Free Republic

Karl Rove sees politics written all over Clint Eastwood's new Chrysler ad and even compares it to "Chicago-style politics." "I was, frankly, offended by it," Rove said on Fox News Monday. "I'm a huge fan of Clint Eastwood, I thought it was an extremely well-done ad, but it is a sign of what happens when you have Chicago-style politics, and the President of the United States and his political minions are, in essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising and the best-wishes of the management which is benefited by getting a bunch of our money that they'll never...

Sure, Mitt Romney just had a huge win in Florida—but his favorability ratings have been sinking miserably since the New Year. Andrew Romano on why the GOP’s long primary race in 2012 won’t mirror the Dems’ in 2008. Plus read more Daily Beast contributors on what Romney’s Florida victory means. On stage last night in Ballroom C of the Tampa Convention Center, Mitt Romney, the winner of the 2012 Florida Republican primary, tried his darndest to simulate the emotional state that Homo sapiens refer to as “happiness.” “Our opponents in the other party ... like to comfort themselves with the...

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....

VIDEO"Uploaded by americanbridge21st on Jan 9, 2012 Though Mitt Romney has spent 5 years of his run for President mired at 25%, there is one group that is signaling their singularsupport: the Washington Establishment. And Karl Rove, the king of conventional GOP wisdom is working double-time to make sure rank-and-file Republicans know it's time to fall in line. Through his constant television appearances and weekly op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Rove has consistently favored Mitt Romney and done what he does best: work to tear down any credible rival to Romney."

The fight to place all seven Republican presidential candidates on Virginia's primary ballot is moving toward the courts while one candidate bumped from the ballot, Newt Gingrich, insisted Wednesday that he was the victim of fraud. The conservative Citizens for the Republic and former Democratic Party of Virginia Chairman Paul Goldman said Wednesday that Virginia failed to follow its own laws in determining which candidates should make the ballot. The state delegated its duties to the political parties without double-checking their work, Goldman said. Virginia requires candidates to submit signatures from 10,000 registered voters, including 400 from each of the...

Don't be conned into nominating Mitt Romney.

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.

Obama cannot run on his record (Obamacare, Frank-Dodd, Porkulus, the bailouts, Obamacare exemptions for some and and some states, but not others, green jobs, etc, ) and doesn't want to run on his record. He will smear the eventual GOP nominee, and run a negative campaign, and actually let superpacs do it for him. Same with Romney. He cannot run on his record as governor, his position on global warming, etc, and so, sit back, say nothing, and allow superpacss to run his GOP opponents (like Gingrich) into the ground through negative campaigning. I don't care for Newt "Scozzafava" Gingrich,...

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...

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...

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...

@ 5:50 min.: Greta: "...If you were running for office, which would you prefer..which would you think would be strategically valuable for you tonight: an endorsement by Donald Trump or an endorsement by Governor Sarah Palin, and why? Rove: "Governor Sarah Palin. Look, Donald Trump is an interesting guy. He could have brought a lot to the Republican presidential sweepstakes had he been a serious candidate, but you're not a serious candidate if the first issue you chose to emphasize is the "birther" issue that Barack Obama is somehow not qualified to be president because he was somehow not born...

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...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich signed a letter in 2004 praising President Bush's plan for comprehensive immigration reform -- which gave illegal immigrants a path to citizenship -- according to Rep.Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who released the Gingrich letter today. "President Bush has proposed a new legal path to work in the U.S. through a temporary worker program that will match willing workers with willing employers," Gingrich wrote, along with 14 other co-authors. They added that "the president has shown courage by calling on Congress to place reality over rhetoric and recognize that those already working here outside the law are...

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...

Dear OWS Patriots & Leaders, Karl Rove is truly a super guy. He loves and supports everything you stand for. With every fiber of his being, he is working tirelessly to help re-elect Barack Obama. Please, forget every negative thing you've ever heard from the Zionist, main stream media about Karl Rove. We all know the media lies about everything. Trust me, you need a brilliant strategist and spokesman like Karl Rove, and you also need an additional $50,000 in cash. Simply hire Karl, embrace his brilliance and accept my cash - with no strings attached. This is the greatest...

For Rove to endorse Gloria Allred over Herman Cain is absurd. Screw Karl Rove, and the Mitt Romney campaign he flacks for. Never, not once, has Karl Rove been a conservative. Rove is pure poison and he is helping to destroy America, one strong conservative at a time.

Rush started off his show stating that he was in a foul mood.

"Herman Cain hit on me and all I got out of it was a free trip to New York to be on so many TV programs I've lost count!"

The women who accused GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment more than a decade ago have effectively been released from any agreements they signed pledging not to talk about the alleged episodes, according to employment lawyers. On Friday, the group Cain headed at the time, the National Restaurant Association, agreed to release one of the women from her confidentiality pledge—at least to allow her attorney, Joel Bennett, to release a carefully drafted statetment saying she stood by the charge. But because Cain has called the charges fabricated and at least in one instance suggested one of his accusers...

