Now it’s Karl Rove Versus Herman Cain Verus Karl Rove
This story was highly predictable. Republican political maven Karl Rove is someone who above all wants a strong GOPer to get the Presidential nomination so Republicans can win the White House and perhaps get total control of Congress. He has tossed verbal cold water on the hot conventional wisdom and rhetoric surrounding some Tea Party favorites such as failed Delaware Senate candidate and Tea Party favorite (for a while) Christine O’Donnell and Sarah Palin. He is believed to favor a “establishment” type candidate such as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — and some believe his views also reflect the viewpoint of the Republican Party’s still powerful Bush family wing.
So it’s no surprise he should get on Fox News and list what he considers to be the hottest Tea Party favorite political property in the GOP (for this week, at least), former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain:
Rove is indeed analyzing Cain as a political pro — as a product. He’s not giving an analysis from the standpoint of how he or other Republicans would like Cain to look but how Cain WILL look to many independent voters or non Tea Party Republican voters, let alone Democrats.
And Cain’s reaction? Also predictable – and also probably accurate in many ways:
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain says GOP strategist and former top Bush aide Karl Rove is deliberately trying to talk down Cain’s campaign in order to benefit rival candidate Mitt Romney.
Appearing on Fox News Monday morning, Rove produced a whiteboard on which he had written a list of recent and not-so-recent Cain gaffes: statements on abortion, taxes, terrorism, neoconservatism, the Mideast, and others. “The whole effect of this is to not create an image, I think, of him being a flip-flopper,” Rove said. “I think it’s to create an image of being not up to the task.”
“It’s a good thing the voters are not looking at Karl Rove’s little whiteboard,” Cain said in a phone conversation from a stop in Chicago Monday afternoon. “I believe it is a deliberate attempt to damage me because I am not, quote unquote, the establishment choice. But why not go with the choice that the people seem to like?”
Cain accused Rove of bias in favor of candidates with big organizations, lots of money, and prior experience in political office — all things Cain doesn’t have. “What has Karl Rove done?” Cain continued. “If I become the nominee, he has given Democrats talking points for a commercial to attack me. It makes no sense unless it’s a deliberate attempt on his part to try to push me down so that the candidate he wants rises to the top.”
When asked which candidate he believes Rove supports, Cain said, “I believe he wants Romney to get it.”
The most accurate response to that assertion would be: “Duh!”
So here’s a case where both Rove and Cain are correct.
Another certainty: Rove is not in Rick Perry’s cheering section. Expect to hear more from Rove on Perry if Perry (as some expect) rebounds after some recent hires of hard-nosed political pros who should be making Mitt Romney quite nervous. A fact: for all his media visibility, there are few signs that Cain is creating the kind of organization needed to mount a serious campaign. Which means it’ll likely come down to Romney versus Perry.
11 Responses to “Now it’s Karl Rove Versus Herman Cain Verus Karl Rove”
Rather than word sparring, I’d prefer to see Rove / Cain get in the ring and duke it out. It would be more interesting and more honest. In any case, I don’t understand why Rove isn’t universally disdained by now, although his association with Fox pretty well embraces the thing.
The ironic thing here is the worst thing that could happen to the Republican party is Romney is nominated and loses to Obama. You will once again hear that they weren’t conservative enough. On the other hand if a Tea Party nut case – Perry, Cain, Bachman – gets the nomination and loses to Obama the establishment can marginalize the extreme right.
I think you’re right Ron. In the event of that former scenario, I’d expect the 2016 election to be a contest between the status quo (bad enough in it’s own right) and full blown, all stops pulled out, unapologetic, reactionary madness.
Considering that Rove is a political genius, I suggest Reps listen to him. I really don’t like the guy, but he knows what he is talking about.
@Ron: That’s half of why I am hoping for a Tea Party nutcase to become the GOP Nominee. I want to marginalize the loons. Putting Romney up, even though he would be my preferred candidate, because I think he could be a skillful President, would be a disaster, because he likely would lose. Putting up a Tea Partier means the GOP would lose, and likely in a bloodbath, thus marginalizing the crazies.
Rove is more credible and respectable, don’t forget, than the likes of, say, Grover Norquist.
As far as the GOP’s prospects, I believe they are grim. It’s not that Obama is anything great; Obama’s the opposite of that, if anything. But the GOP remains messed up. Do their people (the candidates for the Presidency or at least the nomination in 2012) really appeal much to most people, really?
I don’t know if Rove is helping or hurting with his attacks on Cain. Plenty of losers on the other side already are doing that, after all.
Sentry, your use of the word, “respectable” as applied to KR is one that requires major suspension of disbelief. AFAIC both Rove and Norquist are warts on humanity.
The irony in all of this is that George W. Bush and Rick Perry are very much Karl Rove creations and while he might be brilliant as a political strategist, he gifted Americans the worst president of the modern era and another Texas governor and presidential wannabe who in some respects makes Dubya look good.
To use one of my favorite phrases, “If you plant ice your going to harvest wind.”
Honestly Shaun sometimes I wonder. True Rove played some part in Perry switching to the GOP but Perry was a consecrative Southern Dem from an area that had zero Republicans at the time. Bush and Perry never got along and Rove was never involved in Perry’s campaigns or his policy making. Did he impact his carer? Sure, but creation? So over the top.
I think the Rove created Perry theme came from liberals that thought Perry had an actual chance at winning the nomination. It was all part of an attempt to link Perry to Bush.
Now that most of us can agree that Perry is a loon and has no chance at the nomination…liberals really need to stop with the attacks (yes, loon is an attack, but it is true). Lets not create another Sarah Palin.
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