Karl Rove’s Confrontation With Laurie David And Sheryl Crow
Apr 23rd, 2007 | 46 responses
White House political maven Karl Rove met outspoken global warming action advocates Laurie David and Sheryl Crow and according to Ms. David’s eyebrow-raising post on The Huffington Post it seems as if Mr. Rove doesn’t like being questioned, touched on the arm and has quite a temper.
In a sense, the post seems symbolic of this administration’s entire attitude to those who not only have differing ideas on policies but deem to confront them directly and ask for answers. Mr. Rove’s attitude if you read the post in full (which you MUST and make up your mind is) “We are the deciders SO THERE.” A few highlights:
We asked Mr. Rove if he would consider taking a fresh look at the science of global warming. Much to our dismay, he immediately got combative. And it went downhill from there.We reminded the senior White House adviser that the US leads the world in global warming pollution and we are doing the least about it. Anger flaring, Mr. Rove immediately regurgitated the official Administration position on global warming which is that the US spends more on researching the causes than any other country.
We felt compelled to remind him that the research is done and the results are in (www.IPCC.ch). Mr. Rove exploded with even more venom. Like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, Mr. Rove launched into a series of illogical arguments regarding China not doing enough thus neither should we. (Since when do we follow China’s lead?)
But it gets WORSE:
In his attempt to dismiss us, Mr. Rove turned to head toward his table, but as soon as he did so, Sheryl reached out to touch his arm. Karl swung around and spat, “Don’t touch me.” How hardened and removed from reality must a person be to refuse to be touched by Sheryl Crow? Unphased, Sheryl abruptly responded, “You can’t speak to us like that, you work for us.” Karl then quipped, “I don’t work for you, I work for the American people.” To which Sheryl promptly reminded him, “We are the American people.”At that point Mr. Rove apparently decided he had had enough. Like a groundhog fearful of his own shadow, he scurried to his table in an attempt to hibernate for another year from his responsibility to address global warming. Drama aside, you would expect as an American citizen to be able to engage in a civil discussion with a public official. Instead, Mr. Rove was dismissive, condescending, and quite frankly a bully.
Most people have assumed that the combative, “my way or the highway” attitude of this administration on a host of issues where it eschews consensus, honest deliberation and discussion with critics or those who simply have other ideas, comes from the top.
But, no, this post suggests the attitude can’t just be blamed on GWB. His advisers share the same perception of those who question what they do and want to seriously dialogue with them.
Which means it will be a very bumpy two more years.
And the White House — and Republicans — should brace themselves for more polls heading steadily south.
UPDATE: More (including video clips) at Raw Story HERE.
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46 Responses to “Karl Rove’s Confrontation With Laurie David And Sheryl Crow”
My only question is whether or not it was appropriate for Crow to confront him in that venue.
I never thought I’d write these words but: I kind of sympathize with Rove. He was off-duty, and he has no obligation to be especially tolerant of singers.
It’s not like they met him at White Castle. That’s an official White House event billed as one of the few times these people can talk informally. And so they did. Rove deserves much worse than polite chastisement.
Rove was just up in arms because after all of these years someone is actually demanding some accountability. In the words of Ricky Ricardo he’s “got some “splainin” to do to the American citizenry that pay his the salary for (mostly) political hackery.
Sorry, but I gotta say I empathize a bit more with Rove on this one. Events like the White House Correspondents Dinner, IMO, epitomize the too-cozy relationship between the Washington political establishment and the Washington media establishment.
That said, however, I question whether this was an appropriate venue for David and Crow to attempt to lobby Rove on global warming, especially when they know this administration is hostile to their side on the issue.
The impression I get from this is not that Rove threw a tantrum, but rather that David and Crow approached Rove with the intent to provoke him into a reaction, and they weren’t going to be satisfied until they got one. What I see here is that these two got precisely the reaction they wanted and now sit astride their high horse tut-tutting about Rove’s tantrum.
