Karl Rove, Progressive Republican

Riehl World View ^ | 20 Oct 2010 | "Dan"

[combat_boots]

Karl Rove seems to be taking some heat for his saying the Tea Party is less sophisticated than the Reagan Revolution - enough heat to tug on Tucker Carlson's chain for a slight walk-back, anyway. That's some leash. I guess it extends to Texas after all. Heh! But pay attention to the bit from Rove in bold below. What he calls progress, we call progressivism of the Republican sort. And that's just the sort of big government Republicanism I would link to Karl Rove.

SPIEGEL: But is he so different from other Democratic presidents? Take Lyndon B. Johnson. He introduced Medicare.

Rove: Even LBJ in Medicare insisted upon a robust private role. Obama is culturally and philosophically to the left of Johnson.

SPIEGEL: Are you convinced, then, that the Republican Party will be able to integrate the Tea Party without drifting too far to the right?

Rove: Sure. There have been movements like this before -- the Civil Rights movement, the anti-war movement, the pro-life movement, the Second Amendment rights movement. All of them popped up, insistent, loud, and relatively unsophisticated. They wanted everything now and for politicians to be with them 100 percent of the time. And after an election or two, people wake up saying, our system produces mostly incremental progress and takes time and compromise. That's exactly what's going to happen here.I meet a lot of Tea Partiers as I go around the country, and they are amazing people. Most have never been involved in politics before. This is their first experience, and they have the enthusiasm of people who have never done it before.

SPIEGEL: Is the Tea Party movement a repeat of the Reagan Revolution?

[who knows what evil?]

I wouldn’t want to live in ANY building designed by this so-called ‘Architect’.

[mewzilla]

From this link....

America's Ruling Class -- And the Perils of Revolution By Angelo M. Codevilla

Differences between Bushes, Clintons, and Obamas are of degree, not kind.

[Cboldt]

I think the term “Progressive Republican” is at least honest. It embodies the same big government principles and objectives that fit under the “Compassionate Conservatism” label. I suspect that most of the people who think of themselves as government conservatives had no objection to “Compassionate Conservatism” (even though they should have); but would reject being tagged as a “Progressive Republican.”