A conversation with Karl Rove
He was in town having lunch with a friend and I had the opportunity to visit with him. He said that he expected to finish his book on the Bush Administration in the next week or so, and it would be on the spring list. He was very interested in the Texas Tribune and was on the skeptical side about its prospects, comparing it to Politico, which he believes is losing money — but all startups lose money. He asked some questions about the governor’s race and expressed some opinions about the slow start of the Hutchison campaign. The entire tenor of that part of the conversation conversation sure didn’t sound as if he is the grand strategic poobah for the campaign. I asked if he were going to be doing any political consulting work and his response was, “You can’t go back.” He says he is purely a pundit now. The visit occurred as Obama was planning to make his speech on health care. At the time, Obama had not decided whether to give the speech from the White House or before Congress, and Rove believed, as I do, that going before Congress would be a mistake, because the president will have no control over how his critics in the Republican party behave. Each of us believes that Obama should say something like, “We have listened to the American people and we are going to start over again.” We discussed the upcoming congressional elections. He thinks Chet Edwards might be vulnerable if a strong opponent were to surface, which has not happened yet. I mentioned that Edwards had told me in an interview in June that there are 49 Democrats in the House who represent districts that Obama did not carry. Rove said that there are another 13 D’s in districts that Obama barely carried, making 62 Democrats at risk. The rest of the conversation was largely about quail, which Karl and our host ordered. The major thing that I took away from the conversation was that Rove was not as closely associated with the Hutchison campaign as had once been thought. I didn’t get the sense that he was distancing himself from it, just that he had a lot of irons in the fire (including potential federal and congressional investigations to worry about), and while he is clearly for Hutchison, he is not going “all in.”
Tagged: chet edwards, karl rove, kay bailey hutchison.
Harry Doghiney (D-TX) says:
Did he order his quail live?
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anonymous says:
Saying “we are starting over on health care” would be a strategic, procedural, and political disaster for Obama and the Democrats. Which is, of course, why Rove wants to see it happen.
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Anonymous says:
Of course Karl is distancing himself from the disaster that is the KBH campaign. I bet if the tables were turned and KBH were up right now, he’d be claiming all the credit. Did you ask him what his cut of the media buy/direct mail budget is?
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Anonymous Liberal Lout says:
I agree with anonymous (at 11:39). Starting over is a mistake. If they have listened to the American people they would know that the overwhelming majority favor a public option.
What I want to hear is: We have given the GOP every oppportunity to negotiate in good faith. They have made it abundantly clear that they will not support any reform. It’s time for the Dems to go it alone.
Of course, we won’t hear that. It’ll be a non-partisan charge to get something done. Anything.
And the GOP still won’t play along.
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Fiftycal Reply:
September 8th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Hey, Obamma and the D’s need to OWN the health care boondoggle. Wrap their arms around it and caress it. Because the Republicans can’t stop it. So if Obamma can’t control his own party, how could that be the Republicans problem? So tax the uninsured, add a VAT tax, add a surcharge tax to the “rich”, whatever. But the D’s will OWN whatever happens and we’ll see how much “love” they get in 2010 and 2012.
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Anonymous Liberal Lout says:
BTW–It’s Rove.
His lips were moving.
Can’t trust him.
Just saying.
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Fiscal Conservative says:
Rove is too smart to stick with a sinking ship and a candidate who doesn’t listen to advisors.
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anon says:
How about Ogden as a strong challenger to Edwards? He has refused to comment on that race up to this point. Wonder if he has it in his mind as a possibility.
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Rollie the JBC operator says:
I bet Rove’s book will be a best seller that even liberals read.
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Anonymous says:
Come on – of course Rove is claiming no credit for that disaster called the KBH campaign. He probably knows Ray will get some of his trial lawyer buddies to sue the architects of the plan for malpractice.
As for CD 17 – there seems to be two good candidate – McIntyre and Chuck Wilson, although McIntyre has all ready lost once or twice. Whoever the eventual Republican candidate is will have to raise a lot of money to keep Chet out – he is part of the Democrat leadership and they will spend whatever it takes to defend him. BUT every penny Washington spends defending him will play directly into the R’s hand. I hope he likes that Nancy Pelosi necklace he will be wearing.
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Anonymous says:
Interesting report, Paul, but I’ve got to agree with the others here on this whole “starting over” business. Starting over, politically, means scrapping health care reform for another 8, 10, 12 years while the system drives itself over a cliff. It’s interesting that, after a very heated August, the most controversial portion of health care reform–the public option–has consistently polled favorably (77%, 66%, 59%, 55%).
These figures, of course, are grossly under-reported. The media, always in search of controversy, tends to focus on Obama’s approval on handling health care and how that number has dropped in recent months (seldom if ever noting that a portion of those who disapprove are to Obama’s left and favor single payer and a tougher approach to Blue Dog Dems). The media also often fails to note that the public overwhelming supports Obama’s approach to health care over that of the Republicans in Congress. So what would be the point of starting over? To incorporate ideas that the public roundly rejects?