This rather reminds me of a schoolyard child who constantly taunts a much larger boy by making inquiries about his mother’s likely ancestry, then attempts to act innocent when the larger boy reacts as schoolyard children do when taunted … and punches the smaller, irritating boy in the mouth.
Not saying the reaction is entirely excusable — but I don’t by David and Crow as innocents here.
–|PW|–
In terms of the venue, let’s be honest and admit that Rove would never ever meet with potential critics during his office hours. takhallus, I have yet to see any evidence that Rove is tolerant of anyone who disagrees with him about anything, singer or not.
Look…they wanted a reaction, they got one. David is the wife of someone who has done well. On her own, she hasn’t done much. Crow, well, she broke up a marriage and then karma bit her on the ass.
Rove has the right to not be touched or bothered while he’s eating dinner. It was obvious they were out to start trouble.
What if Rove would have grabbed her arm?
Takhallus,
There’s such a thing as being too sensitive. This is the guy who has been busy corrupting our Justice system, overseeing the wrecking of good men’s reputations, and generally trashing any freedoms that stand in the way of a long term republican take over. Save your sympathy for Georgie Thompson, jailed on evidence the reviewing judges described as beyond thin and prosecuted by an attorney on Rove’s hit list (I know, not proven until they find his missing emails). The reason? So Milwaukee republicans could cry foul during the recent Governors race.
For me, when you arrange to have an innocent woman sent to prison, you deserve jail, not an invite to a do hosted by the very people whose solemn duty is to challenge power not bow politely.
Please people, stop sympathizing with Rove. It is just deplorable and indicative of the denial people in this country are still in about very serious matters..
If this isn’t the time and the place for confronting a key figure in the administration about a serious matter, then when is it? Where is it? Does anyone think Karl Rove would lend an ear to either Cheryl or Laurie in a formal setting to discuss policy? Has he ever doen this for anyone concerned about the administration’s policies? Think about Cindy Sheehan. She is the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq and the ONLY reason she is such a lighning rod is because Bush would not meet with her to listen to her grievances and she refused to go away.
Get used to this because accountability requires confrontation and now that a party charged by the voting public to hold the administration responsible is in power, don’t expect the people to sit by and let them do all of the talking. We put them there and our voices are going to continue to get louder. Kudos to Cheryl and Laurie for seeing an opportunity to speak to Rove. I can tell you that there are growing millions in this country right in line behind them.
OK, 60thStreet, let’s turn this around.
Let’s say that there’s a Clinton in the White House again, and James Carville is a major political adviser at 1600 Penn. Gary Bauer and Michelle Malkin, who have been invited to the White House Correspondents Dinner as guests of Fox News, approach Carville to speak about abortion and ask that he consider the millions of innocent lives that are lost each year to the heinous practice.* Carville knows that these two are trouble, so he spends most of the evening avoiding them. Finally, they corner him and start talking to him about abortion, an issue about which he is clearly hostile and unlikely to be receptive. And let’s say the Ragin’ Cajun lives up to his name and throws a rather Rovesque “tantrum.” Who is right in this situation?
–|PW|–
* Keep in mind I’m trying to paint this from their point of view.
pennywit- Carville is not the equivalent in the Democratic party of Karl Rove, and Clinton didn’t put him on the government dole while he carried out largely partisan activities. He should be held accountable- but has so far insulated himself from public opinion and the legal ramifications of his actions.
Sorry but Rove is an ass.
Why would anyone bother to ask Rove anything? Rove is an arrogant redneck with a criminal’s gall. It is indicative of an idiot President that someone like Rove would be eluding to his great power in setting policy behind the scenes rather than referring any issue ,”engagement”, to where it belongs, square in the face of the President. If you have heard one of Rove’s speeches, you would think that he was President not Bush.
It is without question that this is an inept Presidency void of substance, innovation, imagination, and, honor. Those whom have advocated that “business people” are people that should be leading government have had their wish with this administration. The result has been utter disaster.
