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Why Far-Right Conservatives Hate Karl Rove
The Week ^ | 2/6/2013 | Keith Wagstaff

Posted on 02/06/2013 6:23:09 PM PST by nickcarraway

The Architect's new creation — the Conservative Victory Project — is drawing howls of protests... from conservatives

Last night, Karl Rove found himself in the unusual position of defending himself against fellow Republicans on Fox News. The issue? Whether or not his new initiative, the Conservative Victory Project, is taking direct aim at Tea Party candidates in favor of nominating more electable establishment moderates.

The uproar started over the weekend when The New York Times painted the Conservative Victory Project as an attempt "to counter other organizations that have helped defeat establishment Republican candidates over the last two election cycles." The Times called it "the most robust attempt yet by Republicans to impose a new sense of discipline on the party." The rationale for such an initiative is clear: The GOP has lost several winnable Senate races in the last two cycles, arguably because the base nominated far-right candidates like Sharron Angle, Todd Akin, and Richard Mourdock, who went down to defeat in general election match-ups that a more moderate candidate would have won.

Still, many conservatives are irate over the Conservative Victory Project, prompting Rove to go on Hannity Tuesday night to defend his organization. "This is not Tea Party versus establishment," he said. "I don't want a fight." Rove maintained that he is just trying to enforce the "Buckley rule," which states that Republicans should back the most conservative candidate who can win as opposed to those who pass some kind of ideological purity test.

Several conservative pundits, however, aren't buying it, and are tearing into Rove as a phony conservative. "Who needs Obama and his Team Chicago to destroy the Tea Party when you’ve got Rove and his big government band of elites?" demands Michelle Malkin, pointing to the Bush-era expansion of Medicare and sweeping No Child Left Behind law as proof that "Rove and his boss abused their power and sacrificed core conservative principles at the altar of 'compassionate conservatism.'"

At CNS News, Terence P. Jeffrey chimed in on the Rove-is-not-a-real-conservative argument:

If you give him credit for believing in the policies and nominations he helped Bush make and defend, then Rove was wrong on the constitutionally appropriate role of the federal government, wrong on foreign policy, wrong on immigration, and wrong on a crucial nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. [CNS News]

Breitbart's Ben Shapiro followed suit, lambasting the Conservative Victory Project as a weak-kneed sacrifice of conservative values in a craven attempt to win seats:

[L]et's unify around the most conservative candidate who is articulate — not the crystal ball attempts to shift conservative principles in order to read the tea leaves.... What we want is a Republican Party unified behind the best principled candidate. And unity requires respect for the Tea Party and its values — the values of the constitution. [Breitbart]

Prominent Tea Party groups have also leaped on the anti-Rove bandwagon. "The Empire is striking back," warned FreedomWorks' Matt Kibbe. "All events point to a fundamental clash between the old guard Republican establishment, dictating outdated ideas from the top-down, versus a tech-savvy younger generation of activists driving their agenda from the bottom-up."

The backlash against Rove is so strong, in fact, that at least one Republican is forming a new super PAC with the sole intent of counteracting Rove's group. Former Rep. Joe Walsh, who lost his re-election bid to Democrat Tammy Duckworth in Illinois, recently tweeted: "I'm filing the paperwork to form a super PAC to support freedom-loving conservative alternatives to @KarlRove on FOX." He also wrote on his Facebook page that "if we had listened to Karl Rove in 2010, there would be no Sen. Marco Rubio. Rove backed Charlie Crist, who was last seen raving about President Obama at the Democrat National Convention last year."

Unsurprisingly, many liberals are awfully pleased by the Rove vs. conservatives smackdown.

"The GOP is distracted by a growing civil war," says the BooMan Tribune. "It's now more important for a lot of activists on the right to attack the Establishment (Rove, McConnell, Boehner) than the president or the Democrats. It's a relief."


TOPICS: Extended News; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: americancrossroads; karlrove; ronos; teaparty
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To: Nervous Tick

“Is that comment aimed at Rove? Or at FReepers who don’t like what Rove is doing?

I can’t tell. Seriously.”

It is not merely a black and white issue. Plenty of blame to be spread, for the current lack of unity.


21 posted on 02/06/2013 6:57:23 PM PST by truth_seeker
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To: nickcarraway

Dear Mr. Rove: I’ll continue to support the most conservative candidate, and electability will continue to be a non-issue for me. Principles matter more than victory. Never stoop to your enemy’s level, no matter the cost. I’d rather have nobility of purpose than this “Let’s get past the election and worry about the small details later” nonsense people like you push.


22 posted on 02/06/2013 6:57:45 PM PST by arderkrag (An Unreconstructed Georgian, Forever in Rebellion.)
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To: truth_seeker

“Democrats have got to be loving this.”

