Karl RoveThis aint’ no boy-genius; this ain’t no evil genius; this ain’t no master to study; this ain’t no historical figure. This is just a tricky-driven-soulless-ruthless-and-mean little man who ran into a little luck and a lot of comeuppance and most of all managed to bail out before his whole rickety but weighty construct fell on his head.
Rove's Thorough Electoral Mediocrity
Texas 1994.
Rove is often credited with some combination of cunning and brutality in allegedly leading Bush to a somewhat unlikely victory over popular Governor Ann Richards. The truth is quite different. First, Ann Richards, God rest her soul and God love her, was engaging, funny and well-liked, but she was viewed with something between mistrust and contempt by conservatives, by which I mean the majority of Texans.
By 1994, Texas had become thoroughly Republican. In fact in 1990, Richards was on her way to being trounced by another vapid West Texas oil man by the name of Clayton Williams until a few weeks before the election when Williams said this: “its sort of like rape; once you realize its inevitable, you might as well just lie back and enjoy it.” I am NOT making that up. He said it on camera and on the record.
And still, the election was close, with Richards only winning 52% to 48%.
Then, in 1992, adoptive Texan Bush Sr. carried the state widely, but lost the Presidential election. Oh, did Texans feel bad for the Bushes. So, in 1994 we had George W. Bush, part owner of the Texas Ranger Baseball team (never mind how he got there); a Republican; son of former President (and the Goddess Barbara) Bush, whom Texans wanted so much to make feel better; coming off then as folksy and direct, fit and handsome; and did I mention Republican in an overwhelmingly Republican state? If Texans gave 48% to a man who said women should enjoy rape mainly because he was the Republican, how much of a chance did Ann Richards ever really have, even without Rove’s disgusting alleged rumors about lesbianism and his beating the drum about her former addictions (while his own candidate was a recovering alcoholic)? A trained monkey named Bush could have won that election running as a Republican.
That election, let us never forget, is what made the presidency for George W. Bush possible. A cake walk handed to the pleasant-enough eldest son of a locally popular former President and his even more popular wife, not a feat of political genius by Carl Rove.
So Rove’s first big election was a cakewalk from start to finish.
Texas 1998
So was his second. How hard do you think it was to get Republican Bush reelected in even more staunchly Republican Texas in 1998? The Democrats, such as they were, barely even contested the election.
President 2000
ROVE LOST. HE LOST. HE LOST. HE LOST.
Bush (Rove) lost the popular vote. Even in Florida, even if you don’t buy that Gore really won by 500 votes, Rove had his candidate’s little brother in the Governor’s office, his candidate’s statewide campaign chair counting the votes, Ralph Nader sucking away 90,000 votes and a scandalously misleading ballot in Palm County stealing another 37,000 from Gore, and still the best Rove could manage was a statistical tie.
And don’t forget that in 2000 the Republicans lost seats in the House and went from a slight lead to a tie in the Senate, setting up the shift to Democratic control when Jim Jeffords became so disgusted with Rovian Republicanism that he left his party to caucus with Democrats.
No, Karl Rove lost the 2000 election. James Baker and the best lawyers the Bush family, the Republican Party and corporate America could buy engineered the legal victory that handed the Presidency to Bush.
The Presidency, January to September 10, 2001.
In the first nine months of Bush’s presidency, Rove was losing America. It is hard to remember, but in late Summer of 2001 Bush was below 50% in the polls, was stumbling around rather pathetically and was already being discussed as a lackluster and potentially failing President.
Mid Term 2002 and President 2004.
Lets just be gracious and give these to Rove. Even though no one could ever credit Bush’s sudden rise in the polls after 9-11 to Rove; even though shamelessly exploiting and later frittering away the good will from a national tragedy could never be called genius; even though weakening the military effort against the real perpetrators of 9-11 to pursue Iraq, lying the nation into an unnecessary war, and exploiting that war for political gain should never be equated with genius; even though only a shameless man would repeatedly induce and evoke fear and send soldiers off to their deaths to win elections; even though Ohio appears to have been stolen in 2004; even though Rove’s victories in 2002 and 2004 were based on all of this perfidy and heartless selfishness; lets give 2002 and 2004 to Rove.
His record still sucks.
Mid-Term 2006
The Thumpin’. Rove gets creamed as badly as it gets. What’s worse, he is creamed largely based on the abject failures of the very same hole-cloth he spun into victory in 2002 and 2004. In other words, his two victories sowed the seeds for his big, crushing loss.
The Presidency 2007
Rove’s man is among the least popular and least respected Presidents in American history.
So to sum up, Rove won two cake-walks for which he can claim little credit; two electoral losses (even if one was rescued in the courts); a initially unsuccessful stint as presidential political advisor; a national tragedy for which he can claim absolutely no credit that temporarily raised his man’s flagging popularity; two shameless “victories” based on policies that led to a crushing loss followed by a devastating fall in popularity and respect.
This aint’ no boy-genius; this ain’t no evil genius; this ain’t no master to study; this ain’t no historical figure. This is just a tricky-driven-soulless-ruthless-and-mean little man who ran into a little luck and a lot of comeuppance and most of all managed to bail out before his whole rickety but weighty construct fell on his head.
No legacy for Karl. If there is any justice in history, none at all.
Twenty-First Century Gollum, maybe, but that’s all I’m givin’ him.
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