You cannot change the things that are wrong in the world if you do not take the lead. You cannot lead the world if the world does not want to follow because they have no confidence in your leadership. You cannot gain the world’s confidence if your decisions are stupid. This administration has done more to destroy our nation’s prestige than any President ever and in the most disturbing manor.
It is not surprising that Rove and company are run away cowards unable to handle a couple of women activists at a public event.
This is really interesting.
I do believe in being polite, and grabbing someone’s arm to force him to listen is not what I would call polite.
But if the political parties were reversed, what would we hear from the GOP readers of my comment? There would be a lound yell of POLITICAL CORRECTNESS.
The sad, but honest, truth is that we don’t care much about what is being done or said. It’s about who says it and who does it.
Crow and David showed a lot of naivete here: They should have known that Rove doesn’t care about science. He’s a political operator, like Morris in the Clinton admin. His influence on policy is entirely political. He’s the exact wrong person to be persuaded by scientific argument.
The way to persuade Rove is to couch it in political terms. Talk about the constituency, triangulate the votes, etc.
Doesn’t excuse Rove’s behavior though. As a pol, he should have known his angry reaction would create an unneeded scandal.
You really think this was about anything more than making these two publicity whores more money? Of course it is straight up rude to interrupt someone’s dinner, even if it someone as despicable as Karl Rove. What did you think his reaction would be?
�Oh sit down, my dears, lets chat.� Come on.
Any “moderate” individual would have to recognize that what this stunt was all about. The HuffPo piece was probably written the night before the dinner.
I really like how you formed an opinion on the confrontation using only one side of the story.
How mature.
President Bush has already gone on record saying: “I don’t care if 99 percent of Congress disagrees with me. I don’t care if 99 percent of America disagrees with me. I have a plan that I’m going to stick to, even if I am the last person in the nation that agrees to it”. Well then……….. Seig Heil, mein Furer!!!!!!
The Karl Rove as hip-hop rapper with David Greogory shows that KR loves the spotlight. This time he didn’t control the venue or message and that is the PROBLEM. If the confrontaion was at a political speech at AEI then Crow and David would have been thrown of the premises. If they tresspassed at Crawford they would be in jail. This story is worthy of the E Channel or Entertainment Tonight, it isn’t a hard news story. Did Crow and David video tape the hit like Malkin at ACPAC?
Honestly, why shouldn’t Carville expect Malkin or the like to bring up policy at the Correspondent’s dinner? What’s the problem with that? The likelihood of hearing voices outside the box IS THE ONLY POSSIBLE THING THE ENTIRE EVENT IS GOOD FOR!
Sheryl, how much pollution is produced manufacturing your cd’s, t-shirts, transportation for all your equipment, underpaid labor. Do you go from city to city in a Prius.
I think everyone should be limited to one Sheryl Crow CD – since they are not very good and would be better utilized as a coster – Stick to singing.
Furthermore, Ms. Crow would have her heavily armed bodyguards tackle and punish ANYONE who touches her during one of her appearances.
jdevera, I was wondering much the same thing. Crowe didn’t cross the line by confronting Rove verbally, she did it when she grabbed his arm. How would she react if someone from the audience who had been adversarial to her at a concert suddenly grabbed her arm? Cheryl did this to spark a reaction and Rove took the bait.
Oops! I see a spam. It’ll be deleted and if it reappears that person/thing will be banned from this site. It’ll be gone by the time you read this.
Vercingetorix: And thank you for making such a mature decision for judging my maturity on the basis of a post (I won’t tell you my age).
Dang globle warming…Tennessee and Mississippi crops damaged by ……LATE FREEZE…LOL
I find it interesting how the retelling of the story in the comments changes. Sheryl “touched” his arm, she didn’t “grab” it. Rove did not have his dinner interrupted, he was out chumming and pressing palms.
Calling Crow and David “publicity whores” is uncalled for. Publicity is what has pressed this administration (and others) into doing the right thing and the will of the people is represents. Publicity whoring drove us into a needless war but this administration and the echoing press.
