KARL ROVE, LEE ATWATER AND THE LEGACY OF THE GOP
Karl Rove has announced his resignation effective August 31, 2007. Many on the left and the MSM, (one in the same), are trying to play his leaving as ducking Senate investigators in the fired federal attorney hearings. Of course this is the usual load of liberal hog wash. Rove is leaving on his own terms and basically because as the President is winding down the end of his final term Rove's services as a political strategist are no longer needed. The administration is finishing out in the direction it has chosen and it is to late in the game to change strategy very much.
This combined with the obvious direction that Democrats will continue over the next year and a half allows Rove to leave knowing that he has completed the job Bush appointed him to do, good and bad. Rove will still be in the mix though. His advise will be sought when needed and Bush will still use him as a close confidant when necessary. So though not in the White House, he will still be involved with the administration in a lesser capacity and with the GOP.
Rove had many successes and failures during his tenure in the Bush White House. In this writers opinion his greatest failure as a political strategist was in not correctly gaging the mood of the conservative base on several hot issues such as immigration which hurt Bush and the GOP until just recently when the administration changed its approach concerning illegals and began enforcement of the borders and employers as was demanded by the majority of Americans.
Another failure of Rove as a political strategist was in allowing the left to have the upper hand concerning the war especially Iraq. Rather than continually being on the offense in the all to important venue of public scrutiny, Rove did not push Bush into using the , "Bully Pulpit, " to make the case for the war with the American people. Additionally when Democrats stole the spotlight and portrayed the war as a failure, the duty of a Presidential political strategist is to counter false statements by the opposition with the truth.
While small tidbits of truth concerning the war came out through blogs, talk radio and such a concentrated campaign to get the real truth out about the success in Iraq never surfaced which left many conservatives and others in the GOP disillusioned with the administrations ability to fight for what it believed and the base supported. This combined with the rampant spending that the GOP allowed while in the majority and Bush signed onto has left the GOP in a certain amount of disarray, which will always be a part of the Rove legacy.
While Karl Rove was brilliant and second to none in strategy on how to win and get into office both for the President and members of the GOP who sought his help, it seems that once his strategy attained the office his grasp of what it takes to keep the American people satisfied and especially following the conservative agenda which put them in office in the first place left something to be desired.
Obviously Rove learned much from his mentor Lee Atwater but not enough to achieve the success that Atwater had during the Reagan years and the beginning of the H. W. Bush years.
For those of you who may not remember Lee Atwater was a native South Carolinian who came into prominence as the chief political advisor to President Ronald Reagan. Granted Atwater had a much stronger candidate and President to work with in Reagan than Rove has had in Bush, but there are several fundamental differences in the way Atwater worked and Rove.
While Reagan was far superior in his ability to communicate with the American people than Bush, both Reagan and Atwater understood that constant communication of ideals, policy, intentions and even failings with the people is essential to successfully being President. Reagan was a master at this and used his ability to communicate to always inform the people of what he was doing and why. Bush has attempted this occasionally but in many instances it was almost to little to late. That is where a political strategist comes into the picture in making sure his boss comes across as not only knowing what he is doing but standing up to the opposition and making his case directly to the people, who will back their President.
Atwater made sure of this with Reagan while Rove fell short of this necessary duty. Another way in which Rove did not follow his mentor was in understanding and combating the political opposition. Thomas P. "Tip" O' Neill was Speaker of the House during the Reagan years and was a much more powerful, savvy and intelligent politician and political opponent than Reid or Pelosi could dream of being. Yet even with this giant among liberal politicians Reagan was able to get most of his agenda through Congress while only having GOP control of the Senate for the first two years of his two terms. The remainder was total Democrat control that hated everything Reagan did.
Atwater was ruthless when it came to standing firm against the opposition and did not cave or compromise which has almost been a trade mark with many of the conservative ideals while Rove has been at the White House. I realize of course that it is the decision of the President but any President depends on advise from his political advisers and Atwaters advise to Reagan was almost always on the mark while Rove's many times has left much to be desired.
When Atwater left the White House under H. W. Bush and took over as Chairman of The Republican National Committee he left the GOP strong and gaining in registrations and confidence for the future. His time as RNC Chairman was short lived as he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor which claimed his life.
Rove leaves the GOP in a certain amount of disarray and uncertainty about the direction of the future of the party. Bush and the GOP are beginning to wake up to the reality that a conservative agenda like that of Reagan and Atwater is what the country wants and is the success that will return the GOP to the majority and win the White House in 2008. But for Karl Rove , while a brilliant campaign strategist, leaves behind a legacy of White House service that had some successes and a great many failures in strategy especially in getting the message across to the American people.
Ken Taylor
This combined with the obvious direction that Democrats will continue over the next year and a half allows Rove to leave knowing that he has completed the job Bush appointed him to do, good and bad. Rove will still be in the mix though. His advise will be sought when needed and Bush will still use him as a close confidant when necessary. So though not in the White House, he will still be involved with the administration in a lesser capacity and with the GOP.
