Free Republic

Karl Rove has been working overtime trying to reassure the conservative wing of the GOP that some of his best friends are tea partyers. On Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News show last week, Rove played up his credentials with the right by asserting that he headed Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign in Texas. As it turns out, not so much. In fact, as we reported in some detail in the book Bush’s Brain, Rove worked for George H.W. Bush against Reagan in the state’s 1980 primary. And others directly involved in the Reagan effort in the Lone Star State say Rove...

Karl Rove continues to explain why his political action committee is not anti-Tea Party and will help elect the most electable conservative candidate. (Check out the video)

fter smearing movement conservative icon Brent Bozell as a "hater" who has a "sordid history of hating Karl Rove," Jonathan Collegio of American Crossroads mocked a group of prominent conservatives who wrote a letter to Crossroads GPS President Steven Law demanding Collegio be fired. “I’ve been trying to get my friends to sign it, because it’ll make for a funnier story once I get it framed,” Collegio said, in response to the letter to the Washington Examiner. “It would be flattering, if it weren’t so absurd.” In an interview with Breitbart News editor Larry O'Connor on WMAL's "Mornings on the...

A bristling group of 25 traditional conservatives are out to protect one of their own in a new push against the “establishment Republicans” of Karl Rove’s American Crossroads. The coalition has sent a letter of protest to Steven Law, president of the super-duper PAC, following an interview with the organization’s spokesman that aired Wednesday on a talk radio station in the nation’s capital: “We cannot and will not abide the unjust, personal broadside your aide Jonathan Collegio leveled against a man whose family has dedicated itself to advancing the cause of liberty for over half a century. This morning Mr....

Karl Rove may be trying to quell conservative concerns that his new political group is really an effort to crush the tea party. But actions will speak louder than words – and already, Mr. Rove's group may have a test case on its hands. Rove's Conservative Victory Project has a stated goal of making sure only electable candidates emerge victorious from GOP primaries. But he told Fox News Tuesday: "This is not tea party versus the establishment." So what is it? The campaign of Rep. Paul Broun (R) of Georgia, who on Wednesday filed paperwork to run for the seat...

"Thank God for Mark Levin, who tells it like it is, depressing as it is."

Conservative radio host Mark Levin went after former George W. Bush advisor, Karl Rove, during his radio show on Monday after Rove announced the formation of a new PAC that would aid moderate Republican politicians against tea party challengers in primary races. Levin called Rove’s effort ‘diabolical’ and listed the many GOP officeholders who would not be in power but for the tea party insurgency. “We’re being stabbed in the back,” Levin declared. “Here’s a project funded by crony capitalists, funded by corporatists — who are not conservative — funding a group called the Conservative Victory Project,” Levin began. “This...

By now all Americans—regardless of their political ideology, especially conservatives—should be fed up with the government failures produced by political operatives and big money’s influence in our elections. Election after election, powerbrokers like the infamous political Republican strategist Karl Rove and his campaign money machine are working to deprive Americans of the fundamental concept of choice in our elections. If Mr. Rove continues to have his way, conservative Americans will only be allowed to vote for candidates of his choosing in the foreseeable future. Super Pac “American Crossroads”—founded in part by Karl Rove—has branched out on a new political influence...

Establishment Republicans like Karl Rove has diluted what is supposed to be the conservative principles and message of the Republican Party. In a misguided attempt to 'appeal to moderates', Rove and his ilk have alienated conservatives within the Republican Party and sent the Democrats a clear message. They have no spine. Rove has some nerve attacking a movement that infused the right with such enthusiasm that it gave the Republican Party its biggest gains in 2010. If he wants to point the finger of blame at anyone, he needs only look in the mirror for it was Rove that was...

Discredited political consultant, blathering TV talking head, and big-bux fundraiser/PAC-man Karl Rove was once hailed by George W Bush as 'The Architect' in the wake of the 2004 campaign victory he had engineered. In retrospect, we'd probably have been better off in the long-term letting John Kerry try and deal with the earthshaking real estate collapse his Dems' own affirmative-action housing initiatives were soon to bring us. Instead, Rove -as White House Senior Adviser and Deputy Chief-of-Staff- resided over a Bush 2nd-term popularity dive so steep and so politically damaging to the GOP brand that the United States seems to have shifted...

