Free Republic

Picture the scene from the DUkes of Hazzard. Same theme music. Only instead of the sheriff chasing the Dukes' Dodge Charger, it is reporters from the National Enquirer chasing John Edwards all around the basement of the Beverly Hilton with the chase ending up in a restroom where the Breck Girl remained trapped for 15 minutes until rescued by hotel security. In case you haven't heard about this Edwards scandal, here is an excerpt from the National Enquirer STORY: Edwards went out of the hotel briefly with Rielle, they were observed by the NATIONAL ENQUIRER and then went back...

John McCain and Barack Obama have both changed positions in this campaign. That's OK. Voters understand that politicians can and, sometimes, should change their views. After all, voters do. Witness the wide swings in their answers to opinion polls. But before accepting the changes, voters typically ask themselves three questions: Does the candidate admit he's shifting? What's the new information that altered his thinking? Does the change seem reasonable and not calculating?

Karl Rove may not want to testify under oath before Congress, but he's more than willing to be grilled by another ferocious set: the nation's television reporters. A week after ignoring a congressional subpoena, the former White House aide turned Fox News analyst joined Fox News Executive Vice President John Moody, fellow campaign operative turned political pundit Howard Wolfson and Fox anchorman Chris Wallace before the liberal-skewing press corps at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour in Los Angeles. ~snip~ "I do talk to people in politics all across the country, some of whom are very active in the...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.—Mitt Romney failed to win the Republican presidential nomination because of inexperience and inconsistency, according to GOP political guru Karl Rove. Rove, who grew up in Utah and masterminded President George W. Bush's election and re-election campaigns, told those gathered at the Television Critics Association press tour that the former Massachusetts governor didn't understand what he was getting into. "Running for president is unlike any other political task that anybody has ever taken on," he said. "So running for governor of Massachusetts, while it prepares you to some degree for running for president, there's nothing like running for...

I need help in proving that this picture is photoshopped. A Virginia Democrat blogger is using it like it's an actual news photo. Can you help me prove it's a fake? Thanks.

Have any of you seen Karl Rove, former Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bush, on FOX news lately? He is a clever guy, isn't he? Indeed, quite brilliant in my eyes which makes me wonder why his name has such negative connotations, especially in the more liberal newspapers like the NY or LA Times. It seems the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee is trying to obtain information from Mr. Rove concerning the firing of several U.S. Attorneys by the President. Now, the way I understand it, the President has the right to fire any U.S. attorney. (This isn't the...

WASHINGTON - Karl Rove had never been so agreeable. The former chief strategist to President Bush was the only witness listed on the agenda for Thursday's meeting of the House Judiciary Committee, and he proved to be uncharacteristically contained. Rep. Linda Sanchez, chairman of the subcommittee holding the hearing, declared herself "extremely disappointed and deeply concerned" about Rove's behavior. Rove was silent. Sanchez spoke of his "role in the alleged politicization of the Justice Department" and his hand in "the unprecedented firing of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006." Rove offered no defense. "If such allegations were true," said Rep. Chris...

There's nothing better than being propelled into the weekend on a laugh, and Rep. John Conyers from Michigan is in a giving mood. Conyers has a piece at the Huffington Post entitled "Karl Rove, the White House, and the Rule of Law." The rule of law?That's right; a Conyers is actually pointing the finger at somebody else's ethics. Some members of Congress have no shame. The only way this could be topped would be for Amy Winehouse to write a HuffPo piece chastising Courtney Love's drug habit. John Conyers, with the two staffers who accused him of using taxpayer money...

Karl Rove, President Bush's longtime political guru, refused to obey an order to testify before a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday. Rove's lawyer asserted that Rove was "immune" from the subpoena the committee had issued, arguing that the committee could not compel him to testify due to "executive privilege." The panel is investigating allegations that Rove and his White House allies dismissed U.S. attorneys and prosecuted officials who they saw as political opponents. The panel subpoenaed Rove in May after his lawyer, Robert D. Luskin, made clear the former White House deputy chief of staff would not appear voluntarily. Luskin...

The House Judiciary Committee is not likely to vote on a contempt resolution against Karl Rove until late this month, according to the panel's chairman. Rove, the former White House deputy chief of staff and top political advisor to President Bush, refused to appear today before a subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee to testify on the "politicization" of the Justice Department under the current administration. Citing a claim of executive privilege by Bush, Rove did not show up for today's hearing despite a committee subpoena. Conyers and Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Commercial and Administrative Law subcommittee, rejected...