TIME FOR A NEW REPUBLICAN PARTY BASED ON CONSTITUTIONAL CONSERVATISM If Mitt Romney is the 2012 Republican nominee for President, I will not vote. Romney and political operatives like Karl Rove represent an element of the Republican Party that has become indistinguishable from the Democrats. Both parties practice elective despotism. It is a scheme, whereby Republicans and Democrats lie to voters and, through elections, compete for the authority to treat ordinary Americans as serfs; those providing the labor, producing the revenue and spilling the blood to maintain the conditions for political elites and their financial backers to plunder the economy...

Chris Wilson of Wilson Research Strategies has said publicly that while he was working for Herman Cain at the National Restaurant Association (NRA) in the late 1990′s that he personally saw Cain sexually harass a woman at a restaurant in Virginia although Wilson has not said exactly what he believes constituted his claim of “harassment.” WHO IS CHRIS WILSON? Chris Wilson was the Executive Director of the Republican Party of Texas under then-governor George W. Bush. Chris Wilson worked very closely with Karl Rove. Rove was known to us in Texas as the “master of dirty political tricks. ” I...

By his own admission, Herman Cain is a black man who doesn’t want to be considered an African-American. In other words, he doesn’t want his race to be the central issue in his push for the White House. He’d rather people focus on the fact that he knows firsthand what the American Dream really is, and what it means for everyone who’s willing to work hard to achieve it. (Remember his words “I was po before I was poor,” signifying that he came from less than nothing to where he is today based on hard work.) What has the Republican...

Some time back, reports broke about John Edward's supposed extra-marital doings, and the establishment media wouldn't touch it, leaving it to The Enquirer. But the establishment media, or at least a component of it, seems to have no problem doing what seems to be the opposite with Herman Cain. Does the establishment (the political component of it?) want Romney to face Obama? McCain, we were told over and over again, was the toughest guy for Obama to face, and the best choice for Republicans. The MSM, on-the-other-hand, talked incessantly about how they were (at the same time) concerned that Obama...

SNIP Whether you are talking about George McGovern in 1972, Jimmy Carter in 1976, Howard Dean in 2004, or even the second coming of McCain in 2008, they had considerably more of a campaign apparatus than Cain. Their campaigns were often unorthodox, but their actions were rarely random. They didn’t surge to the top based on seat-of-the-pants decisions. In short, there was method to their madness. With Herman Cain’s candidacy, there hasn’t been. There has been minimal fundraising. There has been truly bizarre scheduling that only seemed to make sense in the context of selling autographed books at $100 apiece....

I'm just watching the interview with Herman Cain on Greta. If I understand him right, he says the only women of the two he even remembers by name worked in the government/PAC dept. of the restaurant association. Interesting. I don't know, but wondering-- would she be in a position to represent restaurant and service workers unions interests in the PAC? Cain said the first woman was dismissed and the accusations were deemed "baseless" and that she left with what was the equivalent of her owed severance package . Now this women shows up and Cain says he doesn't even believe...

Karl Rove said Monday that Herman Cain has failed to properly respond to the POLITICO report that at least two women accused him of inappropriate behavior, saying he needs to say “yes or no.” “He’s not denying, but he ain’t responding and that’s not the best place to be,” Rove said on Fox News. “If these allegations are not true, say they aren’t true and put it behind you. If not, better get everything out sooner rather than later because in a situation like this, if there is something there, that something’s going to come out.” Continue Reading Text Size...

Racial stereotypes are perhaps the most pernicious of all hidden racism, and the data dump released this weekend on Herman Cain plays to the most vile of human impulses. The headline allegation is that Cain engaged in sexual harassment. The rest of the story is that there is nothing to the charge and Cain is the victim of a racial smear.

Rove is again slamming Cain (practically begging that folks demand from the National Restaurant Assoc. disclose documents) and then vigorously defends Romney against Plouffe's attack) It is transparent that he is a shill for Romney. I am getting sick of Fox repeatedly putting this jerk front and center to not so subtly attack Cain. F'em.

Rove is very much in a “do I have to do everything myself” mode these days, which is why he’s also running the GOP’s congressional campaign as an independently funded venture. Here he is practically acting as a Romney surrogate on Fox and attacking Herman Cain, because actual Romney surrogates seem unable to.

The Republican National Committee is considering a proposal to hand over partial control of its most valuable asset – its voter file – to a newly formed private entity that would enhance it by using unregulated money from an increasingly influential network of independent groups allied with the GOP. The RNC’s willingness to essentially contract out management of its voter information reflects the plight of a committee grappling with a huge debt left over by from the chairmanship of Michael Steele, as well as a campaign finance landscape increasingly dominated by independent groups. In exchange for access to the huge...