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Anonymous Reply:
September 8th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
“overwhelmingly”–pardon the typo
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Fiftycal Reply:
September 8th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Well, if you leave out the daily kossack and moveon.org “polls”, support for the government run health care system is down to 37%. Which is less than half for the undereducated out there. Seems that when people find out about government run, rationed, socialist health care, they lose their enthusiasm.
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Anonymous Reply:
September 9th, 2009 at 11:36 am
50: Is that why the satisfaction rate of those on Medicare is over 90% while the rate of satisfaction for those who have corporate-run, rationed, health care for high profits lags far behind–as much as 20 points?
I would agree that only a minority of Americans want a government run health care system. That’s what the UK has and that’s why none of the current bills propose such a system. We’re talking about a public option (read: choice) which would provide competition which is sorely needed in many states where one insurer may control as much as 90% of the market. No one has to choose it if they don’t want to. Just like you can choose to go to a private school or a public school. Just like most states have a state option for auto liability insurance.
BTW, Kaiser, CNN, CBS and Survey USA all recorded support for the public option well over 50%. Seems that even after a campaign of misinformation by the misinformed and misguided over an entire month, the public still strongly favors a public option.
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uber-con Reply:
September 10th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Yeah fiftycal- we wouldn’t want to trade the socialist pinko’s telling the doctors how to practice medicine for the greedy right wing free-marketeer insurance companies that are doing it now. Who the hell cares if grandma and grandpa die because they can’t afford medication as long as we don’t turn into a bunch of socialist immoral commies like the Canadians. I bet you’ve penned some of those charming ultra-right dribble emails yourself. Keep it up my fossilized friend.
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Harry Doghiney (D-TX) says:
I hope he likes that Nancy Pelosi necklace he will be wearing.
I forget, was Nancy Pelosi the one who served divorce papers on her husband while he was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery? Or was she the one who resigned the Speakership when her extramarital affairs became public?
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godmother says:
So sad, Paul, that you give credence and publicity to a criminal who should be put in jail.
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Anonymous says:
When your advice matches that of Rove for a Democratic president, it says something about your ability to be objective. Just sayin’…
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asmith says:
The media feeds on controversy and views politics as entertainment and a sport, and the left and right feeds the beast.
Anon 12:13,
I doubt Ogden runs against Edwards. The GOPs best chance at the seat was if they had Averitt or David Sibley run in 2004. Isn’t Ogden wrestling between retiring and chairing Finance again in the next session?
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chet? says:
GOP had its chance to get Chet out in 2004. They decided to bring in a campaign that refused to have a ground game.
There is no good candidate to oppose him this time…but folks are right when they say it’ll suck up money–fighting Dems on all fronts to stretch resources…
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asmith says:
Yeah you can thank Van Taylor for the fact that there’s no good candidate to oppose him.
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VisitDallas!HomeofAmerica'sWorstPresident says:
He could sell autographed non-working bugs.
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Briscoe Democrat says:
Burka, is it true that Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst (R) is seeking reelection to a 3rd term next year ?
If so, what will this mean for State Attorney General Greg Abbott (R)’s plans, will he stay in the AG gig for a 3rd term too ?
Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson (R) appears more likely to seek reelection as well.
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Buck says:
There are dozens of brilliant Republicans in Johnson County who could beat Edwards.
Just ask them. They’ll all tell you how brilliant they are.
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windmill says:
Abbott can beat Dewhurst in a heartbeat.
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WUSRPH says:
Too bad you did not have to go to Three Rivers to see him in order to have that lunch!
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Anonymous says:
anonymous at 10:55: get. a. life. You obsessively read Paul’s blog, and feel accomplished when you get to post a really snide comment. Is this the person you wanted to grow up and become?
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burka's other self says:
I can’t understand how my other self could allow Rove to spin him so well. Karl has been on the weekly calls every Sunday and most Tuesdays for the Hutchison campaign. In fact my other self knows that when he had to write the cover story last year on the Perry Hutchison match-up no one would get me in to interview Kay so Evan Smith had to call Karl Rove and beg him to allow Kay to sit down with me for the interview. My other self also knows that Karl has led the don’t resign the Senate seat wing on the Jugernaught formerly know as the Hutchison Coronation campaign. Shame on my other self for repeating hook, line and stinker the Rove spin.
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Kate O'Guinn says:
Well it is now the morning after the President’s speech and you and Karl were almost right,
going before Congress was a mistake, because the president had no control over how his critics in the Republican party behaved.
-but it wasn’t Obama’s mistake. It was Republican Rep. Joe Wilson’s mistake and by extension the Republican’s party mistake.-
Wilson’s faux pas was a perfect example of the Conservative Movement’s lack of respect for either truth or decorum and on national tv no less.
Not to mention his Democratic opponent is getting so many donations ACTBLU’s server is down.
Ouch that’s gotta hurt.
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