Inside the Beltway. . . and Out

My January 24 post noted that Insight magazine, sister publication to the conservative, White House-friendly Washington Times, ran a piece about the Administration preparing for Bush's impeachment because of his warrantless spying program. I speculated that Karl Rove may be trying to intimidate Senator Arlen Spector and others not to push too hard for the details of the spying program, as impeachment may be an unintended consequence.

It seems Rove is kicking it up a notch. And threatening to kick Republican butt if they cross him.

Insight reports that Rove is threatening to cut off political and financial support from any Senator who votes against the president.

The White House is running scared over this warrantless spying. Attorney General Gonzales was very evasive in his Senate testimony this week, not wanting to even come close to admitting Bush broke the law. Now Rove is using hardball intimidation tactics to threaten Senators.

And the really interesting thing is that Insight -- a right wing rag with ties to the White House -- is publicizing all this.