Rove is paid for by your and my tax dollars. He is a man and is subject to his faults but, if he cannot be polite and be in the public, then he has no place being a representative of this administration which is, in turn a representative of us, “the American people.”
It’s pretty ballsy that these two women asked a simple request of Rove who took it to be a hard and pointed question. Right on.
Dang global warming…Tennessee and Mississippi crops damaged by ……LATE FREEZE…LOL
Sure Sheryl touching his arm justifies a grown man throwing a tantrum like a two year old who’s been overindulged since birth. My only wish is that she’d asked him how 5 years of e-mail really got deleted!
At first, the title of this site, The Moderate Voice, and some of its buzzwords (“centrist,” “independent”) led me to hope that I’d found a place that would present neutral, unbiased commentary. Sadly, presenting only Crow and David’s version of events as fact, without so much as a comment from Rove disabused me of that notion.
We’re not moderate on every issue here. That overpaid prima donna should be sharing a cell with Libby instead of insulting American citizens out in public.
Does Rove have a side? I agree, I would like to hear it. I would also like to hear his side about a lot of things. Like, how does he sleep at night knowing how FUBAR’d the middle east is thanks to the U.S., to his consulting.
The middle east has ALWAYS been “fubar”…..even before the U.S. and anything Carl might have “advised” on including how to heat the world.
No. We are not CSPAN. So those who think they will come to this site and see us simply reproducing news stories, not taking a position and not expressing an opinion will be wrong.
People who also ASSUME that moderates and independents don’t think, conclude and reach opinions are also WRONG as any opinion poll will show you. And anyone who has bothered to read this site can tell that we have a lot of cobloggers who do not even agree with each other.
So, frankly, while I’m truly sad that someone feels disappointed that despite my linking to TWO news stories that they could click on and read and my expressing a viewpoint I cannot therefore be a moderate, that conclusion assumes that to be a moderate each and every one of us diverse writers on this site must conform to what a given reader thinks.
If you read this site we run some of the longest roundups with quotes from blogs of all kinds, sizes and opinions. Some say we go overboard. But on every single story we don’t do a roundup and we WILL offer our views.
The bottom line proof is any opinion poll that will show you that a)moderate s, centrists and independents do reach conclusions b)moderates, centrists and independents do not all agree with each other. Usually when someone complains it means we wrote something that they disagree with.
About once a month someone who writes a centrist, center left or center right post here gets the comment “this can’t be a moderate site” and we get the emails. We will continue to differ with each other. (Michael DVG did a post on this same thing and he has a different take. So that makes him more or less moderate?) And we will not just offer copied words from articles and links. We will offer readers our take on events. And — in case no one has noticed — readers are free to disagree with us in comments.
Perhaps Rove objected to Crow touching him because he had heard of Crow’s plan to save the planet by using only one square of toilet paper per bathroom visit.
I hope that she washed her hands.
chsw
Poor Karl. No one, that includes the President of the United States, likes to be approached when they have publically done such a bad job.
P.S. There is no such thing as a social event in Washington DC. Every gathering is a politcal opportunity. Lots of posturing, even more ‘covering donkey’!
The middle east has ALWAYS been “fubar�…..even before the U.S. and anything Carl might have “advised� on including how to heat the world.
So are you saying that the region is no worse off than it was 7 years ago? That’s an interesting way to look at it. In any case, Karl’s problems supercede what’s going on in the ME and global warming denial-especially if the Justice Committee ever gets ahold of all of that accidentally deleted e-mail.
Typical pointed headed liberals. They think they are smarter than the rest of us because they’re famous. Apparently if you’re famous, that means you know everything and cannot be wrong!!!
Geeesh, gimme a break! Well, I hope she still has enough idiots left to buy her music, otherwise she may be limited to 1 sheet even when the going gets pesky.
Sheryl: go wipe yourself reallly good. go ahead and use 4 or 5 sheets. Feel better now?
