Over on the Well, we’ve been talking a lot among ourselves about the attorney purge. And here’s what Rik thinks it all comes down to (quoted with permission):

“It’s beginning to look to me that this justice purge is part of a longterm Rove plan to affect the 2008 election. The emphasis on “voter fraud” is classic Rove. He’s going after the Democrats on what should be a strong point of theirs, that the Republicans are actually the ones who are guilty of systematic voter fraud. And by purging the Justice Department of prosecutors who won’t play ball, he’s stacking the deck in advance. The nerve of him putting in a known flunky with no experience to replace the guy in Arkansas, is astounding.

But it all hung on someone slipping that clause in when they renewed the patriot act. They’ve been planning this for years. And the fact that it was someone in Specter’s office just nails down my suspicion that Specter’s in on it. With that little item to give perspective, his numerous instances of threatening oversight, while ultimately caving in every single time, comes off as pure political theater. Even now, when he’s subordinate to Pat Leahy, he’s the voice urging compromise and reason when he should be absolutely livid at being used and made a fool of for years. Specter is in on this all the way. He’s part of the plot.