an orchestrated strategy to “galvanize public opinion and lead the nation to war.” Also, his illegal destruction of White House emails has prevented any serious prosecution to date. Rove’s reputation as political strategist was earned by destroying the character and credibility of opponents using innuendo, rumors and lies while failing to promote his candidates attributes, usually because they possessed none.
Many students have spoken out against the selection of Rove and a movement is underway to engage Stephen Colbert, from Comedy Central, as an alternative speaker. This crystallizes the stigma of Rove’s presence upon the students and Headmaster Shanahan should rethink his abhorrent choice for commencement speaker.
JERRY HARRINGTON, WALLINGFORD