James Moore and Wayne Slater's 'The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power'

Austin American-Statesman ^ | September 2, 2006 | James Heston

[Dane]

James Moore and Wayne Slater's 'The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power'

By James Henson SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN Saturday, September 02, 2006

"There is no more compelling subject in contemporary American politics, and perhaps in our country's electoral history, than Karl Christian Rove," James Moore and Wayne Slater write on the first page of their new book.

Though such hyperbole is unnecessary, it doesn't detract fatally from "The Architect." Moore, an Austin-based journalist, and Slater, senior political writer for The Dallas Morning News, paint a sharp portrait of an intelligent, ruthless and deeply cynical man. Though this is their second book on Rove (after 2003's "Bush's Brain"), there's little overlap. "Bush's Brain" focused on Rove's rise and the development of his association with George W. Bush; "The Architect" focuses on how he pursued the creation of an enduring Republican hegemony

The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power James Moore and Wayne Slater Crown Books, $25.95 On sale Tuesday

The impact of Karl Rove, right, on American politics is one of the focal points of the book written by journalists James Moore and Wayne Slater.

In both books, Moore and Slater are careful to present evidence, but they make no bones about describing Rove as a man whose tactics range from the sophisticated use of up-to-the-minute campaign technology to the darker arts of rumor, innuendo, threats, stretched promises and the use of surrogates to maintain plausible deniability.

Much of what Moore and Slater write about will be familiar to anyone who follows politics in the daily papers. But they also cover ground that the mainstream news has tiptoed around, especially when it comes to the Republican Party's exploitation of anti-gay sentiment. "The Architect" dedicates two chapters to the touchier side of this subject.

Chapter 5, "Not as I Say: Gay in the GOP," discusses prominent conservatives who have been rumored to be gay and declined to confirm or deny the charge; particular attention is paid to Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman. The subject has already been grist for blogs and gay publications, but it has been handled gingerly and rarely in the mainstream media. Moore and Slater take care not to apply labels or draw clear conclusions, instead reporting on the reporting of others. They seem to conclude — reasonably, I think — that because Republicans have made gay identity a national issue, reporting such ambiguity is fair.

In Chapter 9, "A Few Simple Questions: What's in Karl's Closet?," the authors draw on interviews with gay acquaintances of Rove's stepfather, Louis Rove, as well as an interview with a circumspect Karl Rove, to reveal that Louis was openly gay after getting divorced from Rove's mother. The chapter jabs hard at Rove, pointing out that Louis Rove, who was clearly Rove's primary father figure, died in Palm Springs just as "his son was in the midst of launching the antigay issues campaign that was to lead to the re-election of George W. Bush."

The authors quote Rove and friends of Rove's stepfather to illustrate that Rove was close to him throughout his life, and seemed not to judge his sexuality. This, and Rove's self-professed agnosticism, are major exhibits in Moore and Slater's claim of hypocrisy. It's hard not to wince at the invocation of such intensely personal material, but it's a testament to the politics that Rove has helped create that it doesn't seem out of bounds.

While the material on gay Republicans and their families has earned the book some advance buzz, "The Architect" also offers an informative look at the nuts and bolts of political strategy that should prove interesting to readers geared up for the coming election season. The account of how Rove and his allies turned conservative Protestants and evangelicals, practicing Catholics and intensely pro-Israel Jews into active members of the Republican coalition is particularly insightful. Though this alliance seems obvious in retrospect, peeling off factions of these traditionally Democratic constituencies took strategic targeting and extended negotiations, which the book examines in interesting if overly Rove-centric detail.

Rove is credited as the brains behind all of this and more, so much so that the book's relentless focus on his impact on American politics becomes essentially a dark version of the "Great Man" approach to history. But Rove might be better understood as the right guy in the right place at the right time. This isn't to denigrate his intelligence or determination; someone less capable than Rove would not have recognized or responded so effectively to changes in the political system, such as the decline of the Democrats among white male voters. But other people helped create and implement many of the tactics and strategies Slater and Moore describe. The rise of Christian conservatives, for example, can be attributed to the work of Jerry Falwell, Ralph Reed and many others, several of whom are discussed in "The Architect" but cast in supporting roles seemingly dependent on Rove.

It's only toward the end that Moore and Slater acknowledge that The Architect's "Master Plan" has not withstood the elements. Rove and Slater write of "a larger architecture . . . crumbling at the base" in the past two years. The stretching of the metaphor suggests the authors have similarly stretched the evidence of Rove's omniscience. Rove clearly missed the wave of anti-immigration fervor among the Republican base in the South and Midwest, which has roiled his carefully built coalition. Similarly, he has been powerless to halt the plunge in the president's popularity in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the quagmire of Iraq and skepticism about progress in the struggle against al Qaeda.

Perhaps Rove is more a ship's captain than an architect — the latter metaphor, after all, suggests a permanence that is unusual in American politics. Right now, the sea is swamping the decks, the crew has turned mutinous and the ship's hull is creaking ominously. If the winds continue to howl, the Skipper may find himself trapped on Abramoff's Island with Ralph Reed, Katherine Harris and a handful of other castaways.

James Henson teaches in the government department at the University of Texas and is director of the Texas Politics project

[Diddle E. Squat]

Wayne Slater is a liar who made a false claim against President Bush right before the 2000 election. The supposed state 'political writer' for the Dallas Morning News, he has always been a leftist spin artist in his reporting. Wayne Slater seems obsessed with any gay connections to the GOP, is he perhaps a bitter gay on a vendetta? They seem to be the most vitriolic, sadistic, and bigoted in their words and deeds. Tolerance apparently is a one-way street in their view.

[drhogan]

maybe the book will go into how Rove sent electric currents into Dean and made him scream.
the evil genius will do ANYTHING to win.

and how about how he dosed that movie star with something so her nipples hardened just as Hillary was making her move in front of a camera? that was evil AND cleverr!