Free Republic

Democrats have long enjoyed bashing Karl Rove, former White House adviser and architect of the campaigns that put President George W. Bush in office. But clashing with the longtime Republican operative and Fox News contributor is now catching on for another group: conservatives, especially those affiliated with the tea party movement. Among the most high profile of these recent attackers are former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and, now, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain.

First of all, no one should take Karl Rove too seriously. He acts purely out of self-interest. Rove cares little about the Constitution, the rule of law or the country. He is only interested in winning elections because each election he wins increases his power, prestige and the size of his financial portfolio. Rove is part of the Republican establishment, who long ago decided that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney will be their Presidential candidate in 2012 and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) will be chosen for the Vice Presidency. Romney has the mega-money backers and a national campaign organization, key...

Karl Rove has been rather chatty of late. He’s taken a hammer to Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) over the birther nonsense and to Herman Cain for basic unpreparedness. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell thought Rove was “trying to circle the wagons around Mitt Romney as an inevitable nominee.” While I saw where he was coming from, I had a different take. Rove isn’t circling the wagons around Romney. He’s circling the wagons around the Republican Party as a legitimate political party in the United States. Rove is not alone in this endeavor.

Herman Cain’s reign on top of the 2012 contender list may be coming to an end. That’s the impression Karl Rove gave during an appearance on Fox News this morning as he slammed the candidate as having “created an image of him not being up for this task” through a series of blunders. The conversation began with talk of Cain’s seemingly-confused stance on abortion. However, Rove then continued, pulling out an entire white board filled with missteps Cain had made thus far in the campaign. This all correlated with poll numbers that, according to Rove, show that Cain had already...

After a week of feeble attempts at damage control, he’s finally hit on a savvier approach. “It’s a good thing the voters are not looking at Karl Rove’s little whiteboard,” Cain said in a phone conversation from a stop in Chicago Monday afternoon. “I believe it is a deliberate attempt to damage me because I am not, quote unquote, the establishment choice. But why not go with the choice that the people seem to like?”Cain accused Rove of bias in favor of candidates with big organizations, lots of money, and prior experience in political office — all things Cain doesn’t...

I should be fair. It’s not simply Karl Rove, but the whole GOP establishment class(which George Will says doesn’t exist,) demonstrating this double-standard in media punditry. Despite her impertinence in other respects, at least S.E. Cupp included Christie in her demanding article of Friday, but I’m beginning to wonder if all of the attention on Christie isn’t intended for another purpose. While it’s difficult to stomach the hypocrisy of those who have argued that it’s too late for a Palin entry, saying precious little about a prospective Christie entry in the same context, this could be a media phenomenon with...

TOKYO ROVE” STRIKES AGAIN© 2011 by Anthony James Sour Grapes Karl Just Can’t Help Himself. As former president Ronald Reagan would say, “There you go again, Karl.” On Wednesday evening on Greta Van Susteren’s top-rated FOX TV news and talk show, “On The Record,” former Bush political adviser and the man euphemistically referred to as “The Architect” for his alleged contributions to George W. Bush’s winning campaign strategies in 2000 and 2004, Karl Rove just inexplicably and repeatedly soiled himself in front of the American public again and again. Greta had asked him why he felt it was that the...

Karl Rove responds to controversy over his speculation if Fmr. Gov. Sarah Palin will indeed enter the GOP field. Rove said chances are she will jump in, but was not definitive in his observation. "I mystified," Rove said about his speculation. "Look, she is all upset about this saying how I am trying to sabatouge her in some way. How do I speculate on her future." "Look, if she doesn't want to be speculated about a potential presidential candidate there is an easy way to end the speculation. Simply say 'I'm not running.' Instead, every time she pops up in...

You know what I think of Karl Rove, and it isn’t pleasant. He doesn’t say anything without some ulterior motive, and he seldom throws air-time away on loose, unfocused talk. He even makes up his own small white-boards for television interviews so he can make his points visually. No, a guy like this never says or does anything without a purpose in mind. Over the last several days, since he made his statements regarding Sarah Palin’s potential official entry into the GOP field, something hasn’t felt right about it. Two things I know about Rove are that he hates to...

Former George W. Bush chief of staff Karl Rove has been an influential GOP strategist for decades. When Rove speaks, many Republicans listen. So when the outspoken campaign manager spoke up about Paul Ryan or Chris Christie joining the race to become the GOP nominee for the 2012 presidential election, his hint about another potential candidate entering the field also raised eyebrows. "And I also think looking at the schedule of Sarah Palin after Labor Day that she's got a campaign style schedule post-Labor Day that's either going to accentuate her celebrity hood or lay the predicate for running for...

