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As a white, male, middle-aged conservative talk radio host from Virginia, John Fredericks is something close to the Platonic ideal of a Fox News fan. And until last year, he was one. But then Fox’s treatment of the Republican primary race — the presentation of Karl Rove as a political analyst despite his having “thrown in for Romney” and Sean Hannity’s clear ties to the Republican establishment — began to grate on him. So he changed the channel.

Rick Santorum is about to see the kitchen sink up-close. So far he hasn’t been a threat, so he hasn’t faced much harsh scrutiny, much less the attacks that are about to come his way. His candidacy is for real, and Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney both know it. While Gingrich thought he could isolate Romney and become his lone real competitor, yesterday’s results, combined with a deflating Gingrich campaign, have allowed Santorum to leapfrog Gingrich as the more viable Romney alternative today. It’s not in Gingrich’s nature to give up. Attacking Romney hasn’t gotten him to where he thought...

Newt Gingrich had a bad night Tuesday: After framing the Florida primary as the "tea party versus the cocktail party," he lost among tea party supporters, according to the exit polls that cable and broadcast networks sponsor as a consortium. On the other hand, Mitt Romney had a great evening, rising from a nine-point deficit in the Rasmussen poll just nine days ago to a 14-point victory, sweeping virtually every demographic and picking up all 50 Florida delegates. This was an important inflection point, but the contest won't end until one candidate starts consistently winning. . . . Mr. Romney's...

It occurred to me that in the Karl Rove playbook you go after an opponent's strengths, not weaknesses. Rove has used this tactic throughout his political career to destroy opponents.. most recently in the swiftboating of John Kerry. Kerry's biggest selling point during the war on terror, the Dems thought, was going to be his service in Vietnam. The American people would see that Kerry had actually served vs Bush who supposedly dodged. Then he got swiftboated and his candidacy ended. Now here we have Newt whose popularity among conservatives stems from his association with Ronald Reagan and promoting Reaganism....

After Newt Gingrich was declared the winner of the South Carolina primary Saturday night, Karl Rove suggested that the candidate has CNN’s John King to thank for his victory in the Palmetto State. “Taking on the media is always good in a Republican primary,” Rove said on Fox News. “John King couldn’t have set up the question in a more positive way for Gingrich to just nail it and haul it right out of the park.”

Ed Rollins says the establishment will come down on Gingrich and call him unelectable. "You will see a Republican establishment will say he cannot win and drag down the house and they will go to war on him," Rollins told FOX News. Rollins on Romney: "He never was a conservative til he was running for the presidency four years ago. He never governed as a -- when he ran against Kennedy he wasn't a conservative, when he won the governorship he wasn't a conservative. He's trying to convince people now and it's just not sellable to conservatives."

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Wednesday he has "an uphill climb" to win South Carolina's presidential primary but is ready to defend himself from the "underbelly" of politics in a state known for bare-knuckled tactics. [Snip] "I hope no one associated with any of my effort, whether it's my own campaign or anyone else that's supporting me, I hope none of them do anything that departs from the truth," he said.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney beat former Sen. Rick Santorum by a margin of just 8 votes in the Iowa GOP caucuses, the chairman of the Iowa Republican Party announced early Wednesday.

According to Karl Rove, now speaking on Fox News, a high-ranking official in the Republican party has declared that Mitt Romney has won the Iowa Caucus by exactly 14 votes. Update- Fox News has confirmed that a second source has verified this report and that Mitt Romney has indeed won.

We remember when many U.S. Republican leaders were genuine conservatives, devoting themselves to reasonable compromises to save taxpayer money and improve government effectiveness. But today's GOP scene, laced with erratic tea party extremism, seems like an odd carnival. Karl Rove, the clever strategist who enticed millions of white evangelicals into the Republican Party, says the current campaign for the GOP presidential nomination is the most "downright inexplicable primary race I've ever witnessed." He's right. A bizarre quality marks the ongoing tussle. Herman Cain, who said God told him to run, was forced out of the race by sex accusations --...

To this day, Barack Hussein Obama remains a man of mystery. Copious amounts of documentation from his early life and academic career have never been released. It took years of pressure, plus Donald Trump as the ringmaster of a media circus, just to see his birth certificate. When the L.A. Times obtained a potentially embarrassing videotape of Obama laughing it up at a party for Arafat minion Rashid Khalidi, the paper pursed its lips and fastidiously hid the tape from public view. Their newspaper account of the part didn’t even mention that domestic terrorist Friends of Obama Bill Ayers and...

