Posted on 09/02/2006 6:36:09 PM PDT by Dane
James Moore and Wayne Slater's 'The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power'
By James Henson SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN Saturday, September 02, 2006
"There is no more compelling subject in contemporary American politics, and perhaps in our country's electoral history, than Karl Christian Rove," James Moore and Wayne Slater write on the first page of their new book.
Though such hyperbole is unnecessary, it doesn't detract fatally from "The Architect." Moore, an Austin-based journalist, and Slater, senior political writer for The Dallas Morning News, paint a sharp portrait of an intelligent, ruthless and deeply cynical man. Though this is their second book on Rove (after 2003's "Bush's Brain"), there's little overlap. "Bush's Brain" focused on Rove's rise and the development of his association with George W. Bush; "The Architect" focuses on how he pursued the creation of an enduring Republican hegemony
The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power James Moore and Wayne Slater Crown Books, $25.95 On sale Tuesday
The impact of Karl Rove, right, on American politics is one of the focal points of the book written by journalists James Moore and Wayne Slater.
In both books, Moore and Slater are careful to present evidence, but they make no bones about describing Rove as a man whose tactics range from the sophisticated use of up-to-the-minute campaign technology to the darker arts of rumor, innuendo, threats, stretched promises and the use of surrogates to maintain plausible deniability.
Much of what Moore and Slater write about will be familiar to anyone who follows politics in the daily papers. But they also cover ground that the mainstream news has tiptoed around, especially when it comes to the Republican Party's exploitation of anti-gay sentiment. "The Architect" dedicates two chapters to the touchier side of this subject.
Chapter 5, "Not as I Say: Gay in the GOP," discusses prominent conservatives who have been rumored to be gay and declined to confirm or deny the charge; particular attention is paid to Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman. The subject has already been grist for blogs and gay publications, but it has been handled gingerly and rarely in the mainstream media. Moore and Slater take care not to apply labels or draw clear conclusions, instead reporting on the reporting of others. They seem to conclude — reasonably, I think — that because Republicans have made gay identity a national issue, reporting such ambiguity is fair.
In Chapter 9, "A Few Simple Questions: What's in Karl's Closet?," the authors draw on interviews with gay acquaintances of Rove's stepfather, Louis Rove, as well as an interview with a circumspect Karl Rove, to reveal that Louis was openly gay after getting divorced from Rove's mother. The chapter jabs hard at Rove, pointing out that Louis Rove, who was clearly Rove's primary father figure, died in Palm Springs just as "his son was in the midst of launching the antigay issues campaign that was to lead to the re-election of George W. Bush."
The authors quote Rove and friends of Rove's stepfather to illustrate that Rove was close to him throughout his life, and seemed not to judge his sexuality. This, and Rove's self-professed agnosticism, are major exhibits in Moore and Slater's claim of hypocrisy. It's hard not to wince at the invocation of such intensely personal material, but it's a testament to the politics that Rove has helped create that it doesn't seem out of bounds.
While the material on gay Republicans and their families has earned the book some advance buzz, "The Architect" also offers an informative look at the nuts and bolts of political strategy that should prove interesting to readers geared up for the coming election season. The account of how Rove and his allies turned conservative Protestants and evangelicals, practicing Catholics and intensely pro-Israel Jews into active members of the Republican coalition is particularly insightful. Though this alliance seems obvious in retrospect, peeling off factions of these traditionally Democratic constituencies took strategic targeting and extended negotiations, which the book examines in interesting if overly Rove-centric detail.
Rove is credited as the brains behind all of this and more, so much so that the book's relentless focus on his impact on American politics becomes essentially a dark version of the "Great Man" approach to history. But Rove might be better understood as the right guy in the right place at the right time. This isn't to denigrate his intelligence or determination; someone less capable than Rove would not have recognized or responded so effectively to changes in the political system, such as the decline of the Democrats among white male voters. But other people helped create and implement many of the tactics and strategies Slater and Moore describe. The rise of Christian conservatives, for example, can be attributed to the work of Jerry Falwell, Ralph Reed and many others, several of whom are discussed in "The Architect" but cast in supporting roles seemingly dependent on Rove.
