Rove’s mockery of 9/11 liberals riles Democrats

Karl Rove told New York conservatives Wednesday night that liberals had a wimpy response to the September 11 terrorist attacks, drawing harsh criticism yesterday from Democrats who demanded that President Bush either rebuke or fire his senior political adviser.

“Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers,” Mr. Rove said at the annual dinner of the New York State Conservative Party.

Mr. Rove also accused Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, of endangering U.S. troops with his comments last week.

“Has there ever been a more revealing moment this year?” Mr. Rove asked, referring to the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat comparing U.S. interrogation techniques at the Guantanamo Bay naval base to the Nazi and Soviet regimes.

“Al Jazeera now broadcasts the words of Senator Durbin to the Mideast, certainly putting our troops in greater danger. No more needs to be said about the motives of liberals.”

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada called for a retraction, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said Mr. Rove “has now decided to move to center stage in the theater of the absurd.”

The six Democratic senators from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut signed a letter to Mr. Rove demanding that he apologize. At a press conference yesterday to announce the letter, the four from New York and New Jersey said Mr. Rove should be fired if he doesn’t apologize by today.

“There’s a certain line that you should not cross, and last night, Karl Rove crossed that line. He didn’t just put his toe over the line; he jumped way over,” said Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York.

“This makes me angry. It makes, I think, the American people angry,” said Sen. Jon Corzine of New Jersey. “The man is divorced from reality, and it’s nothing but pure politics — the politics of diversion, the politics of divisiveness and distortion.”

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York was asked about the recent Beltway battles over rhetoric, including the Durbin flap and said both parties need to “just take a breath and calm down.”

“Everybody needs to just be a little more restrained,” she said.

Also signing the letter were Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey and Joe Lieberman and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut. The six represent the New York City metropolitan area.

None of the leading Democrats who criticized Mr. Rove yesterday called for Mr. Durbin to apologize for his own remarks, with some even specifically refusing to comment when asked.

Asked yesterday about the different reactions, Democrats would say only that Mr. Durbin’s eventual apology sets the stage for Mr. Rove to do the same.

“Senator Durbin — that’s been done and he has apologized. Karl Rove should do the same,” Mr. Schumer said.

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