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) threatened to charge former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove with contempt on Thursday after the controversial former presidential aide refused to comply with a subpoena. The panel is investigating alleged politically-motivated prosecutions by the Bush administration of nine federal attorneys in 2006 and former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman. Rove was charged by the Senate Judiciary Committee with contempt along with current White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten last year for failing to follow a subpoena about a related inquiry. He is scheduled to testify before the...

On the money front, how do Sens. Obama and McCain stack up? No contest, it seems. Since the campaign began, Mr. Obama has raised a staggering $295-plus million, versus Mr. McCain's almost $122 million. But that's misleading. Mr. Obama spent a lot to win the nomination. So how much cash did he and his rival have when the general election effectively began in June? As of May 31, Mr. Obama had $43.1 million on hand while Mr. McCain had $31.6 million – a significant but not overwhelming advantage ...There is also the cash raised by the Republican and Democratic National...

Many candidates have measured the Oval Office drapes prematurely. But Barack Obama is the first to redesign the presidential seal before the election. His seal featured an eagle emblazoned with his logo, and included a Latin version of his campaign slogan. This was an attempt by Sen. Obama to make himself appear more presidential. But most people saw in the seal something else – chutzpah – and he's stopped using it. Such arrogance – even self-centeredness – have featured often in the Obama campaign. [It's All About Obama] AP The presumptive nominee's presumptive "presidential" seal. Consider his treatment of Jeremiah...

Wonder if the Bush Administration realizes that it should be fighting back against the Democrats? Karl Rove realizes it too late. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgSl8pnarxM&feature=related So has anything changed in addressing this mistake?

Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), one of the most vocal opponents of the Bush administration on Capitol Hill, said Scott McClellan's book and testimony justify the beginning of impeachment hearings against Vice President Dick Cheney. During questioning of McClellan, Wexler asked the former White House press secretary if he believed Bush authorized the leaking of Valerie Plame Wilson's name. When McClellan said no, Wexler said this meant that Cheney must have been the source of the leak, meaning Cheney was seeking to retaliate against the wife of an administration critic. In Wexler's view, this would be enough to support the initation...

Getting to Know John McCain By KARL ROVE April 30, 2008 It came to me while I was having dinner with Doris Day. No, not that Doris Day. The Doris Day who is married to Col. Bud Day, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, fighter pilot, Vietnam POW and roommate of John McCain at the Hanoi Hilton. As we ate near the Days' home in Florida recently, I heard things about Sen. McCain that were deeply moving and politically troubling. Moving because they told me things about him the American people need to know. And troubling because it is clear that...

ormer White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan writes in a surprisingly scathing memoir to be published next week that President Bush “veered terribly off course,” was not “open and forthright on Iraq,” and took a “permanent campaign approach” to governing at the expense of candor and competence. Among the most explosive revelations in the 341-page book, titled “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception” (Public Affairs, $27.95): —McClellan charges that Bush relied on “propaganda” to sell the war. —He says the White House press corps went too easy on the administration. —He admits that some...

A good deal of what is posted on FR is based on misreading of the facts or outright xenophobia. Anyone who speaks on this subject should have some facts and understanding of the issues and solutions. Karl Rove did this in December 2006. The You Tube presentation at CSPAN can be found: HERE.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Karl Rove, who had been one of President George W. Bush's top aides, was subpoenaed on Thursday to testify before a congressional panel investigating the administration's firing of nine federal prosecutors. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers issued the subpoena after months of failed efforts to get Rove to voluntarily testify under oath. The Judiciary Committee, like its Senate counterpart, has been investigating for more than a year the administration's dismissal of nine of the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys in 2006. Despite White House claims to the contrary, critics charge the firings were politically motivated,...

The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed former White House adviser Karl Rove as part of its inquiry into whether the Bush administration politically meddled at the Justice Department. Accusations of politics governing decisions at the agency led to the resignation of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The subpoena issued Thursday orders Rove to testify before the House panel on July 10. He is expected to face questions about the White House's role in firing nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 and the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama, a Democrat.

Somebody warm up Karl's Weather Machine! The Spork Weasels are twitchin! ++++++++++++++++++++++++ The enemy of my enemy is…? Senator Hillary Clinton — just like any other Democrat — has used comparing someone’s campaign tactics to Karl Rove as the ultimate political insult. But — in yet a new somersault in a campaign year when candidates are doing so many somersaults that they could win red ribbons in the Olympics — Clinton is citing an analysis by you-know-who as reason to stay in the Democratic nomination race: Hillary Clinton defended her reasoning for staying in the presidential race Monday afternoon by...