There are currently many news stories and blog discussions about the Virginia presidential primary ballot access law. Some large blogs, such as Red State, have over 300 comments about the story. Some defend the current Virginia ballot access laws on the grounds that in past presidential elections, a fairly large number of Republican presidential primary candidates managed to qualify. But what has not been reported is that in the only other presidential primaries in which Virginia required 10,000 signatures (2000, 2004, and 2008) the signatures were not checked. Any candidate who submitted at least 10,000 raw signatures was put on...

There are currently many news stories and blog discussions about the Virginia presidential primary ballot access law. Some large blogs, such as Red State, have over 300 comments about the story. Some defend the current Virginia ballot access laws on the grounds that in past presidential elections, a fairly large number of Republican presidential primary candidates managed to qualify. But what has not been reported is that in the only other presidential primaries in which Virginia required 10,000 signatures (2000, 2004, and 2008) the signatures were not checked. Any candidate who submitted at least 10,000 raw signatures was put on...

You know it's bad for Republicans when Karl Rove says it's time to cave and move on. The former political adviser to President George W. Bush said Wednesday that the famously conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page was right when it said House Republicans should cut their losses and agree with a bipartisan Senate plan to extend for just two months the payroll tax cut enacted last year. Republicans "have lost the optics on it," Rove told Fox News, "the question now is how do the Republicans get out of it."

Karl Rove isn’t officially affiliated with any of the GOP candidates, but if you listen to him, it’s becoming increasingly clear he has a favorite. We’re not the first to notice, but Karl Rove seems firmly in the Mitt Romney camp. What’s more, he’s goes on TV a lot to lob attacks at just about every other candidate. Rove has taken a stab at just about every candidate other than Romney, and on Tuesday it was Newt Gingrich’s turn. With multiple polls showing Newt Gingrich surging in Iowa, Rove took to Fox News, to undermined the former speaker: “If in...

by James Lewis, staff writer George W used to call Karl Rove a nickname that always puzzled me. Let’s say — it’s a fresh flower growing in a Texas cowpat. It seemed a little bit rough even by Texas standards. Now I think I get it. Karl Rove is a smart policy guy, and unlike the Obama Democrats who never met an anti-American Marxist or a radical Muslim they didn’t like, he is not an ideological throwback to 1848. Unlike Obama, Rove would not agitate to overthrow every Arab regime in the Middle East — along with the Israelis, who...

Norman Lear Attacks Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Karl Rove and GOP Presidential Candidates By Noel Sheppard Created 12/13/2011 - 6:51pm Television's Norman Lear, in a speech celebrating the 30th anniversary of his far-left organization People for the American Way, called James Dobson, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Karl Rove hate-mongers. In his December 5 address published at the Huffington Post Tuesday, he also accused the Republican candidates for president of having a "holier-than-thou sanctity" (video follows with transcript and commentary): NORMAN LEAR: I want to suggest we lefties start laying claim to what we see as "sacred" -- and serve...

Karl Rove thinks Mitt Romney probably should have begun attacks on Newt Gingrich much earlier in the presidential campaign, he told me on Good Morning America. But Rove is not convinced that a drawn out primary will hurt Republicans and he said a fight for their nomination could create a better nominee to face President Obama. Rove said he is not very impressed with the attacks that Romney has launched so far. Today he described them as “flailing” so far.

With the Iowa caucuses just 26 days away, the Republican presidential contest is now a two-man race. According to this week's Gallup poll, the two candidates with the broadest appeal to GOP voters are former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Asked who would "be an acceptable nominee for president," 62% said Mr. Gingrich and 54% named Mr. Romney. The only way anyone else becomes a serious contender is through a surprising finish in the Iowa caucuses or New Hampshire primary. Mr. Gingrich has become the fourth front-runner in this year's contest, displacing businessman Herman Cain...

I don't think so. Last night on the Fox Panel, Donald Trump was roundly flogged for moderating a debate with GOP Presidential candidates. The complaints were that Trump might still run himself, Trump is not a journalist, a Trump debate is nothing more than a reality show, it's a joke and beneath the office of the Presidency (that from Ron Paul). Charles Krauthammer joined in and agreed. Karl Rove has expressed similar opinions. Krauthammer, Rove and other elitists need to get over themselves. True Conservative members of any Tea Party can do as well as any "journalist," and a Trump...

