Rove engaged in more than just 'chit chat' with McCain campaign
By Steve Benen Sunday Jun 15, 2008 7:30amFor several weeks, a variety of political observers, most notably ThinkProgress’ Amanda Terkel and Matt Corley, have highlighted Karl Rove’s connections to John McCain’s campaign. And for several weeks, Bush’s former chief strategist — the man the president affectionately calls “Turd Blossom” — has been arguing that there really isn’t a relationship.
Just a couple of weeks ago, George Stephanopoulos identified Rove as an “informal adviser” to McCain before an ABC News interview. Rove denied it, and when Stephanopoulos suggested that Rove offers the McCain camp advice and information, Rove would only concede to “chit chat” with the Republican presidential campaign.
Not surprisingly, there appears to be a little more to the relationship. Peter Stone writes in National Journal:
“Generally speaking, Rove’s advice [for McCain] is action-oriented and useful,” said another senior consultant to the McCain camp. “It’s always well received.” This McCain adviser noted that Rove talks periodically to [McCain’s chief political strategist, Charlie Black] and a few other top campaign aides on several key matters.
“It can be policy ideas, messaging ideas, fundraising prospects, or people who need calls from someone in the campaign.” Rove is “part of the information network that the campaign has,” this adviser said, adding that Rove talks fairly regularly to such key people as Wayne Berman, a major fundraiser for McCain; Nicolle Wallace, a communications adviser; and Steve Schmidt, a senior aide.
This isn’t necessarily a surprise, but it’s interesting for a few reasons.
One, of course, is that McCain keeps trying to position himself as different from Still-President Bush, but that’s awfully difficult under the circumstances. Not only is McCain offering Bush’s foreign and domestic policies as his own, but he’s taking advice from the guy who shaped Bush’s campaigns.
Two, there is the small matter of journalistic ethics. For reasons that defy logic, Rove has been hired to play the role of professional “journalist” for a variety of outlets, including Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek. No one seriously expects credible, independent, bias-free reporting from Rove, but no serious news outlet should be comfortable paying someone to offer commentary and analysis on a presidential campaign while simultaneously advising one of the candidates in the presidential campaign.
And three, the National Journal article also noted that Rove, when he’s not pretending to be a journalist and/or advising the McCain campaign, is also consulting with far-right campaign outfits.
[A]way from the spotlight, Rove has been … spending a considerable amount of time as an outside adviser to Freedom’s Watch, the conservative political group that is expected to spend tens of millions of dollars to help elect House GOP candidates. William Weidner, a Freedom’s Watch board member, recently told National Journal that Rove has offered strategic advice to both the group and its major financial backer, Las Vegas casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson. Weidner, president of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., which Adelson chairs, called Rove “an invaluable asset” to the group. […]
[William] Weidner [a Freedom’s Watch board member] stressed that Rove has been “very generous with his time and ideas. He gives up his time for those things he believes in.”
Two GOP strategists said they have heard that Rove has worked out a private consulting deal with Adelson; this arrangement, one strategist reported, pays Rove in the mid-six figures for giving speeches and providing assistance to Freedom’s Watch on labor union issues, a top priority of the group.
It’s noteworthy because National Journal also recently reported that Rove is “up to his eyeballs” in trying to “nurture new independent political groups” to help McCain and other Republicans on Election Day.
It’s illegal, of course, for independent groups to coordinate with campaigns. It’s interesting, then, that Freedom’s Watch and the McCain campaign just happen to be getting advice from the same person.
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Yep Turdblossom is raking in the coin again..and playing his favorite tune..divide and conquer.
I'm sure it just depends on what your definition of the word "isn't" is.
*Gasp*...so Rove was lying when he said that he was only engaging in "chit-chat" with the McCain campaign?? You mean that he and McCain were doing more than merely gossiping like a couple of housewives over the back fence?? I'm shocked, I tell you!! SHOCKED!!
NOT.
They're swapping spit and other body fluids. Chat, indeed. It's a hooker convention.
can we please do something about this people? NOW.
If traitor Karl Rove is influencing McCain's campaign then that is good news for the Democrats. Rove has played every one of this cards and has completely showed his hand so the Democrats know exactly what to expect so there will be no surprises. The Democrats can play offense and beat Rove at his own game. Stupid Repubs. They are so easy to read and predictable.
Chit chat paddywack give a dog a steak...
Better get your hip high waders bought boys and girls cause the sh!ts gonna get deep between now and election day.
You mean Bush really calls him "Turd Blossom" - affectionately? I thought that was just a nickname the blogosphere came up with.
It has been just wonderful watching this wimp grow from a turd blossom into a full grown piece of shit.....
