The right has decided to defend Rove by attacking Wilson, his wife, Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton, the Summer Silly Season, and Moveon.org. None of their arguments make sense. All of their arguments are subspecies of the Chewbacca Defense:
The Chewbacca Defense is a satirical term for any legal strategy that seeks to overwhelm its audience with nonsensical arguments and thus confuse them into failing to take account of the opposing arguments and, ultimately, to reject them. It is thus a kind of logical fallacy, specifically a red herring fallacy and non sequitur similar to argumentum ad nauseam.
The term originated in the animated television series South Park. In its typically hyperbolic style, the show satirized the late attorney Johnnie Cochran’s closing argument defending O.J. Simpson in his murder trial.
Listen to the Chewbacca Defense.
I’d hate to see Rove get off because he lives on Endor! 😉
we are all in danger of living on Endor 🙂
Hey! That doesn’t make any sense! Defense rests.
I’m mad for “South Park.”
P.S. New bumper sticker: REPUBLICANS: SOFT ON TREASON
Not that this would be a bad thing. I imagine those Ewoks would give the Republicans a right seeing-to.
That’s hilarious ^_^
I’m getting a bad title error on wikipedia, though. Is that because of something on my end ?
GRINS
NM your sneaky, you are! Fixed it while i was typing my comment!
He’s getting ready to do a segment on Rove, it’s currently 10:17pm EDT. It’s a commercial right now.
On CNN of course, sorry, forgot to put that.
Matt Cooper goes before the grand jury tomorrow.
JPol sent this to me:
Vice President’s Remarks at 2003 Air Force Convention
Marriott Ballroom, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Washington, D.C.
10:53 A.M. EDT
…Our military is confronting the terrorists, along with our allies, in Iraq and Afghanistan so that innocent civilians will not have to confront terrorist violence in Washington or London or anywhere else in the world….
KR is free game b/c he is someone “who has a hand in everything”
David Gergen clip showed reinforcing that KR is close to Bush emotionally.
HA! Now they’re replaying the remarks KR made regarding liberals offering therapy for the 9/11 attackers.
Mehlman now, talking about smear campaign…(crybaby)
“(The White House) has clammed up”
“He knows he is going to be a pinata…” you betcha!
haha, report is speculating if Rove is toast. Showing clips of Nixon (I love it when they do that) and other scandals of the past. Keep it up Jeff, it’s a subtle way to equate this with those times.
From tomorrow’s WAPO (Harold Meyerson):
Read the whole thing! It’s fantastic.
More from the WaPo (Jim Vandehei) emphasis mine
It’s becoming increasingly clear to me that if we take down Rove, we take them all down. That’s the price of loyalty when you continually use lies and deceptions.
Frankly, the Chewbacca Defense would be a step up from the crap that Repugs have utilized in the past.
NEW DAILY SHOW!
if Rove’s promotion was somehow part of an endgame in case things went bad for him in this investigation — IOW, if really damaging stuff turned up. It never quite made sense to put Rove in the spotlight, when his specialty has always been the stab in the back. The appointment, seems to me, lessened, rather than increased, his effectiveness.
So is there any way that his government position now allows him more possibility for withholding information or covering it up, getting some kind of legal cover, or simply power to manipulate the investigatory/legal process?
You know I never saw this program SP.. but I listened to the clip and clicked on the Wikipedia link.
I think most of the rightwing media has been using this Chewbacca defense ever since Clinton was replaced in office. A sitting president always has weaknesses to exploit, so when Clinton was there they had plenty of real things to talk about… but when their man came into office? And when they had control of the Senate and House? Then what..?
Then it becomes wacko stuff like liberals “love” terrorists and PBS is brainwashing the nation and torture is just “college pranks” and outing a CIA agent is just a harmless aside during an interview etc…
I’m starting to think the Onion is right, or whomever said that if Bush ate a baby on live TV, somehow they’d use the Chewbacca Defense to rally to his support.
Pax
Token liberal: Mygod, look, he’s eating a baby. Somebody stop him!
Bush: gobblegobble drooldrool
Host: Well, it’s clear that this thorny issue will not be settled here tonight, so we’ll have to leave it to the great American people and to history. After the break, a heartwrenching story about a cute puppy rescued from a cornfield.
Soj, you must rent the South Park shows … they’re hilarious and are equal-opportunity bashers. No one is safe …. teachers, environmentalists, Latin American dictators, gays, and on and on.
I’ve known lots of people who are fans… but honestly I’ve heard there is cussing on that show. And I know this will probably sound strange, esp coming from someone who used to work with lots of foul-mouthed, tough people, but I really don’t like programs with curse words in them.
And yes I know it’s “just a cartoon” but there is also violence. I’ll always be American but simulated violence as entertainment is just not my cup of tea anymore.
I guess there’s so many awful things I deal with on a regular basis that I just don’t need to invite more into my life. I know I know, I sound like a 90 year old senior, but it’s just not the right thing for me.
I have seen interviews with the creators of that show and they seem to be wonderfully intelligent and creative individuals and I wish them much success in their endeavors.
Pax
Thank goodness I had just swallowed my coffee. This is the most hysterical thing I’ve read all day. Thanks Boo!