No doubt...

If Romney had won everyone would be kissing Rove’s ring.

Old Karl isn’t the grand architect everyone thought, but then again I think it was everyone else that pumped him up.


23 posted on 02/06/2013 6:57:49 PM PST by mike_9958
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To: nickcarraway

I don’t care what liberals think. Their day of reckoning is coming up for them but unfortunately it will be when the country has been destroyed economically and the low info voters slowly realize there won’t be anyone left to support the gravy train they’ve been riding for all these years.


24 posted on 02/06/2013 6:59:09 PM PST by dowcaet
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To: truth_seeker

So what’s the answer?

Run only hand-picked blue-bloods?

Compromise principles?

What?


25 posted on 02/06/2013 7:00:13 PM PST by Nervous Tick (Without GOD, men get what they deserve.)
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To: nickcarraway

Because he is a dork.

Pure and simple.


26 posted on 02/06/2013 7:00:52 PM PST by Da Coyote
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To: mike_9958

rove needs to stick to go-daddy commercials


27 posted on 02/06/2013 7:03:33 PM PST by dontreadthis
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To: truth_seeker
"Rove and I work with Soros, hate conservatives and the Tea Party,
and love to backstab conservatives, especially women and their children.
We help Obama with my RomneyCARE,
and always protect his lack of documentation.
What difference does it make?"


28 posted on 02/06/2013 7:23:40 PM PST by Diogenesis (De Oppresso Liber)
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To: Gay State Conservative

Yep, that’s we.


29 posted on 02/06/2013 7:26:50 PM PST by andyk (I have sworn...eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.)
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To: dontreadthis

“rove needs to stick to go-daddy commercials”

I think Repubs need a new architect - Karl’s is too old school, and doesn’t seem to have the fire in the belly for politics.

Looks like he’s gone to making money and doesn’t care as much about winning.


30 posted on 02/06/2013 7:27:17 PM PST by mike_9958
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To: nickcarraway
"I don't want a fight." - Karl Rove

I think that's a queer thing for him to say.

31 posted on 02/06/2013 7:28:10 PM PST by Tau Food (Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.)
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To: truth_seeker
I won't compromise for the sake of unity. We need to pull back to the right.

John Adams said: In politics the middle way is none at all.

Reagan said:

I don ‘t know about you, but I am impatient with those Republicans who after the last election rushed into print saying, “We must broaden the base of our party”–when what they meant was to fuzz up and blur even more the differences between ourselves and our opponents.

It was a feeling that there was not a sufficient difference now between the parties that kept a majority of the voters away from the polls. When have we ever advocated a closed-door policy? Who has ever been barred from participating?

Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?

Let us show that we stand for fiscal integrity and sound money and above all for an end to deficit spending, with ultimate retirement of the national debt.- Ronald Reagan CPAC 1975

32 posted on 02/06/2013 7:36:09 PM PST by DJ MacWoW (My faith and politics cannot be separated)
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To: nickcarraway

i don’t know what i am other than a conservative, but as a Christian, i strive to hate no one, that includes

rove who begat bush II who begat obama.

mikeB


33 posted on 02/06/2013 7:45:55 PM PST by dadfly
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To: truth_seeker

I don’t base my stand on what democrats are feeling. Maybe you should write to Rove about the circular firing squad problem. Surrendering to liberalism for party unity is why we are where we are. You should ask Rove and Co. to surrender to conservatism.


34 posted on 02/06/2013 7:48:21 PM PST by Moorings
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To: nickcarraway

Let’s see, I hate Karl Rove because he’s attempting to force the GOP to the left, marginalize conservatives, and on top of that, has an ego the size of the planet in spite of the fact that his performance as a politico doesn’t justify such arrogance. I think that just about covers it...


35 posted on 02/06/2013 7:48:34 PM PST by GenXteacher (You have chosen dishonor to avoid war; you shall have war also.)
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To: arderkrag

Bingo.

Electability has given such turds in the punchbowl as Juan McCain, N.E. Liberal Mitt Romney and many more.

I find it disheartening that even some here will gladly lay down their principles to vote Dem-lite, as long as they have an (R) after their name; while trying to shout down those who didn’t bend over, grab their ankles and vote the party line like they DESERVED the vote in some way.

Those same people, recently, have been VERY quiet with the likes of Congress and the white flag treatment. I only hope their eyes have finally opened.


36 posted on 02/06/2013 7:56:23 PM PST by i_robot73
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To: nickcarraway

Rove can be on Fox News all day long, he can say whatever he wants to, he can come up with any kind of plan/project he thinks will keep him relevant in the political world. I am done listening to him. His opinions and ideas mean nothing to me.


