We reminded the senior White House advisor that the US leads the world in global warming pollution and we are doing the least about it. Anger flaring, Mr. Rove immediately regurgitated the official Administration position on global warming which is that the US spends more on researching the causes than any other country.
We felt compelled to remind him that the research is done and the results are in (www.IPCC.ch). Mr. Rove exploded with even more venom. Like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, Mr. Rove launched into a series of illogical arguments regarding China not doing enough thus neither should we. (Since when do we follow China's lead?)
At some point during his ramblings, we became heartbroken to think that the President of the United States and his top advisers have partially built a career on global warming not being real. We have been telling college students across the country for the past two weeks that government does not change until people demand it… well, listen up folks, everyone had better get a lot louder because the message clearly is not getting through.
In his attempt to dismiss us, Mr. Rove turned to head toward his table, but as soon as he did so, Sheryl reached out to touch his arm. Karl swung around and spat, "Don't touch me." How hardened and removed from reality must a person be to refuse to be touched by Sheryl Crow? Unfazed, Sheryl abruptly responded, "You can't speak to us like that, you work for us." Karl then quipped, "I don't work for you, I work for the American people." To which Sheryl promptly reminded him, "We are the American people."
Well, what did they expect? Rove has spent an entire career responding to criticism as if he was the bullied kid from junior high, getting his own back on The Jocks. It would be illogical to expect a reasonable discussion with the guy, as he practically invented "talking points" as they are currently used (and abused) by the neoconservatives.
At least they tried. I'm not sure if I want to go looking for Karl's version of the story, but it'll be something like this:
That crazy enviro-nut Sheryl Crow tried to attack me! But I showed her! She's a nut! She and her liberal nutball hippie friends think their wacky little theory counts for something, but look at the loser that goes around flogging his little documentary! I mean, LOSER! We made sure of that, er, and anyway Crow and her loser liberal friends can go F*$+ themselves. She'll never get near me again, the little anti-American rabble-rousing rock star the Secret Service will make sure of that.
Still, she is sort of hot for an old hippie-chick broad. Maybe I should call her.
I’d feel slightly better about this rendition if David and Crow weren’t the wise, calm, messengers of justice and truth, and Rove weren’t doing everything but frothing at the mouth and muttering “Redrum! Redrum!”
I would hate to actually be in Rove’s head here, but I could easily see the following:
… spun as …
Or, looked at another way, would Sheryl Crow put up with being grabbed by Carl Rove if she was trying to disengage from an unpleasant conversation?
I’m really not trying to defend Rove here, believe me, and I haven’t ready any of the right-wing blogs so I have no idea what *they’re* claiming happened. But phrases like, “How hardened and removed from reality must a person be to refuse to be touched by Sheryl Crow?” makes me think there’s more than one ego at work here.
Oh, there’s tons of ego on both sides. I had been watching with half an eye the HuffPost blog postings from the Global Warming tour, and kind of snorting a little at the enthusiasm for all things green. I mean, I think it’s an important issue, but it seemed kind of funny to me how Crow and her crew were girlishly burbling on about using, washing, and reusing flatware that one of the assistants bought at a garage sale. There’s also something going on about the right use of TP.
I’m glad that they’re out there publicising this, but some “enviro-nuts” have been doing this stuff for years, and only because Sheryl Crow does it, it’s cool?
I’m not sure I want to go looking for Rove’s side of the story, but I bet your assessment of the likely spin on this story from someone on the right is accurate.