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Influential GOP consultant and policy adviser Karl Rove says former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels would be the perfect running mate for whoever wins the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. And at the very least, Rove adds in an exclusive interview with Newsmax TV, the GOP's vice presidential pick should be a Midwesterner to maximize the Republican ticket's drawing power. "It would be good to have somebody from the Midwest. I've got an out-of-the-box idea for you, how about the former governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels," Rove said Wednesday on "Newsmax Prime" with J.D. Hayworth. "[He's] done an exemplary job serving in...

There are three Republican candidates who can plausibly win the GOP nomination in 2016, former George W. Bush strategist Karl Rove said Wednesday, but he doesn't think Donald Trump is one of them. Instead, Rove said he'd pick "[Jeb] Bush, [Chris] Christie, or [Marco] Rubio, in alphabetical order," telling MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program that while he can make the case that "probably six or seven people," including Trump, can make the nomination, he doesn't think it's likely that the New York billionaire will win. Rove said he also sees Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, or Ohio Gov. John Kasich...

Donald Trump didn't hold back on Karl Rove. In the span of 15 minutes, the Republican presidential front-runner referred to Rove as a "total moron" - adding that "you can print that if you want" - and compared him to someone who has worse aim than someone randomly throwing darts. "A guy like Karl Rove, Karl Rove is Republican establishment. He spent last cycle, $US430 million, and lost every single race," Trump said in an interview with Business Insider last week. "And I saw the commercials and the things that he was making, they're the worst I've ever seen. I...

Former Florida governor is spending more than twice as much as any other candidate, according to new data With a full year left until the 2016 presidential election it's still unclear who will emerge the winner. But when it comes to millions spent on TV ads, one candidate has already taken the top spot: Jeb Bush. However, other than some gift baskets from local stations in Iowa and New Hampshire, the former Florida governor has little to show for it, with poll numbers stubbornly stuck in the single digits. Bush and his supporters have so far spent an eye-popping $20...

He was the night's biggest loser: full of contradiction and without depth. Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate was the best so far. The moderators emphasized substance and the candidates complied, most doing themselves some good-the biggest exception being Donald Trump. -snip- Jeb Bush went in facing the most pressure and came through, reassuring supporters with his best performance so far. He whacked Hillary Clinton for saying that President Obama's economic policies "get an A," declaring that a weak jobs picture, growing poverty and increasing dependency on food stamps "may be the best that Hillary Clinton can do, but it's not...

MARTHA MACCALLUM, FNC: What is the mind-set at this point? When you look at these numbers and you have Carson and Trump trading spots at least according to one national poll for first and second, what we're looking at, but you know these other folks who everybody thought were strong, deep bench of the Republican Party are just mired, they're not getting anywhere at all, Karl? Does anything change that. KARL ROVE: Well, sure there is and you see it in the poll this morning. I agree with what Chris Stirewalt said earlier this is one poll. You shouldn't sort...

HOUSTON — Right to Rise USA, the super PAC supporting former Florida governor Jeb Bush's campaign for president, is considering deploying ground staff to key states after focusing most heavily on running television ads so far. It's a notable strategic consideration that comes as Bush's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination has struggled to gain traction in early-voting states and as it makes moves to curtail costs in what began as a sprawling operation.

Longtime political strategist Karl Rove is warning Republicans not to nominate a presidential candidate that reflects the same "populist anger" that gave birth to the rise of Donald Trump. In his latest op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Rove explained the GOP will have two choices when delegates gather in Cleveland, Ohio, next July to determine which remaining Republican hopeful they wish to see challenge Democrats in the general election. "Will the party choose a nominee with a conservative agenda or one reflecting populist anger?" Rove wrote. "The two are hardly the same," he noted. "Conservative principles provide a winning...

After George W. Bush attacked Ted Cruz over the weekend, and Karl Rove followed up with attacks today, Conservative Review’s Editor in Chief Mark Levin dedicated the first hour of his program to going through the ways the Bush establishment (Bushtablishment) has repeatedly squandered conservative victories. Levin went through how the Bushtablishment squandered two historic victories by Ronald Reagan by squishing. Levin explained that by embracing liberal policies the Bushtablishment GOP kept losing elections. Listen in as Levin explains how Bushtablishment governance lead to the Republican Party losing the congressional majority in 2006, which gave the nation the Obama years....

Former Lt. Governor David Dewhurst has agreed to pay off $800,000 of debt from his failed bid for the U.S. Senate in 2012, according to a report in The Texas Tribune. According to a September letter obtained by the Tribune, Dewhurst has agreed to pay the debt over the next year but he said that he was not legally obligated to pay the money to his vendors. “While there is obviously no legal obligation that I personally pay the vendors invoices, and while a few of you let me down with messaging and media that was counter-productive, plus there were...