In response to comments from Karl Rove that candidates should skip the debate at the end of December to be moderated by Donald Trump, Trump said that in his opinion Rove was “highly overrated,” and “basically is a loser.” Rove says that a Trump-moderated debate would trivialize the process “I don’t think that Karl Rove is a smart person. I think he’s highly overrated,” said Trump, on a conference call about his new book. “I’ve watched Karl Rove for years. He’s a man who is only after Karl Rove, and he’s part of the problem with the Republican Party. Rove,...

MSNBC host Chuck Todd and Donald Trump got into a heated on-air exchange Monday over who requested the interview. The flareup came after Todd, host of the Daily Rundown, said earlier on the program that Trump wanted to respond to a poll that showed voters were less likely to support a Republican candidate if one was endorsed by Trump. When Todd got on the phone with Trump on the air, he was greeted by the irate real estate mogul fuming over what Todd had said.

EUGENE, Ore. – The man known as “Bush’s Brain,” still wields massive power in the Republican Party today -- and is prominently featured on hand-made signs as “the antichrist” by Occupy protesters here in Eugene and nationwide – while it’s no surprise that Karl Rove’s nickname is “the decider” by those who run the GOP inner circle. After serving as President George W. Bush’s “Senior Advisor,” deputy chief of staff, personal secrets keeper and “the president’s right and left hand” in all matters of decision making – state numerous political analysts who’ve watched Rove’s rise to power in America and...

Karl Rove defends Sharon Bialek, who is accusing Herman Cain of sexual assault, because her attorney is Gloria Allred. "Credibility matters here. And Gloria Allred, while she is a Democrat and a liberal Democrat and openly so -- nonetheless, has been involved in a number of high profile cases like Tiger Woods and others where the charges have been borne out. "So this gives Ms. Bialek's charges and accusations a little bit of credibility, and that's what we're talking about here -- credibility."

It was because he was going to retire anyway, lost a favorite port town in redistricting and had a tough race last time. Was this really why Congressman Barney Frank announced today he’s retiring from the House of Representatives? Perhaps another reason was he’s no longer chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and like a lot of bullies, Mr. Frank found it’s not easy to be stripped of the power to torment and humiliate others. Brilliant, but acid tongued and generally unpleasant, Mr. Frank ruled with an iron gavel, ran over critics with delight and treated committee members and...

Sarah Palin's announcement that she wouldn't run for president disappointed her legions of admirers — but it infuriated Roger Ailes. The Fox News chief wasn't angry about the decision itself. Rather, he was livid that Palin made the October 5 announcement on Mark Levin's conservative talk-radio program, robbing Fox News of an exclusive and a possible ratings bonanza. Fox was relegated to getting a follow-up interview with Palin on Greta Van Susteren's 10 p.m. show, after the news of Palin's decision had been drowned out by Steve Jobs's death. Ailes was so mad, he considered pulling her off the air...

Now that Rick Perry has come across as an insincere person who just memorizes talking points and parrots them, it is clear that there is no chance he will get the nomination. It is best for this Karl Rove stooge to quit the race. Maybe, he should donate all the money he has raised to the Cain campaign. His supporters have probably deserted him after realizing that he just makes insincere claims about cutting down the government. Perry's insincerity is very typical of Karl Rove's puppets.

Mark Levin flagged this on Twitter with this observation: “I think it can be said that Karl Rove has jumped the shark. In fact, the shark bit him on the ass. Good-bye Karl.” Maybe Karl Rove should have consulted with his Fox News colleague Greta van Susteren about Allred’s credibility in allegations involving political candidates. It’s hard to imagine that the appearance of Gloria Allred, of all people, will help Sharon Bialek seem more credible: (VIDEO AT LINK) “Credibility matters here, and Gloria Allred — while she is a Democrat and a liberal Democrat and openly so — nonetheless, has...

Karl Rove, on Fox News today, talking about lawyer Gloria Allred's involvement with Sharon Bialek's allegation of sexual misconduct from Herman Cain. "Credibility matters here, and Gloria Allred -- while she is a Democrat and a liberal Democrat and openly so -- nonetheless, has been involved in a number of high-profile cases like Tiger Woods and others, where the charges have been borne out. So this gives Ms. Bialek's charges and accusations a little bit of credibility, and that's what we're talking about here -- credibility." Rove didn't mention anything in the segment about Bialek's murky past and increasingly questionable...