Maybe they don’t know that much- but its not like any of Rove’s ideas (besides his smear campaigns or politicizing Justice) have worked out very well for the Bush administration. On this particular issue, govt scientists say they were muzzled because they agreed with the concensus of the worldwide scientific community on warming trends.
On moderation: Keep in mind Joe’s commends about this not being C-SPAN. Other things to remember:
1. Joe might be moderate, doesn’t mean all of his posters and commenters are. In my old digs, one of my main commenters was fairly right-wing, though I myself am moderate with liberal leanings.
2. When you get to an ostensibly centrist Web site, differences between the moderates will be highlighted rather sharply. Posters might represent, say, thirty degrees of the political spectrum, but those thirty degrees leave a lot of room for variation.
2a. Case in point: Joe and I are probably pretty close to each other politically, but I appear to disagree with him on this particular scenario, and rather pointedly so.
–|PW|–
–|PW|–
Mr. Gandelman and Pennywit,
This is the good ol’ U.S. of A., so, of course, you are free to consider yourselves moderates and proclaim yourselves thus if you so desire. You are also completely free to have and express your opinions. Those same freedoms are extended to me and allow me to disagree and/or opine to the contrary.
That I did not grasp the intent of the site is my error since you clearly state that it consists of “…comments, analysis, original reporting….” In my defense, I had no way of knowing that yours is an opinion piece and not reporting as it is not so identified.
You do seem to have established a healthy following, so you are obviously doing something right — at least for a goodly number of your readers. But as the paraphrased saying goes, you can’t please all of the people all of the time, and I did not find your piece to my taste.
Thus, this moderate reader will continue her search for a moderate news site that meets her standards of neutrality for reporting and that expresses opinions without indulging in gratuitous, one-sided bashing of any kind.
Please wish me luck, as I do you, for surely I will need it in my quest.
Nobody has the right to put their hand on another person without consent, especially when the person grabbing you is being verbally hostile prior to contact. Crow is completely in the wrong. Second, Rove did not seek them out; they sought out Rove on their pet idea at a completely inappropriate time and venue. In such a situation, you’d think perhaps they would present their position in an appropriate way. But that is far too much to expect from Laurie David.
To get an idea of who Laurie David is, trawl through her HuffPost columns. It’s hard to find a more concentrated collection of vile hate toward anyone who isn’t 100% in line with her thinking on global warming. Everyone’s a liar, stupid, ignorant, should be fired, impeached, removed if they are not in full agreement with her that THE WORLD IS IN EMMINENT DANGER FROM GLOBAL WARMING! A quote from ‘Grist’ a few years back says “[Interviewer]: I’ve heard that you pull up alongside Hummer drivers on the highway and yell at them. [David]: I’m very confrontational.” She believes such confrontation is “peer pressure.” Does anyone honestly think that Laurie David approached Karl Rove and said, “Excuse me, Mr. Rove, can I have a moment of your time to discuss global warming?” At which point Rove reacted by managing to make poor, helpless David feel “the most insulted I’ve ever been treated by someone.” A New York native and former TV booker and Rove delivers the worst insult ever? Wow, Rove is AMAZING!
This is a woman who ‘unapologetically’ flies in private planes everywhere yet doesn’t think twice about yelling at people driving Hummers? So why should we believe her encounter with Rove is any different than how she treats a Hummer driver? Even her version of the encounter with Rove just drips with condescension. Her comments and her columns reflect someone who feels vastly morally superior to nearly all humans on this issue – except of course her fellow celebrities. “You work for me!” she said to Rove. Well, no, constitutionally the President is elected and he appoints executive branch employees to work on behalf of the American people, which is made up of more than Crow and David. Although you wouldn’t know that listening to them. I’m sorry, but David’s a self-promoting hack with zero formal environmental training, but married well by marrying Larry David. She again proves the old Hollywood saying that “It isn’t who you know, but who you b…” oh, never mind.