The biggest donors in the Republican Party are financing a new group to recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who Republican leaders worry could complicate the party’s efforts to win control of the Senate. -snip- The Conservative Victory Project, which is backed by Karl Rove and his allies who built American Crossroads into the largest Republican super PAC of the 2012 election cycle, will start by intensely vetting prospective contenders for Congressional races to try to weed out candidates who are seen as too flawed to win general elections.

The battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party has begun. On one side is the Tea Party. On the other side stands Karl Rove and his establishment team, posing as tacticians while quietly undermining conservatism. Yesterday, the New York Times reported that the “biggest donors in the Republican Party” have joined forces with Karl Rove and Steven J. Law, president of American Crossroads, to create the Conservative Victory Project. The Times reports that this new group will dedicate itself to “recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who...

The biggest donors in the Republican Party are financing a new group to recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who Republican leaders worry could complicate the party’s efforts to win control of the Senate. The group, the Conservative Victory Project, is intended to counter other organizations that have helped defeat establishment Republican candidates over the last two election cycles. It is the most robust attempt yet by Republicans to impose a new sense of discipline on the party, particularly in primary races. “There is a broad concern about having blown...

In a closed-door fundraiser at the Republican National Convention, Karl Rove reportedly joked about the murder of Missouri GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin. “We should sink Todd Akin. If he’s found mysteriously murdered, don’t look for my whereabouts!” joked Rove, according to a Businessweek report of the fundraiser. Sheelah Kolhatkar, an editor for Bloomberg Businessweek, was invited to the event as a guest of top Republican donor who was aware she was a journalist. The invite gave her a behind-the-scenes look at the otherwise-private event. At the event, Rove urged attendees to urge Akin to get out of the race,...

Here's what it comes down to: I am a lifelong Republican which means that I have never voted for a Democrat in my life and never will. That means for every single election at every level for 45 years I have pulled the lever for Republicans. This year is my final year voting Republican if Romney gets the nomination. I simply WILL NOT VOTE. I am sick and tired of having my candidates (like McCain) chosen for me by the main stream, Obama-protecting liberal media and the Republican establishment. I WILL NOT VOTE FOR ROMNEY. I cannot see how a...

Karl Rove defends Sharon Bialek, who is accusing Herman Cain of sexual assault, because her attorney is Gloria Allred. "Credibility matters here. And Gloria Allred, while she is a Democrat and a liberal Democrat and openly so -- nonetheless, has been involved in a number of high profile cases like Tiger Woods and others where the charges have been borne out. "So this gives Ms. Bialek's charges and accusations a little bit of credibility, and that's what we're talking about here -- credibility."

It was because he was going to retire anyway, lost a favorite port town in redistricting and had a tough race last time. Was this really why Congressman Barney Frank announced today he’s retiring from the House of Representatives? Perhaps another reason was he’s no longer chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and like a lot of bullies, Mr. Frank found it’s not easy to be stripped of the power to torment and humiliate others. Brilliant, but acid tongued and generally unpleasant, Mr. Frank ruled with an iron gavel, ran over critics with delight and treated committee members and...

My nine hunting companions last weekend in South Texas didn't look particularly special. Ranging from early-30s to mid-40s, they could be mistaken for the young doctor down the street, the general manager of the car dealership, the guy who builds custom motorcycles. But they are extraordinary. Among them, they had a Navy Cross, four Silver Stars, 26 Bronze Stars for valor and four Purple Hearts. These were Navy SEALs with a combined 150 years of service and more than 67 overseas deployments in the war against terror.

When Gov. Sarah Palin was deciding whether or not to get into the presidential race, Karl Rove was popping up on Fox News to talk about why her skin was too thin for the job. And when Gov. Rick Perry was thinking about his entrance into the race, Rove was Johnny-on-the-spot with reasons why a Perry candidacy would not be viable either. Now Rove’s moved on to Herman Cain, whose candidacy he’s doing all he can to sink, sidetrack, or On Fox News this past Monday, Rove did his best Mr. Rogers imitation by holding up a small dry-erase board...

Is it just me, and because I don't like Rove, or did "the Architect" sound like he was really reaching with his attacks on Herman Cain on Hannity's show just now?