URBANDALE, Iowa — Herman Cain’s Iowa state director thumbed through a stack of supporter sign-up forms at the campaign’s headquarters here, telling ABC News that the sexual harassment allegations that have rocked the Cain campaign this week have actually been a “catalyst” in this state. Larry Tuel, who runs Cain’s campaign in Iowa, said that the endless stream of news stories on Cain’s alleged misbehavior toward women have attracted new supporters and emboldened existing ones. “The story has made some people angry,” Tuel said in an interview on Thursday. “We think that people want to show their support for Mr....

Liberal activist and actress Janeane Garofalo appeared on Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" show on the Current TV network Wednesday night. Garofalo went on several rants, one of which included accusing the Tea Party, which she calls a "fundamentalist" movement, of racism. Garofalo also said successful businessman Herman Cain is either being paid to run or is suffering from Stockholm syndrome because he is a "person of color" running as a Republican in the party's presidential primary. "[He's] in this presidential race because he deflects the racism that is inherit in the Republican party, the conservative movement, the Tea Party certainly. [In]...

Responding to his insurgent campaign’s first crisis, Herman Cain was upbeat and defiant. “To quote my chief of staff and all the people around this country, ‘Let Herman be Herman,’ ” he said Monday. “And Herman is gonna stay Herman.” I was afraid of that. Cain’s policy positions range from the ignorant to the unworkable to the just plain goofy – and yet he is running first or second in most polls for the Republican presidential nomination. He trumpets his utter lack of government experience as a selling point and boasts of not knowing foreign leaders’ names. If through some...

When Gov. Sarah Palin was deciding whether or not to get into the presidential race, Karl Rove was popping up on Fox News to talk about why her skin was too thin for the job. And when Gov. Rick Perry was thinking about his entrance into the race, Rove was Johnny-on-the-spot with reasons why a Perry candidacy would not be viable either. Now Rove’s moved on to Herman Cain, whose candidacy he’s doing all he can to sink, sidetrack, or otherwise derail.

Exclusive: Two women accused Cain of inappropriate behavior By: Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman and Anna Palmer and Kenneth P. Vogel October 30, 2011 08:00 PM EDT During Herman Cain’s tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, at least two female employees complained to colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior by Cain, ultimately leaving their jobs at the trade group, multiple sources confirm to POLITICO. The women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable, the sources said, and they signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave...

When Gov. Sarah Palin was deciding whether or not to get into the presidential race, Karl Rove was popping up on Fox News to talk about why her skin was too thin for the job. And when Gov. Rick Perry was thinking about his entrance into the race, Rove was Johnny-on-the-spot with reasons why a Perry candidacy would not be viable either. Now Rove’s moved on to Herman Cain, whose candidacy he’s doing all he can to sink, sidetrack, or otherwise derail. On Fox News this past Monday, Rove did his best Mr. Rogers imitation by holding up a small...

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.

Karl Rove plays typical two-faced self serving politics. I will STAND with a proven successful American businessman anytime, even though he may lack in certain areas. Herman Cain is smart enough man to understand how to surround himself with those who are specialist and professionals in their given field of expertise, UNLIKE OBAMA. Herman Cain would be a Great Leader. Karl Rove and the old boy network can look in the rear view mirror baby and remember the good old days, I am sick of seeing this guy and his ilk.

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...

Herman Cain pushed back hard at Karl Rove's recitation of his recent campaign fumbles and miscues - which he presented on a whiteboard on Fox News this morning - and accused the operative of trying to do him intentional damage in a Byron York interview: "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...

GOP strategist and former Bush advisor Karl Rove laid out all the reasons why he believes Herman Cain's presidential campaign is finished. In an interview with Fox Business, Rove listed several of Cain's recent gaffes — and policy positions that are out of line with many GOP voters — to show why the Cain boomlet won't continue. "I think it has created an image of him as not being up to this task," he said. "That’s really deadly." Despite the missteps, Cain's fundraising topped his third quarter numbers in just three weeks — with the campaign raising over $3 million...

