Posted on 07/28/2007 3:47:43 AM PDT by Kaslin
WASHINGTON -- Karl Rove, President Bush's political lieutenant, told a closed-door meeting of 2008 Republican House candidates and their aides Tuesday that it was less the war in Iraq than corruption in Congress that caused their party's defeat in the 2006 elections.
Rove's clear advice to the candidates is to distance themselves from the culture of Washington. Specifically, Republican candidates are urged to make clear they have no connection with disgraced congressmen such as Duke Cunningham and Mark Foley.
In effect, Rove was rebutting the complaint inside the party that George W. Bush is responsible for Republican miseries by invading Iraq.
MCCAIN VS. THOMPSON
Sen. John McCain, trying to keep his sinking Republican presidential campaign afloat, scheduled a fund-raiser for the same day -- Monday -- that Fred Thompson is holding his first Washington money event. McCain's reception is in the same suburban Virginia neighborhood where Thompson lives.
McCain's $1,000-to-$2,300 per person "intimate lunch" is being held at the McLean, Va., home of Wes Foster. He is chairman and CEO of Long & Foster, a major Washington area real estate firm. Thompson is holding a reception that night at the J.W. Marriott hotel in downtown Washington.
A footnote: Alabama Atty. Gen. Troy King, McCain's state chairman, attended a private fund-raiser for Thompson in Mountain Brook, Ala., last Monday night. However, as an invited guest, King did not pay the $1,000 price of admission and said he was still committed to McCain.
PENTAGON EARMARKS
Sen. Tom Coburn, frustrated with the Pentagon winking at earmarks, wrote Defense Secretary Robert Gates July 19 requesting a critique of all Defense spending items asked by members of Congress to determine whether they "are for necessary national security purposes or to satisfy the parochial self-interests of politicians and defense industry lobbyists."
Coburn has experienced difficulty in getting information from the Pentagon on more than 300 earmarks contained in the Defense Department authorization bill. Over the past five years, such earmarks have cost taxpayers $55 billion. Coburn has not received a response from Gates at this writing. He has failed to mandate such critiques by legislative action.
Earmarks cited in Coburn's letter to Gates include more than $40 million for 21st Century Systems Inc. (21 CSI), sponsored by Sen. Ben Nelson. In defending the earmark for a company that employs his son, Nelson claims support from the Pentagon.
Solicitations for a Sept. 12 fund-raising reception in Washington on behalf of ailing Sen. Tim Johnson give the impression he will be present at the event, but in fact there are no such plans.
Sources close to Johnson say he will not decide his schedule until he is back in the Senate, and there is no firm schedule yet for that. Johnson has not been seen publicly since suffering a brain hemorrhage last Dec. 13, but his staff has been raising funds for his re-election campaign in South Dakota. His campaign has $1.75 million cash on hand.
The $1,000-to-$2,300-a-ticket reception will be held at the home of Johnson's fellow South Dakotan, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, and his wife, transportation industry lobbyist Linda Daschle, on Foxhall Road millionaire's row in Washington. It has been speculated that if Johnson cannot run, Daschle could attempt a political comeback.
GROUCHY GINGRICH
Contrary to reports that Newt Gingrich lost control in one of his temper tantrums at a breakfast last Monday sponsored by The American Spectator magazine, the former House speaker was variously described as "grouchy," "cool" and "arrogant" in assailing his critics.
Gingrich made clear he would not be seen anytime soon engaging in multi-candidate debates with opponents for the presidency, disdaining them, as he said Charles DeGaulle once labeled his competitors, as "pygmies." But he did not rule out an eventual candidacy.
A footnote: Republican leaders report that the most enthusiasm among grassroots activists is for Gingrich and libertarian Rep. Ron Paul.
Sorry Jim, I’m just not poll driven.
Better yet-——let’s start callung the invaders “HATERS.”
“Haters” is the paradigm liberal put-down (used on those liberals hate {snicker}).
Rove was once a God here....criticism of Lord Karl was a perilous endeavor
how the mighty have fallen and taken our political capital with them
they still just don’t get it
oh cry me a river Bray....have you never been to Liberty Post
I don’t see very many people here hating Bush. I see quite a few (myself included) that don’t agree with some of his policies. Some posters here can’t differentiate between the two.
I guess we’re just supposed to STFU and drink the k00laid.
we worked very hard to elect him twice (and had lived thru an 8 year Clinton wilderness, so we were ready) so a fundamental diverge of opinion on where to take this country is exponentially bitter
I don’t hate him but I am very disappointed and angry
yet...I laud the things he’s gotten right
Rove stupidly threw in his lot with urban neos also known as the "Everything-For-Us-Nothing-For-You" wing of the Repub Party.
This faction is pushing Rudy Giuliani's candidacy in order to fulfill their dreams of Endless War (although it's not yet clear how many countries they want the US to invade).
As the face of 9/11, Rudy was sent thither and yon to campaign for 2006 Repub candidates (who all went down to defeat). Rove's stupid plan flopped bigtime---Rudy got zilch chips to cash in as a war-minded prez candidate.
Rudy and this faction are also obsessed with religious cleansing of the Repub party. Their most fervent wish is to dump social conservatives off the Repub party lifeboat.
Like I said...this is the "Everything-For-Us-Nothing-For-You" wing of the Repub Party.
We'll soon see who gets dumped.
And it was not Iraq that caused conservative voters to stay home. It was the rampant corruption among the Republican majority, along with their penchant for spending.
However, if Rove is right about this (and he is), why can't he see the immigration issue for what it is?
the "Everything-For-Us-Nothing-For-You" wing of the Repub PartyThey remember us when it's time to promise us enough to get us to vote for them.
In effect, Rove was rebutting the complaint inside the party that George W. Bush is responsible for Republican miseries by invading Iraq.
I can't believe any Republican candidates are actually listening to Rove if they really want to win. Distance yourself from Duke Cunningham and Mark Foley??? Is that supposed to be brilliant advice for 2008?!?
I'd love to hear what Rove advised them to do vis a vis immigration? No doubt he told tell them to embrace amnesty, er, sorry, I mean "comprhensive immigration reform" .
And the war in Iraq ain't exactly a selling point at tstage. Taking down Saddam was the right thing to do, but the war has been terribly mismanaged post invasion. Unfotunately, that's the truth.
After you dump your enemies, do you have a plan capable of winning a Presidential election?
I have been blogging on this for a year. You , my friend are correct and are the genius, not Rove. Although, Rove is somewhat correct. The GOP needs to stand up against the Rats. They are our enemy in this nation. They are the pacifist socialists. They are the defeatists. Go over the heads of the MSM and tell the public that. But, the nice Gop will not and they will get skunked in ‘08 unless they do.
How virtuous.
Never mind polls.
Do you have a plan to win 271 electoral votes in 2008 or 2012?
Do you have a candidate who is capable of executing that plan?
Or don't you care?
LLS
If that is supposed to be a swipe at me, you need to know my posting history before taking one. :)
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