According to Dana Perino, there’s not a thing wrong with the presentations given by Karl Rove and his deputies to agencies throughout the federal government.
Perino was in full spin mode during the White House briefing today, at one point calling a reporter’s question about the presentations “ridiculous.” As we detailed earlier, the presentations detailed the electoral prospects for Republicans, giving employees the “not-so-subtle” suggestion that they should do what they could to help. It’s against the Hatch Act to use government resources for poltical ends, and Rove and his aides seem to have gambled that dropping such hints went right up to the line without crossing it.
According to Perino, the briefings just provided information. And what could be wrong with that?
Q: But why? Why do they [the federal employees] need this information?Perino: Why are you asking these questions? You’re asking for information as well. I mean, it’s the same thing.
For a fun drinking game, try taking a swig every time Perino says “poltical” or “information” or “landscape” during this Q&A:
Here are all the buzz words tied up into one neat quote:
“There’s nothing wrong with political appointees providing other political appointees with an informational briefing about the political landscape in which they are working.”