Karl Rove: “We’ve had a summer of silliness. We may have a fall of silliness. Remember at this point in 2011 the leader in the Republican pack was Rick Perry, the governor of Texas. After that we had Herman Cain and former speaker Newt Gingrich. Both of them jumped to the lead. You can say it’s a summer of silliness. But my sense is we’re likely to see this thing come and go and other faces emerge.“ Needless to say, Karl Rove is not a Trump fan. He continually bashes The Donald with each appearance on FOX News.

When Donald Trump first burst on the political scene two months ago as a presidential candidate, many of the analysts, commentators and pollsters who populate cable news programs, the so called “experts,” claimed it was all a publicity stunt. Then, they said he would never release his financial statements. Then, they said his controversial comments about Mexican illegal immigration, Senator John McCain and Fox News Host Megyn Kelly would doom his campaign. Now, they are saying his lead cannot continue for his support has a “ceiling” and his campaign is a flash in the pan. Unfortunately for the “experts,” they...

Top political strategist for George W. Bush, Karl Rove was unimpressed with a couple of debate performances from Thursday night, critiquing the style and tone of Donald Trump and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. -snip- "If you like Trump, that's not going to necessarily turn you off but the issue is that 80% of the people are supporting somebody else," Rove said. "Language like that, attack on Megyn (Kelly, the Fox News debate moderator), his refusal to say I'm a team player -- all of those things create a ceiling on how far he could go, and I think we may...

A new National Journal survey of “Republican insiders” finds that 57 percent of these political professionals think Donald Trump will bow out of the Presidential race before the Iowa Caucuses. This survey probably says more about the state of the Republican political class than anything about the 2016 race or Republican voters. Interestingly, 65 percent of “Democrat insiders” believe Trump will compete in the Iowa Caucuses in February next year. The survey results could easily be dismissed as both groups answering what they hope will happen. Some Republican campaign professionals offered comments beyond the question: “No meteor or political candidate...

Just a day after allegations reemerged that Donald Trump raped his ex-wife, Ivana Trump, the bombastic billionaire’s former spouse played down the controversy, saying that the two are still “the best of friends.” *snip* “Donald and I are the best of friends and together have raised three children that we love and are very proud of. I have nothing but fondness for Donald and wish him the best of luck on his campaign,” she said. “Incidentally, I think he would make an incredible president,” Ivana Trump, who divorced her husband in 1992, added.

Late Monday night, The Daily Beast published a report about Donald Trump's ex-wife Ivana and her accusations against her former husband. In a deposition from their divorce, revealed in a book published in 1993, Ivana accused the real estate mogul and now Republican presidential candidate of “violent assault" and "rape," though not in the "criminal sense." *snip* "I will make sure that you and I meet one day while we’re in the courthouse. And I will take you for every penny you still don’t have. And I will come after your Daily Beast and everybody else that you possibly know,”...

I hope Trump’s MSNBC interview doesn’t surprise too many people: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump took a softer stance [on] immigration during a television interview Friday, saying he believes in a “merit system” for undocumented immigrants already living in the U.S. … During Friday’s interview, Trump said the U.S. should take a two-step approach to the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the country. Wouldn’t it be nice if there really were only 11 million? The actual number is probably at least three times that high and rocketing upward every moment. Meanwhile, we can’t find even a loose cannon,...

Ivana Trump once accused the real estate tycoon of ‘rape,’ although she later clarified: not in the ‘criminal sense.’ Donald Trump introduced his presidential campaign to the world with a slur against Mexican immigrants, accusing them of being “rapists” and bringing crime into the country. “I mean somebody’s doing it!…Who’s doing the raping?” Donald Trump said, when asked to defend his characterization. It was an unfortunate turn of phrase for Trump—in more ways than one. Not only does the current front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination have a history of controversial remarks about sexual assault, but as it turns out,...

Karl Rove, a former senior advisor to President George W. Bush, has signed a deal with Simon & Schuster. Rove plans to write a book entitled The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters. Priscilla Painton, an executive editor, negotiated the deal with Robert Barnett, a partner at the Williams & Connolly LLP law firm.

The Democratic attack machine goes into overdrive as Jeb Bush says workers should ‘work longer hours.’ Jeb Bush’s statement Wednesday that Americans should “work longer hours” thrust the Democratic attack machine into high gear for the first time this cycle, as operatives seized on the opportunity to paint the GOP’s leading 2016 contender with the same devastating brush they used on Mitt Romney four years ago. As Bush’s communications shop urged reporters to note the context and diverted attention by releasing Bush’s aggressive fundraising numbers, Democrats engaged in tweet storms and press calls aimed at establishing a negative narrative around...