The world’s most over-rated political strategist, Karl Rove, is using his Super PAC and his “expertise” to fix the Republican Party’s proclivity for nominating losing candidates in primaries. Rove blames the primaries for bad candidates that make the party look stupid.
Rove may not be up for the task. His Super PAC came close to shattering the record for the worst return on investment in political history despite spending hundreds of millions of other people’s money. His 4% success record just barely nudged out the NRA for the backing the most losing candidates in an election.
“Bad candidates” won Republican primaries
That task may not be as easy as Rove thinks. As people say, “Stupid is as stupid does.” There may be bad candidates winning Republican primaries, but what makes the GOP the “Stupid Party,” as Governor Jindal appropriately called it, is their policies. Republicans should have learned from the Sarah Palin debacle what happens when you try and put lipstick on a farm animal.
Rove, and party bosses are blaming the GOP’s demise on a host of atrocious candidates. It is true, Republicans lost control of the Senate in two consecutive elections because voters could not stomach the likes of the “legitimate rape” guys Mourdock and Akin, or the an “I’m not a witch candidate,” Christine O’Donnell, or the “vote for me because I don’t wear high heals guy,” Ken Buck, or the “it’s time for a 2nd Amendment solution” candidate, Sharron Angle.
These “bad candidates” won primaries. They are a reflection of what is left of the GOP base. The Tea Party controls the GOP base now. Moderate Republicans changed their affiliation to Independent long ago when they were no longer welcome in the soon-to-be Stupid Party.
What Rove wants to do is run his famous “Swift Boat” type attack ads against Republicans in primaries that he deems to be like Todd Akin, the Republican Congressman from Missouri who lost a sure bet to take Claire McCaskill’s Senate seat over his belief that if a rape is legitimate, a woman biologically can’t get pregnant, and if she does, it proves the rape was not-legitimate.
When Rove announced the new strategy to take the decision making away from Republican primary voters and give it to party hacks and money men, there was push back on the right and from Tea Partiers big time. Tuesday night, however, Rove pushed back against the Tea Party intellignecia saying he is the biggest supporter of Tea Party candidates.
“Some people think the best we can do is Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock – they’re wrong. We need to do better if we hope to take over the United States Senate. We need to get better conservative candidates and win,” Rove said on Fox News. “This is not tea party versus the establishment. I don’t want a fight.... I want to be clear about this; Crossroads is second to none in our support of tea party candidates.”
Rove was for Akin before he was against him
Rove and Republicans had no problem electing Akin to Congress election after election until his rape remark. Republicans had no problem with the bill Paul Ryan’s cosponsored with Akin to establish legitimate and other types of rape. There is no daylight between Ryan and Akin on the rape issue, but Ryan was vindicated and Akin is the goat. Maybe voters rejected the policy not the robot mouthing it.
It will cost Rove a lot of money to fight “bad” candidates. Republicans keep on saying stupid things on TV and introducing stupid bills in Congress and state legislatures.
A Win Win for Democrats
One thing certain, if Rove Swift-Boats Republicans in primaries, that can only be good news for Democrats. With Rove’s losing track record the “Akinesque” candidates may still win. But even if Rove’s candidates prevail in the primary, they will have an angry and divided party going into the general. If he backs off then the Republican base will keep on doing what it does best.
You can’t fix stupid.
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