First of all, no one should take Karl Rove too seriously. He acts purely out of self-interest. Rove cares little about the Constitution, the rule of law or the country. He is only interested in winning elections because each election he wins increases his power, prestige and the size of his financial portfolio. Rove is part of the Republican establishment, who long ago decided that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney will be their Presidential candidate in 2012 and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) will be chosen for the Vice Presidency. Romney has the mega-money backers and a national campaign organization, key...

Just curious.

Herman Cain’s reign on top of the 2012 contender list may be coming to an end. That’s the impression Karl Rove gave during an appearance on Fox News this morning as he slammed the candidate as having “created an image of him not being up for this task” through a series of blunders. The conversation began with talk of Cain’s seemingly-confused stance on abortion. However, Rove then continued, pulling out an entire white board filled with missteps Cain had made thus far in the campaign. This all correlated with poll numbers that, according to Rove, show that Cain had already...

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...

It’s amazing, isn’t it? Just a few weeks ago, I was reporting to you on Karl Rove and others who claimed that if Sarah Palin didn’t get into the race on September 3rd, during her speech to the Tea Party of America in Indianola, IA , she’d just as well forget it. I told you back then that Rove was playing games and trying to position a candidate for a run in late September, and he wanted to gain the momentum often accompanying the last person to get into the race. Now we read talk of Chris Christie getting in...

Family Feud Rick Perry versus the Bush machine. Mark Hemingway September 19, 2011, Vol. 17, No. 01 At last week’s Republican debate at the Reagan Library, a long-simmering Texas political feud made its grand entrance onto the national stage. Politico’s John Harris asked GOP presidential frontrunner and Texas governor Rick Perry about his former political adviser Karl Rove’s recent statement that Perry’s views on Social Security were “toxic.”“Karl has been over the top for a long time in some of his remarks, so I’m not responsible for Karl any more,” Perry fired back, later adding, “We’re not trying to pick...

Former George W. Bush and Rick Perry adviser Karl Rove said that it was an "odd moment" when his critique of the current Texas governor was mentioned in last night's presidential debate, and that he was "surprised" when Perry said that he had been "over the top for a long time." "Governor Perry is responsible for what he writes and says - what's he upset about?" Rove said on Fox News.

“You know, Karl has been over the top for a long time in some of his remarks,” Perry said of Rove, who once was an adviser to him as well. “So I’m not responsible for Karl anymore.”

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...

Karl Rove slammed GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry on ABC’s Good Morning America on Wednesday, calling his views on Social Security “toxic.” (snip) Such views, Rove said, are “toxic in a general-election environment, and they are also toxic in a Republican primary.” “And if you say Social Security is a failure and ought to be replaced by a state-level program, then people are going to say, ‘What do you mean by that?’ and make a judgment based on your answer to it,” he added.

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'm mystified," Rove said about reaction to 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...

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...

TOKYO ROVE” STRIKES AGAIN© 2011 by Anthony James Sour Grapes Karl Just Can’t Help Himself. As former president Ronald Reagan would say, “There you go again, Karl.” On Wednesday evening on Greta Van Susteren’s top-rated FOX TV news and talk show, “On The Record,” former Bush political adviser and the man euphemistically referred to as “The Architect” for his alleged contributions to George W. Bush’s winning campaign strategies in 2000 and 2004, Karl Rove just inexplicably and repeatedly soiled himself in front of the American public again and again. Greta had asked him why he felt it was that the...

President Barack Obama set the stage for a “political battle” when he demanded that Congress raise the debt ceiling to avoid U.S. economic default, Karl Rove charged on “Fox News Sunday.” “He waited until it was a Republican House and tried to jam them, insisting on a clean debt ceiling,” said the former deputy chief of staff for President Bush. Rove questioned Obama’s tactics, pointing out the president has enjoyed a Democratic Congress for more than two-thirds of his administration. “But instead, he said he wanted the Republicans to have ownership in the deficit,” Rove said. “I love it. The...

Rick Perry once tried to get out of a speeding ticket. Rick Perry once owned stock in a chain of video stores competing against Blockbuster, some of which also rented adult movies. Rick Perry once was a Democrat. The attacks have come fast and furious against him. But most of the attacks take on a peculiar and very telling strain. A reporter on television or in print will utter a sentence like this, “Privately many Republican consultants suggest Rick Perry may be too Texas or shoot from the hip too much and might turn off necessary independent voters and women.”...

Karl Rove, a former advisor to President George W. Bush, said on Fox News Saturday morning that he thinks former Alaska Gov. and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin will enter the 2012 presidential race around Labor Day. Palin “has a schedule next week that looks like that of a candidate, not a celebrity,” Rove said, adding that Palin’s campaign-style video released when she traveled to the Iowa State Fair makes it look like she’ll make a run for the White House. (Mark Levin: ‘I believe Sarah Palin will run for president’) Palin is schedule to speak at a...