Scheming Rove: Show Him the Money!

Karl Rove is undeserving of a speck of respect. This man has no integrity and is a coy, manipulative, scheming man. George W. Bush has called Karl Rove “The Architect”. While I have to hand it to Rove, he does seem to be capable of running campaigns- no matter how dirty he has to get or how low he must stoop. Prior to Rove’s time at the White House, he was a Republican political consultant and strategist. He worked on many notable campaigns.

In the fall of 1970, Rove used a false identity to enter the campaign office of Democrat Alan J. Dixon, who was running for Illinois State Treasurer. Rove stole 1,000 sheets of paper with campaign letterhead and printed fake campaign rally flyers promising “free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing.” Rove then distributed these fliers at rock concerts, and homeless shelters with the effect of disrupting Dixon’s rally. Dixon went on to win, while Rove’s role was not known until August 1973. What has Rove said of this sneaky behavior? In 1999, Rove told “Dallas Morning News” , "It was a youthful prank at the age of 19 and I regret it."

Rove dropped out of college in June 1971 to take a paid position as Executive Director of the College Republican National Committee. In 1973 Rove campaigned full time to get the position of national chairman of the College Republicans. His competitor was Robert Edgeworth. In the end, there were two votes and two winners. Both Rove and Edgeworth made acceptance speeches- and both appealed to RNC chairman George H.W. Bush contending that they were the new College Republican Chairman. Terry Dolan anonymously went to The Washington Post with recordings of several training seminars for young Republicans cautioning them not to do what Rove did at the Dixon Campaign. Up until this point, it was unknown who disrupted Dixon’s rally. On August 10, 1973 “The Washington Post” broke the story “GOP Party Probes Official as Teacher of Tricks” Upon the publication of that story, George H.W. Bush had an FBI agent question Rove. It was dismissed as a “funny story during a coffee break”. On September 6, 1973 George H.W. Bush named Rove the National Chairman of the College Republicans.

Karl Rove started a direct mail consulting firm in 1981 (Karl Rove & Co.). In 1991 Richard L. Thornburgh resigned as U.S. Attorney General to run for Senate in Pennsylvania. Rove’s company worked for the campaign. When Thornburgh lost, Rove sued for non-payment of services rendered. The RNC urged Rove to back off, worried that the suit would make it hard to recruit good candidates, and he refused. Rove won, not caring if it hurt the RNC’s chances of finding quality candidates in the future.

In 1992, Rove was fired from the George H.W. Bush campaign after he planted a negative story with columnist Robert Novak about dissatisfaction with Campaign Fundraising Chief Robert Mosbacher Jr. Rove and Novak denied Rove was the leaker- although later during testimony before the CIA leak grand jury, Rove apparently confirmed his prior involvement with Novak in the ’92 campaign leak.

With this history of deception and manipulation, I suppose it made perfect sense that he campaigned for both George Sr. and Jr. presidential campaigns. In January 2001 Rove accepted an appointment as Senior Advisor. Later he was given the title Deputy Chief of Staff to the President in 2004. In April of 2006, Rove was reassigned from his policy development role to one focusing on strategic and tactical planning in anticipation of the 2006 congressional elections. Rove resigned on August 31, 2007 with a cloud of suspicion and controversy swirling around him. (Bush White House E-mail controversy and dismissal of US attorney’s controversy)

After leaving the White House, Rove was hired by “Newsweek” to write about the 2008 Presidential Election. He was also later hired as a contributor for the Wall Street Journal and a political analyst for Fox News. In 2008 Rove was an informal advisor to Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, and donated $2,300 to his campaign. Rove has also spent significant time on the road giving speeches to schools and other groups. Rove was scheduled to give the commencement address at a New England boarding school (Choate Rosemary Hall), but canceled after protests from students and faculty. On March 9, 2008, Rove appeared at the University of Iowa as a paid speaker to a crowd of approximately 1,000. Two students were removed by police after attempting a citizen's arrest for alleged crimes committed during his time with the Bush administration. Near the end of the speech, a member of the audience asked, "Can we have our $40,000 back?" Rove replied, "No, you can't." On May 22, 2008, Rove was subpoenaed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers to testify on the politicization of the Department of Justice. However, on July 10, Rove refused to acknowledge his congressional subpoena citing executive privilege as his reason. On February 23, 2009 Karl Rove was again required by Congressional subpoena to testify before the House Judiciary Committee concerning his knowledge of the US Attorney firings and the alleged political prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman but did not appear on this date. He and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers have since agreed to testify under oath before Congress about these matters.

On July 7, 2009, and July 30, 2009, Karl Rove testified before the House Judiciary Committee regarding questions about the dismissal of seven U.S. Attorneys under the Bush Administration. Rove was also questioned regarding the federal prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegleman who was convicted of fraud. The Committee concluded that Rove had played a significant role in the attorney firings. No conclusions were made public regarding Siegleman’s prosecution. In 2010, Rove became an advisor to American Crossroads, a Republican 527 organization raising money in competition with the Republican National Committee. The flaming hypocrite Karl Rove slammed Christine O’Donnell for “serious character problems”. Then he “changed” his mind when he was slammed for slamming her. I believe it is apparent that Rove is spineless and is willing to sink to the lowest level in the name of money. There is no honor in lying Mr. Rove. There is no respect in selling yourself out to the highest bidder Mr. Rove. There is no dignity in manipulating and lying to get your way. Shame on you Karl Rove. You should probably follow in Sarah Palin’s footsteps and get a reality television show because you are a despicable coward in my eyes. Not that you really care, I’m not a billionaire and I hold no position of power.