Karl Rove RIP

    OK, so Karl Rove can raise millions more to start another PAC to:

    Option A. Develop databases, software, and field offices to match Barack Obama's vaunted permanent campaign organization which has morphed into Organizing for Action, a PAC funded by friendly corporations and George Soros and dedicated to supporting the Left's agenda; or

   Option B. Focus the new Orwellian-named  Conservative Victory Project on the pointed objective of preventing the nomination of conservatives for the Senate.

   Surprise. He chose Option B. So sad.

       There was hope that we had gotten over the intramural Senate suicide when Jerry Moran of Kansas replaced John Cornyn of Texas as chair of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee,  and Jim DeMint of South Carolina retired to lead the Heritage Foundation rather than foster insurgencies against inadequately conservative incumbent Republicans. Apparently not so for the Republicans who again have a reasonable chance of capturing the Senate in 2014, needing to pick up 6 seats with 23 of the 33 available now held by Democrats.

      The headline trumpeted by Rove and the ecstatic media is that bad nominees in the last two cycles cost the Republicans at least four easy seats - in 2010 Sharon Angle in Nevada and Christine O'Donnell in Delaware; in 2012 Todd Akin in Missouri and Richard Mourdock in Indiana. Everyone gets it. Bobby Jindal gets it. The New York Times gushes over Bobby Jindal getting it.

     For a good discussion of the conservative grass roots battles in 2010 and 2012, see Erick Erickson's editorial on Red State. Certainly the comments of Akin and Mourdock cost them winnable seats and provided brand-damaging talking points in other campaigns, but there is a broader picture. Upset victors over Republican-establishment moderates have included Marco Rubio in Florida (Charlie Crist), Mike Lee in Utah (Bob Bennet), Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania (Arlen Specter), Rand Paul in Kentucky (Trey Grayson), and Ted Cruz in Texas (David Dewhurst). Of these, at least Rubio and Cruz have legitimate presidential potential. This is the vitality of the Party.

    And there have been too many others of the style sought by Rove who snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory without the "aid" of the Tea Party - Tommy Thompson (Wisconsin); Rick Berg (North Dakota); Denny Rehberg (Montana), George Allen (Virginia), Heather Wilson (New Mexico), Linda Lingle (Hawaii). Elections are won by good candidates running good campaigns in the right environment.

    But back to the beginning. Hopefully Sheldon Adelson, the Koch brothers, or someone else will support Option A. And, as Howard Fineman of the Huffington Post writes (with a somewhat different slant), the era of Karl Rove is over.

                                          -----           

  This week's video is a clip of the funniest commercials from the "lights out" Super Bowl. Some here in San Francisco are questioning the play-calling of our leader in the final moments of the contest, but we Republicans have recently had a similar experience on a more important national stage.

bbowen - 2/8/2013

Comments

[DickG]

WHERE'S ROMNEY ? Quote - "this doesn't stop at the Election". We will need more than Mark Levin ('Talk Radio') to do some 'blocking & tackling'on this Administration . The Admin. has threatened a Congressional 'sidestep'. Thank God for people like Ken Cuccinelli (Va. Atty Gen.). His 'WIN' against The $300. million "Rain Water" EPA regulation effort; is now the 3rd loss in The Courts for The Administration.
Perhaps this WIN may inspire our legal people to 'get it into gear' with the COUNTRY for a change. More support for THE ACRU,for instance; which is another legal group taking on The Administration.
The WHouse has reached the point where every statement involves either a distortion, an omission or outright fabrication.

[Bill McCormick]

MORE,MORE,MORE--of the same. It is getting boring. No solutions just posturing. Handshaking, Smiles, and threats. If you do not do anything about global warming (climate change) I will use Executive Orders to get my way. More money printing. No long term deficit reduction through entitlement reform. Not a word on social security, unemployment or welfare reform. Let's see we strengthen our borders as a compromise on immigration reform and then raises the minimum wage to $9 -a magnet for illegal fence climbing and illegal hiring. Did you see any clapping from the Generals when he announced the pull outs from Afghanistan? More later.

[DickG]

DOOMED TO A REPEAT ? Has Mr Bernanke been studying '1929' so hard; he's re-plicated it for us to re-live ? Perhaps a good 'Object Lesson'for Jindl's "Stupid Party". Funneling part of the $85. billion/mo. counterfeit into REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) to purchase the Toxic MBS's (Mortgage Backed Securities) falls into line with a 'statement' made . IT was making the point that (according to their CPIndex)inflation was unaffected due to the money being 'funneled' thru Public Sectors of the Economy wrather than traditional private loans over the entire Economy.
I thought maybe this had originated with Krugman. It sounded like him. Since then I have never heard anyone 'DEBUNK' this. By the way, $85. Billion is pretty close to the entire 'DEFICIT'.