Presidential historian Sean Wilentz—who’s also a New Republic contributing editor, Bob Dylan enthusiast, and prominent Clinton backer—talked to MarketWatch about campaign coverage. And like many Clinton supporters these days, he didn't shower praise on CNN or MSNBC. [Wilentz] said the best coverage by far came from the Fox News Channel. Wilentz observed that Karl Rove, contributor to Fox News and architect of Bush's two successful presidential campaigns, among others, had sounded "very, very knowledgeable." "What it showed is that the reporting of politics doesn't have to be bad," Wilentz said. "If you respect your audience without a partisan imperative, then...

Until very recently Karl Rove was to most Democrats the Great Satan, the political mastermind of two outrageously stunning Republican presidential victories by a Texas goofball governor and, before that, the unfortunate upset ousting of a popular Democratic governor named Ann Richards, as well as the overall rejuvenation of the Lone Star state GOP in statewide offices. ...In recent months one of the worst things Sen. Hillary Clinton could say about her opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, was that he was taking moves out of the "Karl Rove playbook." Can you imagine?! "Shame on you, Barack Obama!" she said. Which, if...

Dan Abrams, apparently still smarting from the castigation he received in April from Karl Rove, just cannot let go. Despite the fact that the "high level" Republican operative, Jill Simpson, who accused Rove of orchestrating the prosecution of convicted Democrat former Alabama governor, Dan Siegelman, never actually met nor talked to Karl Rove and whose "high level" operative activities in her own words never rose above typical volunteer work, Abrams continues to wander into the swamp created by this much less than credible source. On Thursday, Abrams and Catherine Crier were salivating with glee on MSNBC's Verdict over the prospect that the House...

Congrats to all you DUmmies out in California who can now marry each other in that state. I was originally intending to DUFU one of the many jubilant DUmmie threads about the California Supreme Court overturning the ban on gay marriage but they mostly consisted of DUmmies just high-fiving each other with little thought about how this decision will help to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in many House and Senate races this November. Therefore, I took a trip to KOmmieland and found the KOmmies salivating at the prospect of the House possibly frogwalking Karl Rove. This...

<p>Some of the media elite have found that Karl Rove in his new role as a commentator is, to their apparent astonishment, a pretty good guy. Rove is now a FOX News contributor and also writes for the Wall Street Journal and Newsweek. The New York Times quotes Newsweek editor Jon Meacham as saying the former Bush political strategist is getting positive reviews from the staff.</p>

Tuesday's election results highlighted challenges for both Democrats and Republicans. Republicans received a hard shot in Mississippi. Greg Davis (for whom I campaigned and who was a well-qualified candidate) narrowly lost a special congressional election in a district President George W. Bush carried four years ago with 62% of the vote. Democrats pulled off the win by smartly nominating a conservative, Travis Childers, from a rural swing part of the district who disavowed Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and hit Mr. Davis from the right. This blow to the GOP came after two other special congressional election losses...

Many in the Obama camp, having outfoxed the apparently not-so-formidable Clinton machine, can't seem to get the hang of winning gracefully. They feel a need to drive a stake in Hillary Clinton's reputation, then dance. If they were smart, they'd heap praise on Clinton and let her finish out the race, however she chooses to do so. That's sage advice, even though offered by Republican mastermind-turned-pundit Karl Rove. Treat Clinton shabbily, he says, and many of her supporters "will remember it by November." Nonetheless, Obamites are throwing victory parties over the impending defeat of a fellow Democrat who has thus...

The Pundit Analyzing Obama? Some TV Upstart Named Rove By JIM RUTENBERG and JACQUES STEINBERG WASHINGTON — Late Thursday night, Karl Rove, “the architect” of the last two Republican presidential victories, was on his new television perch at Fox News, offering free advice to Senator Barack Obama as he closed in on the Democratic nomination. Any move by Mr. Obama to declare victory before the last of the Democratic primaries in June, Mr. Rove said, would alienate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s wing of the party. “That’s a mistake,” he said. “That just is rubbing the loser’s nose in it. And...

Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama each took a state Tuesday. But the result was a damaging loss for the woman who was once the overwhelming front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Here are some observations on the race: - Mr. Obama is now the prohibitive favorite. Tuesday night, he took at least 94 delegates to Mrs. Clinton's 75 and leads the former First Lady by 176 delegates in the AP tabulation. He has 1,840 of the 2,025 delegates needed to win. Mr. Obama needs only 185 – or 38% – of the 486 outstanding delegates (217 to be elected in...

Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama each took a state Tuesday. But the result was a damaging loss for the woman who was once the overwhelming front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Here are some observations on the race: - Mr. Obama is now the prohibitive favorite. Tuesday night, he took at least 94 delegates to Mrs. Clinton's 75 and leads the former First Lady by 176 delegates in the AP tabulation. He has 1,840 of the 2,025 delegates needed to win. Mr. Obama needs only 185 – or 38% – of the 486 outstanding delegates (217 to be elected in...

It came to me while I was having dinner with Doris Day. No, not that Doris Day. The Doris Day who is married to Col. Bud Day, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, fighter pilot, Vietnam POW and roommate of John McCain at the Hanoi Hilton. As we ate near the Days' home in Florida recently, I heard things about Sen. McCain that were deeply moving and politically troubling. Moving because they told me things about him the American people need to know. And troubling because it is clear that Mr. McCain is one of the most private individuals to run...

Karl Rove, who masterminded the last two Republican victories in presidential elections, is gazing with undisguised relish at the giant target being painted on Barack Obama's back before the next one. In an interview with The Times yesterday, he described the likely Democratic nominee as a “frail” candidate, who represents the values of an out-of-touch liberal social elite and demonstrates “tone deafness” to the concerns of ordinary Americans. Karl Rove suggested that race, far from hurting Barack Obama probably works in his favour “You have probably seen this kind of guy at London parties, trailing ash from a fashionable cigarette...

BIRMINGHAM | Former Gov. Don Siegelman said Thursday that he wants former White House adviser Karl Rove to testify before Congress, whether 'he lies under oath, tells the truth or pleads the Fifth.' Siegelman was freed on bond March 28 after serving nine months in federal prison for bribery and obstruction of justice. He said that while his primary concern is winning his appeal, there are bigger issues involved in his prosecution by the U.S. District Attorney's Office in Montgomery... The case against Siegelman centered around a contribution by Richard Scrushy, the founder of HealthSouth, to an organization Siegelman had...

"Karl Rove" has begun to be a substitute for accusations of "Nazi" or "Fascist" in the lexicon of many on the Left. You can see it on screeds on blogs as Hillary Clinton is accused of "Karl Rove" tactics or of George Stephanopoulos of being an agent of “Karl Rove” during a Democrat debate. How do these things get started? Well, getting smeared on “60 Minutes” is one way. Since the real Karl Rove is not dead, he has the ability to respond, and when he does, he lands a haymaker.

April 13, 2008 Mr. Dan Abrams MSNBC 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, N.Y. 10112 Dear Mr. Abrams: On April 7th, you again devoted a substantial part of your show to the claim of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman that I was behind his prosecution. Your continued coverage of this issue raises questions about your journalistic standards and those of MSNBC and NBC. During your broadcast, Mr. Siegelman referred to Ms. Dana Jill Simpson as a “respected Republican political operative,” a reference it seems you accept because of the frequent attention you give her in your broadcasts. Have you, during...

The Democratic race could well come down to the first contested convention in years. Lessons on how to prevail.After the last Democratic Primary is held in early June, neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama will have enough votes from delegates elected in caucuses or primaries to be declared the nominee. Obama would have to win 76 percent and Clinton 98 percent of the 535 delegates that are at stake in the final eight contests. Neither will happen.

Are liberal Democrats less likely to have social lives than conservatives? Click to download MP3 file of interview According to Karl Rove, the answer to that question is yes. The Republican guru all but made that argument explaining why he thought liberals are more likely to be on the web than conservatives. "I hate to sound sort of diffident about it but it strikes me that a lot of people on the right have got active lives and are doing other things," Rove said. "The idea of spending a lot of time on the internet and taking their talents and...

For a party whose presidential candidates pledge they'll remove U.S. troops from Iraq immediately upon taking office -- without regard to conditions on the ground or the consequences to America's security -- a late February Gallup Poll was bad news. The Obama/Clinton vow to pull out of Iraq immediately appears to be the position of less than one-fifth of the voters. Nearly two out of every three Americans surveyed (65%) believe "the United States has an obligation to establish a reasonable level of stability and security in Iraq before withdrawing all of its troops." The reason is self-interest. Almost the...

Are liberal Democrats less likely to have social lives than conservatives? According to Karl Rove, the answer to that question is yes. The Republican guru all but made that argument explaining why he thought liberals are more likely to be on the web than conservatives. "I hate to sound sort of diffident about it but it strikes me that a lot of people on the right have got active lives and are doing other things," Rove said. "The idea of spending a lot of time on the internet and taking their talents and displaying them there is not something [conservatives]...