Rove had many successes and failures during his tenure in the Bush White House. In this writers opinion his greatest failure as a political strategist was in not correctly gaging the mood of the conservative base on several hot issues such as immigration which hurt Bush and the GOP until just recently when the administration changed its approach concerning illegals and began enforcement of the borders and employers as was demanded by the majority of Americans.
Another failure of Rove as a political strategist was in allowing the left to have the upper hand concerning the war especially Iraq. Rather than continually being on the offense in the all to important venue of public scrutiny, Rove did not push Bush into using the , "Bully Pulpit, " to make the case for the war with the American people. Additionally when Democrats stole the spotlight and portrayed the war as a failure, the duty of a Presidential political strategist is to counter false statements by the opposition with the truth.
While small tidbits of truth concerning the war came out through blogs, talk radio and such a concentrated campaign to get the real truth out about the success in Iraq never surfaced which left many conservatives and others in the GOP disillusioned with the administrations ability to fight for what it believed and the base supported. This combined with the rampant spending that the GOP allowed while in the majority and Bush signed onto has left the GOP in a certain amount of disarray, which will always be a part of the Rove legacy.
While Karl Rove was brilliant and second to none in strategy on how to win and get into office both for the President and members of the GOP who sought his help, it seems that once his strategy attained the office his grasp of what it takes to keep the American people satisfied and especially following the conservative agenda which put them in office in the first place left something to be desired.
Obviously Rove learned much from his mentor Lee Atwater but not enough to achieve the success that Atwater had during the Reagan years and the beginning of the H. W. Bush years.
For those of you who may not remember Lee Atwater was a native South Carolinian who came into prominence as the chief political advisor to President Ronald Reagan. Granted Atwater had a much stronger candidate and President to work with in Reagan than Rove has had in Bush, but there are several fundamental differences in the way Atwater worked and Rove.
While Reagan was far superior in his ability to communicate with the American people than Bush, both Reagan and Atwater understood that constant communication of ideals, policy, intentions and even failings with the people is essential to successfully being President. Reagan was a master at this and used his ability to communicate to always inform the people of what he was doing and why. Bush has attempted this occasionally but in many instances it was almost to little to late. That is where a political strategist comes into the picture in making sure his boss comes across as not only knowing what he is doing but standing up to the opposition and making his case directly to the people, who will back their President.
Atwater made sure of this with Reagan while Rove fell short of this necessary duty. Another way in which Rove did not follow his mentor was in understanding and combating the political opposition. Thomas P. "Tip" O' Neill was Speaker of the House during the Reagan years and was a much more powerful, savvy and intelligent politician and political opponent than Reid or Pelosi could dream of being. Yet even with this giant among liberal politicians Reagan was able to get most of his agenda through Congress while only having GOP control of the Senate for the first two years of his two terms. The remainder was total Democrat control that hated everything Reagan did.
Atwater was ruthless when it came to standing firm against the opposition and did not cave or compromise which has almost been a trade mark with many of the conservative ideals while Rove has been at the White House. I realize of course that it is the decision of the President but any President depends on advise from his political advisers and Atwaters advise to Reagan was almost always on the mark while Rove's many times has left much to be desired.
When Atwater left the White House under H. W. Bush and took over as Chairman of The Republican National Committee he left the GOP strong and gaining in registrations and confidence for the future. His time as RNC Chairman was short lived as he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor which claimed his life.
Rove leaves the GOP in a certain amount of disarray and uncertainty about the direction of the future of the party. Bush and the GOP are beginning to wake up to the reality that a conservative agenda like that of Reagan and Atwater is what the country wants and is the success that will return the GOP to the majority and win the White House in 2008. But for Karl Rove , while a brilliant campaign strategist, leaves behind a legacy of White House service that had some successes and a great many failures in strategy especially in getting the message across to the American people.
Ken Taylor
posted by The Liberal Lie The Conservative Truth | 11:23 AM
3 Comments:
Case in point... President Bush has still not explained why he isn't building the wall on our southern border, something that truly mistifies me. Why doesn't he come out and explain his position?
You're right, Ken. Karl Rove is truly not needed at this point, but of course the liberals spin it. If they didn't I would be extremely surprised. They will continue to expose exactly how far to the extreme left they've gone, and it's a good thing. I hope they keep it up! :)
Gayle, Bush has instituted action in building more than 300 miles of new fencing and another nearly 400 miles of technological border suveillance.
As far as Rove is concerned he not only is no longer needed but as I said in the article he has failed in many ways as an adviser in protecting Bush from situations that could have ben avoided and additionally not pushing him to continually take his case tothe people like Reagan did.
Karl Rove is a swine.
May he be doomed to rot in the cast off bin he put himself into.
He is part of the Vast criminal conspiracy also known as the Bush Administration.
Too bad he cant be pilloried in a public square sin some dismal backwater in Texas
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