I have a feeling that Rove is behind the pattern we are seeing now. Whenever McCain makes one of his bizarre comments and the left picks up on it, the right says they are making fun of McCain's age. Of course they say to make reference to his age in any way is mean and rude. The goal seems to be, anything McCain says cannot be called out because no matter how it's said or what is said, it will be considered a rude comment by the left about how old he is.
McCain's age is perhaps one of his weaknesses and now they have figured out a way to use his age as his shield.
Sorry - I'm no good with tags...
pissed off patricia @ 11:
"Old" people, the demographic that votes in high numbers, will not vote for McCain because he is too old.
Why isn't Rove in prison? How do these people always get by? They keep on doing whatever it is they do and nothing ever gets done about their illegal activities. They could care less what people think of them so they keep on doing what they want and let the chips fall where they may. So far it has worked very well for them. By them I mean Rove, Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, and the list goes on and on.
Isn't chit another word for little girls?
Little boys aren't enough for republicans anymore?
jerodius @ 5:
If he's breathing, he's lying, cheating and smearing.
And if we keep on allowing this turd to continue, shame on us. Where do we file complaints? Justice Dept. would be a watse of time. Rep. Waxman, maybe?
I wonder what happened to all that talk about Rove being hauled in front of congress. Wasn't he supposed to testify or be held in contempt of congress? If he gets held in contempt, that would screw up McCains campaign somewhat. With the preznit there and him willing to pardon him, not much will come of it. But it might sway some voters away from him. Hopefully they'll just stay home in Nov.
I just love to watch Rover parlay this chit chat into the greatest criminal sporting event of all time:
THE ADVISER-PUNDIT-ADVISER TRIATHLON!
...i wonder how the judges will score his routine...
Well, we see where Rove's advice got the repubs in '06.
Last night I ran into a coven (no disrespect to decent Pagans everywhere) of staunch McCain supporters.
They could never vote for Obama because he's a Muslim and that preacher of his was just so ugly and anti-American, and, of course, his wife hates America and is racist.
The fact that Muslims don't usually have Christian ministers provided these folks with not even a hint of cognitive dissonance, they just glided right over that. And as 'good' Catholics, they could never vote for the abortion-loving Muslim over the old white adulterer and his ex-drug addict wife.
Turd Blossom provides all the fertilizer needed to plow the vacant fields of those minds.
And it's only June.
What good does Obama's anti-smear web-site do when it's only preaching to the choir? People like that will never look at it, they are smugly self-righteous about their support of McCain and completely incurious about facts.
It isn't as if Rove is even using new tactics. We need to do better this time on every front.
Where does Karl Rove get this reputation as a good schemer? A good schemer wouldn't get caught, nor would he have allowed a GOP loss in 2006, nor would he have allowed somebody that the GOP base is as apathetic about as McPapen to win the nominee. Compared to the old schemers of the past, he's remarkably incompetent and stupid. Compared to his boss, OTOH...
Hiring Turdblossom, that's not change we can believe in.
-GSD
Here we go!
With Turdblossom on board, Get ready for swiftboating, smearing and velvet lynching as the Hate machine of the Corporate Neo-Con right gears up to scare the SH** out of America about electing a Black President and all things demoocratic in general.
In fact it has already started.
As reported onC&L last week, A group of long-time Republican operatives are running a viral e-mail campaign that aims to frame Obama as a disastrous-for-the-country left-of-left liberal. It is on view at a website called ExposeObama.com. The most high-profile member of this group is Floyd Brown, a communications and organizational consultant who created the infamous “Willie Horton” television advertisement that sank Democrat Michael Dukakis’ 1988 presidential campaign. The Obama camp has set up a website to combat those lies and smears, and show no sign of backing down.
Pat Buchanan made the astute observation on TV late last week that the GOP’s only shot at winning this year is to trash Obama for his “associations” with controversial figures, and raise doubts among the electorate about choosing an “exotic” (code word for black) guy. Luckily, Tanya Acker was there to call him out on it right away and make him look like the racist “exotic” fool that he is.
Michael Reagan, a radical right wing radio talk show host and adopted son of late president Ronald Reagan, called for the execution of Mark Dice, anti-war activist and founder of media watchdog group The Resistance, while on the air. He now faces possible investigation by the FBI for his remarks.
Tis the season. Repugs have no substance and they are on the wrong side of most issuses this year. The only things they have left to work with are the negative tools ........ Lies, smears, Deception and failing that they will certainly also resort to cheating by disenfranchising voters and attempting to fix the elections.
It will be interesting to see how our spineless current Democratic leadershipship reacts to the coming onslaught of filth.