Well, I might be wrong, but I think a tough guy like Rove can handle it- you’re making it sound like she assaulted him-now aren’t you? He certainly has had little compassion for the lives of others that he’s ruined- so why should we care that someone waylayed him at a party. That he had an uncomfortable moment that he handled like a boorish brute? I thought at least those invited to that type of evening were supposed to have a minimal level of social skills- but he’s not really a social guy- more into dirty tricks and dirty laundry than the finer graces in life. . . .
Most eligant westcoastladdie. You set the bar too high so the…uhhhh so the other….side will never be able to respond without the use of elementry name calling interlaced with halfwitted put downs. Why even try.
Please see the truth at National Review Online: Laurie David and Sheryl Crow ATTACKED Karl Rove. David and Crow are dumb and despicable; they are also liars for not telling the truth about their behavior with Rove. Below is an eyewitness account from the National Review Online:
The eyewitness remembers it a bit differently. Immediately after Dowd’s introduction, the witness says, David began lecturing Rove about global warming. This administration has done nothing on the issue, she told Rove. We face a crisis. The time to act is now. This administration has done nothing…
At that point, Rove broke in to say, Well, actually we have done something. Rove mentioned global climate research, at which point David broke in herself to say, You just don’t understand. All these questions have been answered. That’s worthless. That’s useless.
In their account, David and Crow write, “We reminded the senior White House advisor that the U.S. leads the world in global warming pollution and we are doing the least about it. Anger flaring, Mr. Rove immediately regurgitated the official Administration position on global warming which is that the US spends more on researching the causes than any other country.”
The eyewitness says Rove asked David if she had read the IPCC report, referring to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which, while confirming a human role in climate change, substantially undermines some of the most catastrophic charges made in Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” which David produced. David said she had read the report. “We felt compelled to remind him that the research is done and the results [the IPCC report] are in,” David and Crow write. “Mr. Rove exploded with even more venom. Like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, Mr. Rove launched into a series of illogical arguments regarding China not doing enough thus neither should we. (Since when do we follow China’s lead?)”
In the eyewitness’ version, again, David and Crow are a bit more aggressive than their own story suggests. The eyewitness says David told Rove, You need to bring in new people to tell you the truth. Rove mentioned Dr. John Marburger, the White House science advisor. At that point, according to the eyewitness, Crow began poking Rove’s chest with her finger, demanding to know what corporations were underwriting Marburger’s work. Rove said Marburger had been in academia most of his career.
With Crow jabbing him in the chest, Rove turned to take his seat. Then, the witness says, Crow grabbed his arm. A few more words were exchanged, and it was over. At the Huffington Post, David and Crow described the ending this way: “In his attempt to dismiss us, Mr. Rove turned to head toward his table, but as soon as he did so, Sheryl reached out to touch his arm. Karl swung around and spat, ‘Don’t touch me.’ How hardened and removed from reality must a person be to refuse to be touched by Sheryl Crow? Unfazed, Sheryl abruptly responded, ‘You can’t speak to us like that, you work for us.’ Karl then quipped, ‘I don’t work for you, I work for the American people.’ To which Sheryl promptly reminded him, ‘We are the American people.’”
In light of the eyewitness’ account, another way of saying it might be, How hardened and removed from reality must a person be to refuse to be jabbed in the chest by Sheryl Crow?
NRO and truth generally don’t go together and haven’t for a while now.
“Laurie David and Sheryl Crow Attacked Karl Rove”…..I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous in my life.
Not only are these republicans corrupt and idiotic, they are cry babies as well!
In any event this was small potatoes compared to the brouhaha that Mr. Rove is now facing. The LA Times is reporting that the Office of Special Prosecutions is investigating all of those missing e-mails and whether Rove’s interference in Justice Dept matters was improper. They will also be looking to see if there were violations of the Hatch Act. So, its best if Mr. Rove forgets about the melting polar ice caps, and checks to see if his CIA Leak case attorney can go on retainer.