One out of five is not a majority. Democrats should keep that simple fact of political life in mind as they pursue the White House. For a party whose presidential candidates pledge they'll remove U.S. troops from Iraq immediately upon taking office -- without regard to conditions on the ground or the consequences to America's security -- a late February Gallup Poll was bad news. The Obama/Clinton vow to pull out of Iraq immediately appears to be the position of less than one-fifth of the voters.

He's a Muslim. He was sworn into office on the Koran. He doesn't say the Pledge of Allegiance. His pastor is an anti-Semite. He's a tool of Louis Farrakhan. He's anti-Israel. His advisers are anti-Israel. He's friends with terrorists. The terrorists want him to win. He's the Antichrist. By now you've probably seen at least some of these e-mails and articles about Barack Obama bouncing around the Internet. They distort Obama's religious faith, question his support for Israel, warp the identity and positions of his campaign advisers and defame his friends and allies from Chicago. The purpose of the smear...

No love fest for Rove Lauren Sieben - The Daily Iowan Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: Metro Karl Rove protesters didn't stop at picket signs and chants to express their anger over the former Deputy Chief of Staff's UI appearance Sunday night. Local protest group Seeds of Dissent and the UI Antiwar Committee held events protesting Rove's appearance at the IMU. Seeds of Dissent hosted a pre-Rove protest event at the Mill, 120 E. Burlington St., and the Antiwar Committee held a press conference and protest in the IMU prior to Rove's lecture. The Antiwar Committee specifically protested Rove for his...

Rove explained that he and McCain “got to know each other during the 2004 campaign.” In a separate interview, Mehlman noted that “McCain was completely loyal to the president in 2004 and worked incredibly hard to help him get elected.” According to Taylor, “The Bush Republicans here in town are excited for John McCain.”

With Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's decision to stay in the Democratic race to the bitter end, she has signaled a delegate fight all the way to the party's convention in Denver this August. Both candidates appear in something of a stalemate. Political strategists have concluded that Clinton cannot overcome Sen. Barack Obama's pledged delegate lead by winning additional primaries. And despite his lead in electoral and delegate wins, Obama cannot seal his nomination without the support of the party's superdelegates. Clinton's decision, after winning in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island this week that she would not capitulate has opened up...

Tuesday's exciting presidential primaries were about momentum, delegates and second looks. In the Republican contest, these factors gave victory to the Lazarus candidate. John McCain's campaign nearly collapsed eight months ago in a mass of debt and missteps. Tuesday, Mr. McCain became the GOP's standard-bearer by passing the 1,191-delegate threshold needed for nomination. It was a remarkable comeback and personal triumph of character, grit and persistence. The Democrats saw Hillary Clinton come back from the abyss for the third time this year. What is it about the Clintons living life on the political edge? Mrs. Clinton was on the edge...

Rove a big draw with youth By Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW Monday, March 3, 2008 Karl Rove suspects some members of the sold-out crowd coming to see him tonight at the University of Pittsburgh might only be interested in seeing if he has horns and a tail. "I always get the occasional lunatic ranting and raving, but most people want to hear what I have to say and want to ask questions," the former deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to President George W. Bush said Sunday. "That is when we get engaged in a dialogue about things they want...

I'm a latecomer to the controversy over the 60 Minutes story on the supposed machinations of Karl Rove to take down former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. CBS has posted the story here. On its face, the segment is a remarkably thin piece of work from which to lob serious accusations implicating the integrity of prominent officials including Rove. Rove himself has responded to the story by asking the question that occurred to me after watching the segment: "Seeing where I was working at the time, a reasonable person could ask why I would even take an interest in that case."...

No less an authority figure than Karl Rove has warned Republican operatives from demagoguing Barack Obama's middle name. At a closed door meeting of GOP state executive directors in late January, Rove said the safest way to refer to Obama would be to use his honorific, "Sen. Obama." "The context was, you're not going to stimatize this guy. You shouldn't underestimate him," one of the executive directors said. Rove said that the use of "Barack Hussein Obama" would perpetuate the notion that Republicans were bigoted and would hurt the party. Rove also said that Republicans should refer to Hillary Clinton...

60 Minutes: Woman Says Top Bush Adviser Asked Her To Take Compromising Pictures Of Alabama Gov. Siegelman. (CBS) A Republican operative in Alabama says Karl Rove asked her to try to prove the state’s Democratic governor was unfaithful to his wife in an effort to thwart the highly successful politician’s re-election. Rove’s attempt to smear Don Siegelman was part of a Republican campaign to ruin him that finally succeeded in imprisoning him, says the operative, Jill Simpson. Simpson speaks to Scott Pelley in her first television interview, to be broadcast on "60 MINUTES" Sunday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. ET/PT,...