37 posted on 02/06/2013 7:58:08 PM PST by texaschick
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To: nickcarraway

i’m not protesting. this is, imo, the fruit, that conservatives have been praying for. this is why we support principled conservatives like akin, o’donnell, arpaio, murdock, walsh, swickert, walker, and on and on. this is the reaction we want to see, this is them showing their true colors showing their skirt and their hole cards:

imo, it is “Conservative” Victory that represents the “howling” here. these are GOPer’s like the bushies and rockefeller types who are losing their crony meal ticket on the dime of deluded “conservative” republicans, republicans in blue states (yes, like ohio where i have boat loads of liberal/union relatives) or completely socialist states (like ca). republicans who don’t yet understand their own party, or frankly understand it all to well.

in blue or socialist states, the only real option is to unite as conservatives, first under the banner of decline to state, and then work at the local, non-partisan level. that is the first step to a national conservative party imo.

the southern states are fine. they should just keep on purging cinos.


38 posted on 02/06/2013 7:58:41 PM PST by dadfly
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To: andyk

Thought the same thing. Such obvious bias almost stopped me from reading the article.


39 posted on 02/06/2013 8:48:37 PM PST by STJPII
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To: nickcarraway; All

The RINO-Way has failed to deliver.

It is sunset time for the RINOs, and as RINOs like Rove have shown, they will still snort and bellow long after sunset.

Just as Big Government is not part of the solution, but IS the problem, so too are the goals of the RINOs for those of us who want Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

The present sorry state of RINO Leaders such as the Esteemed Sobber of The House John “Doormat” Boehner is encapsulated in the Congressional RINO Mantra: “ We have to find a Bipartisan Compromise that will pass both Houses, and that Obama will sign.”

This Congressional RINO Mantra is directly taken from The Buckley Rule which states: “Support the most Conservative Candidate that can win.”

IOW, the assumption of what is good or bad is not a factor for the Country or the GOP. The assumption is that one can discern what will be accepted by others is something that can be known before it is tried.

Thus, Obama or Reid can immobilize the RINO dominated US House of Representatives by just saying “NO” at a press conference to any idea that a RINO might propose.

The result is that only 3 people are needed to manage the US Federal Government: Senate, House and White House Leaders. Currently that is Reid, Boehner and Jarrett, respectively.

Hence, the RINOs have insured that the US Federal Government will not be good for America.

The RINOs have made it very easy for the Democrats to grind America to a halt.

By rejecting the RINOs’ Buckley Rule, the GOP will open the Party to Candidates that are good for the Party.

By rejecting the Congressional RINO Mantra, the US Congress will be open to political action that will override the current 3 leader ‘stall, delay and deny’ political nightmare.

It is pointless to blame the Communists and Socialists in the US Federal Government, because they are just doing what Communists and Socialists do best: regulate, Control and DESTROY!

Between now and the National Election in 2014, the only obstacle that needs to be overcome is the RINO control of the Republican Party.

GAME ON RINO Karl “Turd Blossom” Rove, GAME ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Proudly fly your Gadsden flag, and attend TO TAKE OVER your local RINO Doormat Party Meetings!

_____________

Ponder this:

IMHO , the worst “Goal” assumption is contained in the “Buckley Rule:” Support the most Conservative Candidate WHO CAN WIN.

The Gop-Elite IN the Party chose Dole, McCain and Romney. All lost, and all were not clear about what it was that they were trying to CONSERVE.

If one is going to play Basketball, then there had better be a lot of air in the ball, AND NO LIBERAL PATCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The enlarged letters are for effect: People IN the Party are usually wrong about how people OUTSIDE the Party will vote.

Dole, McCain and Romney were supported by the powers that be in the GOP because they COULD win! You bet! When pigs fly!

_______

The second point is the “Me Too” mentality of the GOP Elites who want to compete for the Democrats pool of Big Government voters.

Hence, the GOP has moved so far to the left, that the bulk of the GOP is far to the left of JFK Democrats of 50 + years ago.

Without clear distinctions, the GOP will continue to be the fat kid “Big Tent” wanna-be Democrat that nobody will play with in the Schoolyard playground called The US Federal Government.
__________________

The last point is the “Inertia of Stupidity.”

Ignorance is when one has not learned something.

Stupidity is when one is mentally unable to learn something.

The GOP Elite try to lose big every 4 years - - - maybe they have learned that losing is a lot easier than winning?

If so, then WE are stupid for not learning that the Sun has already set on the RINO GOP Elite, the Buckley Rule and the RINO Congressional Mantra.


40 posted on 02/06/2013 9:02:35 PM PST by Graewoulf ((Traitor John Roberts' Commune Obama"care" violates Anti-Trust Laws, AND the U.S. Constitution.))
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