Rick Perry's "treason" comments are drawing sharp criticism from a wide range of political observers and talking heads, among them Karl Rove. "You don't accuse the chairman of the Federal Reserve of being a traitor to his country. Of being guilty of treason," Rove, who has clashed with Perry before, told Fox News (via TPM). "And, suggesting that we treat him pretty ugly in Texas — You know, that is not, again a presidential statement." Rove continued: "If Rick Perry were to be elected president he'd be saddled with Ben Bernanke who has a term. He's an independent chairman of...

Karl Rove’s Money Machine Goes Live With $20 Million Anti-Obama Campaign (VIDEO) Evan McMorris-Santoro June 24, 2011 The real starting gun of the 2012 presidential race may be sounding Monday, and it's coming in the form of massive attack ad campaign aimed squarely at President Obama's economic record. Crossroads GPS, anonymous-money collecting arm of the Citzens United-inspired political machine founded by Karl Rove and other Republican heavyweights, is going live with a $20 million television ad campaign targeting the president 497 days before voters head to the polls in November 2012. The ads will start appearing on Monday, and will...

After all Sarah Palin did last year to contribute to the GOP's historical 2010 win, and all that she has gone through to shine the light on true conservative values, I am amazed how some of those on the right still disparage her. Jeff Kuhner of the Washington Times, and a fill-in host for Michael Savage, echoed leftist reporters like Susan Milligan of U.S. News and Bill Keller of the New York Times. Mrs. Palin (should she run) may be able to win the GOP nomination. The presidency, however, is a bridge too far. The media will eviscerate her. Outside...

Republican strategist Karl Rove says President Barack Obama is taking delight in the fact that Donald Trump is pressing so hard for him to produce his birth certificate, “because that’s exactly what Obama wants conservatives to do.” Speaking to Sean Hannity Thursday on his radio show, Rove also questioned Trump’s conservative credentials. Hannity started the interview by asking Rove why he was going after Trump. “Well, I think Trump’s got a thin skin — I don’t think I’m going after Trump,” Rove said. “A guy who says that he doesn’t know what Ronald Reagan is hiding behind his smile, and...

Donald Trump, fresh from a Gallup poll showing him tied with former Gov. Mike Huckabee for the lead in the Republican race for the White House, is firing back at GOP strategist Karl Rove for calling Trump a "joke candidate." Trump, who says that Rove has proven himself to be out of touch with Americans, released the following statement to Newsmax: "Karl Rove is a loser. He is doing the Republican Party a great disservice by trying to stop the discussion about the president not being able to present his birth certificate to the American people – or to assure...

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Donald Trump fired back at Karl Rove on Tuesday for labeling his possible White House bid a “joke,” saying the one-time senior adviser to President George W. Bush “should be ashamed of himself” for the role he played in pushing an agenda that turned voters against Republicans and paved the way for the Obama presidency. Mr. Trump, the billionaire real estate developer and reality-TV-show star still weighing a 2012 race, said in an interview that the Republican brand was so tarnished after the Bush-Rove years that even “Abraham Lincoln couldn’t have beaten” President Obama in the 2008 presidential race. “Honestly,...

The prospective GOP candidates are behaving like Ruling Class. Did they learn anything from 2010? The inestimable Karl Rove (inestimable, in that conservatives either wish to buy him a scotch or label him Ruling Class, dependent on whatever he last said to Bret Baier) published a WSJ op-ed on March 17 claiming “The GOP Race is Underway.” Don’t worry, the piece sums: the failure of anyone to step ahead in the 2012 GOP race is tactical. Mitch “Mitt” Huckaromney is busy analyzing, outreaching, and sweater-testing and any day now he’ll reveal himself as the George Washington you’ve been asking for...

Violations of campaign finance laws were committed NOT by Christine O'Donnell, but apparently instead by former Congressman Mike Castle, the candidate for U.S. Senate in Delaware, as revealed in his Federal Election Commission campaign finance reports. Unlike O'Donnell who was clearly a candidate for office in January 2009, Mike Castle did not file a Statement of Candidacy until October 19, 2009. As a result, none of Mike Castle's expenses from January 2009 through October 2009 would qualify as legitimate campaign expenses -- at least if we apply the Delaware Republican Party's own standards from their attacks on Christine O'Donnell. Castle's...

LAYTON -- A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can become president of the United States of America, says Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush. "Absolutely," said Rove, who was in Layton on Thursday night for a stop-over to address a room full of fellow Republicans at the Davis Conference Center. While he was at it, Rove, who served as the keynote speaker for the Davis County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, autographed copies of his book. More than 400 people attended the event at a cost of $50 per person, which...