[Bill McCormick]

SHAMBLES is the best way to describe what is left of Republican leadership. Seems our biggest concern is Governor Christie's waist line. Jindal has poked his head out early. Christie seems more likely to turn Democrat than return to the Republican Party he burned in October. Romney has become invisible. Ron Paul says he is thinking about running for Presiednt. Rubio seems to be waiting for someone to lead him rather than take charge and come out with some public ideas.

CURRENCY PRINTING is the US economic strategy and the further we go the more the world retaliates. By printing currency the US sells some products abroad. Meanwhile the Jap's Yen, touted by my Harvard Professors in 1986 as the world's next World currency, free falls toward zero. That seems a strange strategy for a country that must import virtually 100% of it's energy now that nuclear is out of favor. European officials unable to print Euro's because of the political system of the EU are calling for an end of the US/Japan/China/Brazil/India/Cambodia/Venezuela devaluation wars. And, so you can see the Euro spiraling upward. The US, of course, has set the pace with the $85B/month printing target. The offset of the US printing is a "false" housing market fueled by consortiums of REITs buying houses to rent. This is made profitable by the Fed policy to buy mortgage backed securities with the money it prints. what happens when the Fed stops printing and the REITs dump the foreclosed properties? By the way American banks have an inventory of unprocessed foreclosed houses in the range of 5 million. Holding this inventory has allowed the price of houses especially in Nevada,Florida and Arizona to increase in value (percieved).

FOREIGN CAPITAL--attracted by Fed policy and dangers abroad is fueling the Miami and NYC real estate markets. 31% of property sales in NYC and an oustanding 60% of Miami real estate sales are from South American, european and Asian sources. Reminds you of the days Japan bought up Hawaii. capital fleeing foreign markets does not bode well for the emerging markets long term.

The US is rapidly getting itself in a position with no alternative to the Democratic Liberals and little alternative to the money printing. The fanatasy of a rising DOW which refelcts the devalued dollar masks the dangers of this strategy. Funny isn't it that gold is going down. People have fallen in love with free money printed in the back rooms of the governments around the world.

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS deficit of the US dropped $8B in December. Why? Wall Street seems to thinki that it had to do with reduced buying and lower inventory of American companies. I suspect however it had more to do with current US OIL policy and the lower imports of OIL. As we expand fossil fuel production. Something liberals must be fuming over.

[DickG]

'EASTERN ESTABLISHMENT';A good place to start the RINO Hunt. My guess is; you might also 'bag' yourself a few '06-'08 'Sloths' in the BIG SWINDLE of the decade. (something the Atty Gen.. refuses to attempt). Not to mention the STOPPAGES in TORT and interstate medical insurance reforms.

[bill bowen]

The party has long had a divide between the Eastern establishment and the Southern, Midwestern, Western populist wing. Rove has been the tactician for the Establishment - with big government programs (No Child Left Behind; Medicare Part B) and liberal candidates (Lugar; etc). With Romney's defeat he has found a sugar daddy who will pay him dearly to make sure that the Establishment does not lose control of the Party to those Tea Party / libertarian populists who won in 2010. In the process he gets very wealthy.

[DickG]

CORRECT; That is 3 million Conservative voters failed to heed the CALL. What a SHAME. Now What ? Ted Cruz and Stan McCrystal in'16 ? I doubt that 'Cheshire' smile would have survived in a Debate with either one.

[Neil Crist]

Did you mean to say "conservatives" at the end of the first paragraph?

[DickG]

ROVE AS 'BY-GONE', A BETTER IDEA. Charts , graphs, and political counts always seem to be avoiding several obvious 'subtractions'. Begining at the Convention, 'Bigger Tent'concept: dropped Dr Paul and followers of a well established 'FED RESERVE Accounting'policy; Sarah Palin's impassioned followers (one of the few who were not afraid to speak out); omitting social and enviromental innovations probably led to Powell's desertion; and now The TEA PARTY. Still wondering why 3 million didn't show ?
Rove has never been an effective innovator or idea man ,in general. Why FOX or anyone in leadership would turn in his direction escapes me. At times we assume far too much in the LEADERSHIP.