Yesterday I tried to call Karl Rove at the White House. You will not be surprised to learn that they were insulting and snippy to me and I could not get through to his office. The comment line was as close as I got and they were clueless as to why the switchboard would not transfer me to the public servant known as Mr. Rove.
If I had reached him I would have asked him as he blathered about how anxious and proud the conservatives were who jumped at the chance to have a war — where are they now on the streets of Baghdad? My son was a very liberal Democrat, when he signed up for the National Guard no one asked, when he was deployed no one asked his opinion or his politics, and after he lost his life protecting the people looking for those weapons of mass destruction no conservative hawk came forth to take his place. Nor have they lined up at recruiters offices to answer the needs of our exhausted Army.
I hope Mr. Rove will show his true colors and sign up for a guard unit, no one is too old now, Pennsylvania guards men in their 50s are serving. If he is too busy slandering half the people in this Country perhaps he could send a child he loves dearly to take my Sherwood’s place?
I hope others will ask these questions of Mr. Rove and his friends, maybe their calls will get through.
Sincerely,
Celeste Zappala, Philadelphia
Mother of Sgt. Sherwood Baker, KIA 4/26/04
I wasn’t going to even respond to this because it seemed to be one of those no-win, hyper-emotional, biased sound bytes I’ve heard so often but I think I owe it to Sgt. Shewood Baker to respond.
Celeste is obviously greiving for the loss of a child, as anyone would. She’s angry because her son made a life decision he thought was right and one that resulted in the end of his life. He served his country and made the ultimate sacrafice.
In her grief, Celeste doesn’t see that she is trampling upon everyhting her son believed in. She’s inadvertantly dragging her dead son’s name through the mud by attacking the country he loved, the people he protected and people he worked for, the ideals he believed in and career he had chosen.
Republicans didn’t jump at the chance for a war, it was forced upon them and the rest of this country. Rove isn’t a public servant, he’s a political advisor and talking to him won’t make her feel any better. By venting her grief in this manner won’t help her get closure and it makes it look like the honorable Sgt. made a dumb decision by serving his country. It wasn’t.
I agree with you thinker…. Whats Karl Rove going to say to this woman to make it any better for her? The sad reality is many die in war, it can’t be avoided because of the danger involved…
Jaaaman, Right – If the soldier and/or his mother were liberals, Rove insulted them. It’s not an insult to what the kid stood for if Rove pretty much spit in his face with his remarks.
He spit in my face…because I’m a liberal and chose to serve when it was my turn to do so. It’s a disgusting display of divisive politics aimed not at addressing anything tangible, but instead putting a spin on the greatest tragedy of my lifetime.
It’s extremely shameful to politicize 9/11 in such a way. If a Democrat did it, we’d never hear the end of it. Rove represents the White House when he speaks.
If the soldier and/or his mother were liberals, Rove insulted them. It’s not an insult to what the kid stood for if Rove pretty much spit in his face with his remarks.
No he didn’t, not even close. He didn’t say anything to the lady, not a word and it isn’t his place to. Rove is so not a part of this other than the fixation Celeste has placed on him.
It’s extremely shameful to politicize 9/11 in such a way. If a Democrat did it, we’d never hear the end of it. Rove represents the White House when he speaks.
Democrats are politicizing it now along with the war on terror. I’m not sure what you mean by Republicans politicizing 9/11, it was an event in our history on a massive scale, how would a politician talk about it without it being political? As you said earlier Democrats and Republicans were united after 9/11 so what’s the deal?
This McClellan guy speaks for the White House, not Rove. Hell, you may as well say Rush Limbaugh or Bush Sr. speaks for the White House. Rove is one af many consultants and private sector employees with government contracts and it would be crazy to say they all speak for the White House.