Republicans Push Back as Rove Aims to Appoint Himself Kingmaker

[DonViejo]

by Lloyd Green Feb 10, 2013 4:45 AM EST

Rove’s latest plan to return the GOP from the political wilds is infuriating base Republicans, writes Lloyd Green.

In his latest attempt to save the party from itself, Republican strategist and pundit Karl Rove last week announced the formation of the Conservative Victory Project, a super PAC intended to fuel and direct the nomination of electable Republican Senate candidates. Not surprisingly, Rove has met with denunciation by the Tea Party, and this intraparty conflict stems from what the Republican Party is and who Rove is not. One thing is certain: he is not Chuck Schumer, and that is a problem for both Rove and his party.

Rove, who helped guide George W. Bush to capture the Texas governorship and then the White House, continues to play an outsized role within the party, even as his former boss has left the stage. The past year, Rove’s super PAC, American Crossroads, raised and spent millions of dollars but came up short on Election Day at the same time that Rove was making the Republicans' case as a Wall Street Journal columnist and a Fox News pundit. It is a complicated fusion of roles (perhaps made necessary by his lack of official standing within the GOP) that is further complicated by the challenge of working on behalf of a party that channels the values of white Americans at prayer in an ever more secular and diverse nation.

It can be fairly said that Tea Party legislators are shaped by conviction and circumstance, much like those of representatives of Manhattan’s Upper West Side or Chicago’s South Side. But when and if such figures decide to run statewide, they must pivot toward the center, park some of the bombast at the door, and convey that they are ready to be the senator of an entire state.

Instead, Republican congressmen looking to move to the upper chamber too often treat their Senate runs simply as elections to a larger district with better perks. The tenor of their campaigns matches the tone that marked their local races, only with a bigger and louder megaphone. The notable Republican failures seemed less focused on coalition building and more driven by rallying the faithful. And—see Todd “legitimate rape” Akin—the ideological consistency that is prized in home districts proves damaging in a statewide race.

-snip-

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/10/republicans-push-back-as-rove-aims-to-appoint-himself-kingmaker.html

[graham4anything]

1. Rove is the younger Bush family fixer (like Baker was the older family fixer)

Everything Rove does no matter how it seems is for the Bush's.

I wouldn't have put it past Rove to empower the tea party to drive them down and create an opening where the Bush family can slide back in.

Rove is a mad genius. While he don't have the 10 step ahead vision President Obama has,
he has a 6 step ahead plan.

And it worked to fully stock the house, governorships and lower positions that have put the democratic party at a disadvantage.

Beware of any angle Rove plays, because he is wanting Jeb in 2016 and more Bush's after.
And it is working nomination wise.
it seems

imho

[Angry Dragon]

2. They should push him back into the gutter

[yellowcanine]

3. After his epic meltdown on national TV election night why would anyone take him seriously?

Rove has no political creds left.

[Sunlei]

6. But he has plenty of dark money & connections to ruin people. That trumps all in rove politics.

[MyshkinCommaPrince]

4. I've begun to wonder...

I've begun to wonder if Rove is doing this less to rein in the teabag crowd than to force an inevitable conflict in the Repug party to occur sooner than it would if left to happen naturally. This fight was going to happen, sooner or later, but most Repug spokespersons seem to have been backing down from picking a fight with their party's crazies. It would benefit their side to get the fight over with before things start ramping up for 2014. By starting the battle now, they could be able to resolve their worst conflicts before the midterms. As the one setting off the conflict, perhaps Rove and his side stand a better chance of controlling the terms of the debate, or at least hope to do so.

I'm sure he has more than one reason for doing this. Genius or not, Rove seems to be good at working multiple angles simultaneously. Perhaps he wants exactly what he says he wants. Maybe he is trying to clear the way for Jeb. I suspect one of the goals is to start the fight early.

[Bake]

5. After 2012, his previous donors may not take his phone calls.

Bake