It's only toward the end that Moore and Slater acknowledge that The Architect's "Master Plan" has not withstood the elements. Rove and Slater write of "a larger architecture . . . crumbling at the base" in the past two years. The stretching of the metaphor suggests the authors have similarly stretched the evidence of Rove's omniscience. Rove clearly missed the wave of anti-immigration fervor among the Republican base in the South and Midwest, which has roiled his carefully built coalition. Similarly, he has been powerless to halt the plunge in the president's popularity in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the quagmire of Iraq and skepticism about progress in the struggle against al Qaeda.
Perhaps Rove is more a ship's captain than an architect — the latter metaphor, after all, suggests a permanence that is unusual in American politics. Right now, the sea is swamping the decks, the crew has turned mutinous and the ship's hull is creaking ominously. If the winds continue to howl, the Skipper may find himself trapped on Abramoff's Island with Ralph Reed, Katherine Harris and a handful of other castaways.
James Henson teaches in the government department at the University of Texas and is director of the Texas Politics project
They are pathetic in their hatred of Karl Rove and their own self hatred that their message of the homosexual agenda gets a thumbs down in flyover country.
(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )
Actually the election is not in the bag, but they do their most pathetic darndest, to portray it is.
Libs and haters LOVE exposing things like Rove's father being gay. You can practically hear them squealing as they reveal it, but what exactly does it have to do with anything? What a feeble defense in this article--Rove is a hypocrit because he is an agnostic and had a gay father? How the hell does his father being gay make Karl a hypocrit, and if Karl is an agnostic, does that mean he can't show a candidate who wants to show HIS religious belief how to win?
The left--what a bunch of freakin nitwits.
Yes--REPUBLICANS have made 'gay identity' a national issue.
Oh, please, I can't take this much laughter on a Saturday night before work, stop it!
That did pop out of the article, didn't it? There the homosexuals were, minding their own business, leading their quiet unobtrusive lives out of the national spotlight, and along come the EEEEEvil Republicans demanding that the fags be burned.
Do the authors give Rove credit for turning the Democrats into a bunch of hear-no-evil, see-no-evil, speak-plenty-of-evil nutjobs or do they give the Democrats some portion of credit for that.
Moore is a total hack and rabid hater. What I find "interesting" is that the author of the review, which is nothing but an insipid love letter to Moore and Slater, actually "teaches politics" at the U of Texas..... no surprise to find another psycho in academia, but still another instance of a deranged leftist worming his way into academia to propagandize young minds. This "review" does not even make any pretence at objectivity or critical analysis, yet its author is paid BY PUBLIC FUNDS to spout his propaganda in a major public university. THAT is truly nauseating....
I just spoke to a gay friend of mine (who I convinced to vote Republican last election) who said "I don't recall Karl being at Stonewall." Such lunkheaded writing should ban this "reviewer" from ever publishing again.
I am amazed that citizens buy these junk books and make these types of authors rich. And I mean on both sides of the isle. They are all junk amd useless as romantic novels for any serious reader.
The left screams when it hurts. People with more self-control wouldn't do that because it lets the opposition know what's working. But then again, the left has never been particularly adept at self-control.
A article accuses Rove of using innuenedo, then proceeds to launch into innuendo vis a vis Rove and Mehlman.
The Republican Party isn't Hezbollah (the partyof god in arabic) rather at this point in time the rpeublican party is more willing to listen and champion chrisitan causes at this point in time.
That Article makes it seem like republicans have a "Your're Gay? Hell no" type membership test. Gay folks are just as welcome, but don't expect gay social causes to be put forward.
I deeply regret that my tax money goes to support that piece of...
If your a Demo, anyone smarter than you is Ruthless!
Yep, Rove sure is stirred up the whole gay marriage issue.
I'd say Rove's reaction to his stepfather's "coming out" was a lot more "compassionate" than John Walker Lindh's.
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