In 1980 Rove was a 30 yr old advisor to a failed presidential primary campaign. Where did he get the political horsepower to dictate who Reagan’s VP would be?
I don’t know. I’m not familiar with how power and/or influence is attained in these types of organizations.
He probably was politically correct and politically astute enough where he could forge an effective coalition. The Republican Party was drifting from it’s stated conservative principles even then, so limiting a conservative renaissance was likely music to the ears of the Neocon.
From what I’ve known of KR, he’s quite effective at obtaining power and using it to his advantage, but as to at what stage in his career he got that way, there’s no telling.
It often happens that people in various organizations gain (sometimes unofficial) power and are able to influence key people, leaving others to just shake their head in disbelief.