Let the games begin!
Three little words:
No shit, Sherlock!
I doubt anyone here is at all surprised at this turn of events.
TakeOurCountryBack @ 23:
They still have Diebold and other electronic voting machines.
pissed off patricia @ 11:
McCain is not just too old to Rock 'n Roll, he is too old to be President of the United States. I am not talking chronologically. I am talking cognitively.
Off Topic.
Have you seen this clip on foxnews.com?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,366921,00.html
Something about fellow democrats calling obama connected to terrorism. Unbelievable.
Ron @ 26:
that thier have been no investigations into voter fraud , by diebold and repig cageing shows the democrats have no intentions to get a fair election, we won nothing in the 06 elections, and the fact that were supposed to have the majority in the senate because the 06 elections just plain bull crap, the repigs have thier stealth democrat senators in our party, liberdouch , palosi, ried , fianstien and a few others still gives the repigs the edge, and if you think were going to clean up with a democrat landslide victory in 08 think again, the repigs will get guys like mcconel and the rest of the home team politicians back in to keep us screwed , enjoy the illusion of a new day , because thier all in it together!
Jason @ 28:
Yes. In fact i wrote an open letter to Fred Hobbs:
Dear Fred Hobbs,
I would like to applaud your recent statement implying Barack Obama is a terrorist. We here at Bigots United for McCain know that John can not possibly win on the issues. We need fine upstanding Americans like you to muddy the waters and cast doubt on the character and frankly the citizenship of the presumptive Democratic Nominee. We simply do not need a black man in office. Do we want our grade school children pointing to Africa on the map thinking it is where they live? No Sir!
If Obama gets in we will not be able to privatize Social Security and the country may very well spend a lot of money on health care for its populous instead of fighting wars in far off exotic lands. By the way, did you know Obama is Exotic? He is! And you can call him that on TV and not have to apologize!
John McCain can’t say so but he appreciates your support so I will say it for him. We love your strong commitment to your race and to the Presidential race being won by a real American who is not black.
Remember! Race, Party and then Country!
Michael Meehan
Executive Director
Bigots United for McCain
Bigots United for McCain dot blogspot dot com
Over the last 8 years “Turd Blossom's” name has become just "Turd" now.
Speaking of pig boy Rove, what ever happened to Conyers ,who was going to kick his ass?Hasn't it been 3 weeks since Conyers was shooting his mouth off about what he was going to do with Rove? Mr. Conyers, I don't know how a worthless piece of shit like you keeps getting re-elected. I wish I lived in Detroit so I could pull the lever for whoever runs against your sorry ass!
Jason @ 28:
that's tennessee, seen it and dismissed it.
somehow, it being on fux diminishes it by several orders of magnitude. tennessee lowers it even further
G*d, Allah, Buddha, Jah - if you're out there would you PLEASE smite Rove and his ilk from the planet? Take 'em to the rapture, anything, just get him out of our lives. It will take generations to rid this country of what his slime have done.
Last night I got an email which "showed" what could happen if Obama got elected. It was a series of pictures that "mulismized" a number of American images. I was so pissed!
It had obviously been created in Photoshop, very profesionally. This is exactly the kind of shit that Turdblossom would be proud of.
I responsed to all of the addressies that this was a lie.
bigmike601 @ 35:
Would you be so kind as to email that to bigotsunitedformccain@gmail.com please!
I really want to get that up on my website.
Wouldn't it be nice if a judge signed a wiretap on Karl Rove's conversations...
Xavier @ 37:
Is there some reason Karl should be given special treatment?
No! Ya DoN'T SaY!
Yup, nothing spells "Family Values" like Las Vegas Sands Corp. does.
NO CHANCE Turdy-boy joins McSame's campaign. McSame has said he wants to run an HONORABLE campaign. That leaves Rove out. And McSame is serious, he's a straight talker you know.
rooth terrorist fist jab baby mama hussein @ 20:
funny! catholics found justification for slavery in their bible. no surprise they have a nazi pope who suppressed the cleanup of child molesters from the church. You should ask these perverts if any of them know of a priest who transferred in from boston. I'm just that curious.
The Exotic Chico Hussein Escuela @ 41:
great snark!
TakeOurCountryBack @ 23:
too late! they started the second barack became the lone democrat.
pissed off patricia @ 11:
NO WAY........C & L provided the video of McCain. I've started a file called, "In His Own Words." He already said that by 2008 he'd be down at the "Old Soldiers Home, leading the charge there," .........whenever any issue comes up where a newly invented ILLUSION regarding his electablity is pitched, I just go to my file, and viola, there is a video or article in which he states the EXACT OPPOSITE...........the right wing branch of the family is truly having their COME TO JESUS MOMENTS on a daily basis.