At his recent news conference, President Obama praised Occupy Wall Street, saying, "It expresses the frustrations that the American people feel." Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised the protesters, saying, "God bless them for their spontaneity." Vice President Joe Biden claimed the protesters had "a lot in common with the Tea Party." And the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is circulating a petition seeking 100,000 signers to declare, "I stand with the Occupy Wall Street protests." The political calculation behind all this is obvious: Democrats hope Occupy Wall Street will boost their party's chances in next year's election as the tea...

As influential members of the Republican Party pick favorites for the 2012 presidential nomination, Rep. Ron Paul can’t catch a break. While he hovers at about 10 percent in most national presidential polls of GOP primary voters, leaders of his own party–including former Vice President Dick Cheney–are openly dismissing his presidential run. Paul, a longtime critic of Cheney’s neo-conservative foreign policy, used valuable camera time on Fox News yesterday to explain his non-interventionist foreign policy and to address Cheney’s less-than-warm feelings toward his presidential candidacy. In the interview, Fox News reporter Neil Cavuto showed Paul a clip of Cheney essentially...

It has taken me a couple days to fully compose my thoughts on Wednesday's GOP debate on MSNBC. Like most, I was looking forward to seeing Rick Perry perform on stage for the first time. I like Rick Perry and would gladly support him, but he made two obvious blunders as far as I can see. One can be fixed, the other is his to own. I was and am still hoping that Governor Perry can improve himself as I am no great fan of Mitt Romney. While I prefer Rick Perry on the substance of the issues he failed...

On “GMA” this morning, Karl Rove noted that new GOP frontrunner has many strengths, but Rick Perry’s thoughts on Social Security are not among them. Perry’s campaign has not backed away from what Perry wrote in his book “Fed Up” — that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme,” a “failure,” “something we have been forced to accept for more than 70 years now,” and one of many New Deal programs that have “never died, and like a bad disease, they have spread.” But Rove pulled no punches today, calling that stance “inadequate.” “They are going to have to find a...

In the world of political journalism, Sarah Palin is good for business. Love her or hate her, readers feel passionately, and passion makes people click. We've written plenty about America's Sweetheart here on Daily Intel. New York's Gabriel Sherman and John Heilemann have each written cover stories about her. But there's a smaller subset of journalists who are even more deeply involved in the prospect of a future President Palin, and I once was one of them. I was a paid Palinologist in my former job at Slate, one of a tiny but devoted tribe of journalists who gamely try...

The most polarizing figure in American politics is never going away. Not if she stays out of the race. Not if she jumps in. Whether you love, hate or respectfully decline to invest emotional energy in her, Sarah Palin is here for good. Though her success hinges on the passion of her supporters, that passion springs less from Palin herself than from the weird new reality of American life, which has thrust both Palin and her constituency into the limelight that real novelty always enjoys in democratic life. It’s pity enough that so few commentators understand how real-life social conditions...

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...

I did some research for my interview with Karl Rove for tonight’s ON THE RECORD at 10pm and I was surprised at all the recent articles about Karl Rove and Governor Palin. Apparently the other day he made a statement about whether she would be running or not — or whether he thought she would run or something like that — and the media went wild. He doesn’t know if she is running – only she does (and probably her family.) Anyone who cover politics or is fascinated by politics or recognizes the importance of politics, wants to know who...

Add Karl Rove to the list of people Sarah Palin's camp is denouncing. POLITICO's Juana Summers flags this statement from the Sarah PAC website, which - without naming him - takes an unmistakable swipe at the former White House adviser to George W. Bush: Three years ago DC pundits predicted with glee the demise of Sarah Palin's political career. This past weekend their tune changed, citing false information that she has made a decision and set a date regarding a future campaign. Any professional pundit claiming to have "inside information" regarding Governor Palin's personal decision is not only wrong but...

Last weekend, ex-Republican campaign strategist/current Fox News political commentator Karl Rove repeated twice that Sarah Palin will run for president. He’s obviously right. Appearing on Fox News Saturday, Rove stated that Palin “has a schedule next week that looks like that of a candidate, not a celebrity.” He then appeared on “Fox News Sunday,” pointing to a campaign-like video recently released by Palin‘s Political Action Committee, as well as upcoming events in Iowa as evidence that Palin will soon announce her candidacy. Watch the video below. “If she doesn’t get in next week, I think people are going to basically...