The problem is that Rove shoots his mouth off, when he doesn’t have a replacement candidate ready to go. It’s like quitting a job before you have another one lined up. It’s insane!
I agree. It was very poorly handled.
I think the worst part was the piling on IN SUPPORT OF the media and democrats.
But, your point is excellent. Had the Republicans worked back-channel to get this fixed, even with a solid candidate as a replacement (Not one who'd just LOST to Akin in the primary), I don't think we would have lost that Missouri seat for SIX more long years.
Yep, combined to the fact that a lot of less informed donors still think Rove's good because Bush won. (Regular Businessmen often trust big names to do the job because of hype - politics ain't the same as regular business). When Rove runs his trap, donors listen.
In late September, Rove crowed that Michigan was off the table. Any funding dried up. Perception became reality at that point. Three weeks later, it was a swing state again. Damage was already done, and we couldn't recover. At least we only lost 5 state house seats.