BrokenArrow @ 45:
COME TO ALLAH? :<[)
Why is this revelation a surprise?
The only way Rove is going away is if the Republican Party returns to its mid-19th Century roots and eschews sleaze. That isn't going to happen.
What is the holdup on Turdie getting before a congressional committee? Are our representatives so impotent that they can't even function? I want answers to the many allegations that Rove instigated crimes for our government at the highest levels.
I don't know why anyone should be surprised. Read about 3 years ago that Rove had already indicated he would help McCain in 08 and McCain's staff was very happy about it.
(Via New Yorker Magazine, extensive article on McCain)
Just in case you missed it, there is a new book out that goes thru roves career chapter and verse-the author must have lots of supporting documents, because there is no way in hell that the lawyers would let it be published otherwise
Title:Machiavelli's Shadow, the rise and fall of Karl Rove
Author; Paul Alexander
I am about 1/3 of the way thru so far, I have to ration myself to just a few pages at a time because I get so angry at all the shortsighted idiots who bought into the rove meme, and because he was allowed to get away with so many federal crimes-or is he, he said not to long ago, that he expects to be indited before the end of the year, just in time for a bush pardon-unless of course rove is going to be the fall guy for all the crimes committed by bush & co.
I could tell Rove was involved by the petty attacks waged against Obama, like:
1) Michelle Obama, She's no Jackie Kennedy.
2) Obama = Osama.
3) Obama is a lifelong Muslim.
4) Terrorist fist shakes, the ones the US soldiers do in Iraq.
5) US flag lapel pin, the kind McCain has never worn.
and much, mush more.
There's a reason Bush fired Rove and a reason Daddy Bush fired Rove in the 90s.
Even te Bush Crime Syndicate knows what T-R-E-A-S-O-N is.
Is chit-chatting what they call rump rangering now?
ysbaddaden @ 52:
Not sure if they're synonymous but they certainly could be simultaneous.
VegasRage @ 31:
Rove always engages in shit scat
Holy crap...Rove is the guy who pasted "McCain has a love child" all over church goers windshields. The whole thing is freaking demented. McCain is willing to walk with the devil to achieve his dream. God help us all if he achieves it.
Why is he affiliated with any news organization?
Now he has been caught using weasel words to avoid admitting his role in the McCain campaign - just like he did to avoid admitting he was behind the old McCain-has-an-illegitimate-black-son whisper campaign, or his key role in the outing of a CIA agent.
No news organization should trust him. No one should trust him. He's a liar and a sociopath.
CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Democratic Party Victory @ 42:
TakeOurCountryBack @ 23:
What gets me is they aren't even using anything new. They're demonizing Michelle - just as they did every Dem 1st lady from Eleanor Roosevelt to Hillary. And Obama is now "the most liberal", just like every Dem candidate since God was a teenager.
And the stupid repugs just repeat ad nauseum. Is there any thinking going on in their base at all??? Do they not even see it?
I think their comfort level at being bigots is so high that they just will not allow any conflicting thoughts to be allowed, except for the obvious conflict that it's kind of unlikely to be a Muslim AND have an inflammatory Christian minister for the last 20 yrs. They see no conflict, because both allow them to dislike Obama, therefore they can be used interchangeably.
This is textbook insanity.
And I did bring up the pedophile priest issue with them. They completely brushed it aside; that was just a few incidents that were overblown by the media. When I mention that two popes have condemned the pre-emptive attack on Iraq, they - honest to God - changed the subject to abortion. And they absolutely believe that Obama, the Muslim, will cause millions of new abortions. In spite of the fact that Islam is as anti-women's reproductive rights as Catholics. And that, again, Obama isn't a Muslim.
McCain's base is the same as Bush's base: hypocritical adulterers with addictions of their own who figure if they're that flawed and they're still "good", than Bush and McCain are too.
I think they really hate Dems who are happily monagamous, and have ideals they really try to live up to, even more than they hated Clinton, who got away with the same shit they pull all the time. And they really love being able to think: Bush/Cheney/McCain does all the crap that I do; drink, lie, cheat, and he can be president, and he's no better than me. So I'm ok.
Rove was born a Reslug, habitual liar.
I wonder how Karl is disguising his Blackberry emails these days? He can't very well hide behind executive priviledge now. Are they on the RNC servers? Is he still deleting every scrap of evidence?
Inquiring minds should be asking lots of questions.
DMS @ 56:
He is not affiliated with any News Organization.
He is affiliated with Fox.
xoites defends Constitution @ 60:
LOL!
