Is Karl Rove imploding?

Via Josh Marshall: Reed Hundt, former chair of the FCC responds to Michael Powell, the current chair, regarding the Sinclair Media Group’s shameful plans to air an hour-long anti-Kerry tirade, days before the election.

The so-called documentary, Stolen Honor, comes to us thanks to Sinclair, from the same discredited group who brought us “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” and “Unfit for Command”.

Here’s an excerpt from Reed Hundt’s letter to Josh Marshall:

“The issues are: if Sinclair shows this anti-Kerry propaganda (which can be downloaded from Internet, lest anyone question the characterization), then (1) should it also give a free hour to pro-Kerry content selected by any authentic progressive organization, and (2) will Sinclair face at least the prospect after the fact of a review of its fulfillment of its public interest duties. …

“Chairman Powell instead pretends that he has been asked to bar the showing of the propaganda — which no one has asked him to do. His remarks are so far off the point, and he is so intelligent, that one must conclude that he knows what he is doing and intends the result — tacit and plain encouragement of the use of the Sinclair airwaves to pursue a smear campaign. No broadcast group in the history of America has ever committed an hour to smearing a presidential candidate, and no FCC chairman before this one would have reacted with equanimity to this radical step down in broadcasting ethics.”

Just speculation here, and probably unrelated, but I think Karl Rove may be imploding.

Look, for example, at the way Bush has been repeating and repeating, since 1999, his mantra of tax cuts for the middle-class, when he knowingly pushed through two separate tax cuts that primarily benefit the upper class. Fact: During Bush’s term, nearly 70% of his tax cut dollars have gone to the top 20% income bracket. These numbers come from our own government — I didn’t make them up. And Bush still expects us lowly middle-classers to believe that he’s looking out for the little guy?!?

I think it can’t be Bush that’s doing all of this — sure he’s doing a lot, but as I understand it, he opposed the second tax-cut-for-the-rich, and Karl Rove talked him out of it. If this is true, either Rove is imploding or he’s already lined up Dubya’s post-Kerry Presidential successor. Any bets on who Rove is massaging from the mid-level government hack crowd to take over, once he can regroup?

For future reference, the Starve the Beast Theory.