Posted on 01/19/2019 3:57:27 PM PST by yesthatjallen
Former White House political strategist Karl Rove warned Senate Republicans in a meeting this week not to become overly reliant on their conservative base as they head into what could be a tough 2020 presidential election.
Rove, who served as former President George W. Bush’s top political strategist, was brought in by Senate GOP leaders to speak to the 22 Republican incumbents up for reelection at an all-day planning session Thursday hosted at Nationals Park in southeast Washington, D.C.
GOP lawmakers are getting nervous about next year’s election as polls show President Trump’s approval rating dropping during the 28-day government shutdown, with economic experts warning that the standoff could dampen economic growth significantly.
Rove advised lawmakers at the meeting not to rely too much on the conservative base, which is solidly behind Trump in the stalemate over funding for a border wall, and to remember the importance of expanding the GOP’s appeal, according to Republicans familiar with his remarks.
“He talked about politics being about addition and multiplication. You want to continue to bring people in who support you and the ideas that you’re presenting to help the country move forward in a productive way,” said a GOP senator who attended the meeting.
Polls show that while Trump has strengthened his standing with Republican voters during the shutdown, he is losing ground with independents and non-college educated white voters, another key demographic.
An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll published Thursday showed the president has seen his approval rating drop by 9 points and his disapproval rating climb by 9 points among suburban men.
A GOP source familiar with Thursday’s meeting said Rove talked about his column published in The Wall Street Journal the previous day that warned “a base-only strategy is a perilous bet for 2020” and advised “the party that realizes this first may gain the edge in the coming presidential contest.”
Rove in his op-ed argued that while Democrats have refused to compromise, the White House should consider “publicly announcing an offer to end the shutdown” by asking for border wall funding in return for legal status for Dreamers.
A Quinnipiac University poll published Monday showed that registered independent voters found the arguments of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) more believable than Trump’s by a margin of 48 percent to 33 percent.
Rove also discussed the problems that GOP candidates had appealing to suburban voters in the 2018 midterm, according to a Republican senator who heard his remarks.
CNN exit polling from the last election showed Democratic and Republican House candidates splitting the suburban vote evenly, 49 percent to 49 percent. It was a troubling development for GOP candidates as suburban voters have leaned more Republican over the last two decades.
In the 2014 midterm, by comparison, Republicans performed 12 points better than Democrats among suburban voters.
Rove sounded the alarm about the eroding support for Republicans in the suburbs shortly after Election Day.
Senate Republicans have a much tougher map to defend in 2020 compared to 2018, when Democrats had to guard 26 seats and wound up losing four incumbents.
This is EXACTLY what produced Trump. Ignoring the Conservative base.
Rove - because he won so many elections...
Rove is a Rino. He was left by the Trump Party two years ago. He basks in the glory of the old days of Bush. THEY ARE GONE FOREVER Karl.
PUt this on one of your boards, Rove:
“GFY FatBoy”
End All RINO Republicanism, asap! Please, and Thank You!
If Rove got liposuction, he’d stop breathing. There’s only fat between his ears!
No one should pay any attention to Cheap Labor Express stooge Rove.
They've already tried that, and it wasn't very successful for them. They do so again at their own peril.
Hillary forgot about the entire white working class.
Gee, I always wanted to find out what Rove would say now to undermine the first true MAGA leader since Reagan.
Now I want Rove to stick his thumb in his right ear and go bowling.
(tip o’ the hat to the late talk radio guy Joe Pine. His other rejoinder to liberal listeners: “Aw, go gargle with razor blades, moron.”)
Shut up Rove
Rove, the malignant dwarf never met a globalist RINO he didn’t like.
Yeah, cause there isn’t an election Rove can’t win. Oh wait...
[Rove, the malignant dwarf never met a globalist RINO he didn’t like.]
True. Whatever Rove says is best ignored.
Rove:
“Give me some money to get you to court internationalist donors!”
Or just: “Give me some money!”
Rove! You magnificent asshole.
5.56mm
Screw him.
When Karl Rove passes wind, no matter where he is, Mitt Romney wrinkles his nose.
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