And the Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek, according to this C&L post.
wow, this is news; like finding out who lindsay lohan is dating. friggin lame guys, waste of blog.
Game on for turdblossom... he is there to put JEB on the ticket.
When the geezer kicks off it's GAME ON for the bush crime family.
Another 8 years.
.............just another reason to STOP THE DRAMA AND VOTE OBAMA!
Watch for more poison to come from Nicolle Wallace.
Nicolle Wallace is a Karen Hughes Clone who will spread the worst kind of drivel for John McCain. Y'all remember the despicable Karen Hughes who was responsible for Fuzzy Math and the untold number of lies from Dubtya. Nicolle even looks a little like Karen with long hair. Hey ... maybe it is Karen with long hair.
I feel a little better knowing that Rove really is connected to both the McCain campaign and outside smear groups. It means I wasn't just imagining that this style of turning the enemies strength against him (oh, the Dems have a guy who can get the religious vote? We'll make him look like an evil religious radical) and playing to people's fears and hatreds seemed awfully familiar. I really wish Rove would stop thinking he's above the law and I wish the law would stop agreeing with him.
Does this mean that Karl "The Pig" Rove will be bringing along his favorite late-night assistant, Jeff Gannon? Squeal like a pig boy! Squeal like a pig!
Here we go again now. Ready your electronic vote tabulation devices. -MARK-
exactly, #62. exactly.
Can O' Whoopass @ 51:
I believe that's debatable.
rooth terrorist fist jab baby mama hussein @ 20:
I hear that, and I agree about the McCain supporters. As Joseph Heller wrote in Catch-22, "It is neither necessary nor possible to educate people who don't ask questions."
That being said, we aren't engaged in that kind of effort. We want to introduce the single necessary prerequisite for change:
DOUBT.
No, I haven't seen the play by the same name. But for some, there are niggling doubts.
Doubt about the number of reversals McCain has made.
Doubt about his ability to connect with middle class (to say nothing of the poor).
Doubt about his ability to break out of the military mould. (See, now if I'd mistyped that, it would have been ageist, wouldn't it?)
And yes, doubt about whether a 72-year-old can stand the rigors of the Presidency. Remember Reagan at 72? I do.
For those who doubt, there has to be something to find.
For those who don't, there is nothing we can do.
We preach to the silent, not to the singers.
Try this: offer a matching donation to the Obama website, and see how long it takes an answer to come back. Compare that to McCain's proud incompetency about computers (so like Bush's about everything, beginning with Yale).
And ask yourself, can you doubt that a change is possible if we change just one thing--knowing that Rove changes nothing?
Peace be with you,
It's not surprising that Karl would do this. He, after all, ostensibly made this turd burglar Bush into a President. Is it morally and ethically wrong to be a "pundit" and collect money for helping people you are ideologically in bed with? Ya, but since when is Rove all that concerned with Morality and ethics?
The one good thing about this is the fact that this creates a clear connection between Bush and McCain that is unmistakable and undeniable. Bush is toxic right now, and this cannot, from that perspective, be anything but good for the Democrats.
election-coverage.com
McCain cant even handle a gap tooth entertainer........... dont get me wrong david letterman is a legend in his own. But for a guy that says hes GOING 2 keep my baby feed, healthy and safe cant even handle queistion's from a team of people who try 2 get a line in a simpsons eposide! your telling me this guy is supposed to handle the WORLD! Dont we know this is a very important job. i dont and wont put up with this democracy seperating my family and co-workers from me, cause i dont know my future! My friend said "remeber when that guy..... did that thing with his co-worker, like i did last summer;P. He was a peoples people he was us someone who lived, felt and understood US"!
WATCHING that 15 minutes of awww. McCain's camp is really over rated for ignorance. who is a lame excuse for bush's faults.
DAMN THOSE BUSH'S,
But back 2 my babys future: if we got guys like this going up for the #1 job in north america,
(besides a union plumber' because everybody in the LOW INCOME neighborhoods got jobs like that":)
We just like to eat ramen noodles amd watch attenna tv!
But where the lucky ones that dont get sick, walk 2 work and eat once a day, because we invaded a country with the MOST oil in the world just so we can increase NORTH AMERICAs cost???????? Thats are liberty, we just except and appriciate WE are not the ones standing in a taxed funded office asking HOW DO you WANT ME TO LIVE....unemployment, foodstamps, jail, etc........The david letterman show was humbeling in our times of recession and to Mr.McMcain and the the ground we call north america.
GOD BLESS
You know, I think different Internet and some television news outlets keep drawing attention to the undeniable triangle formation of Bush, Rove, and McCain. As much as I hate watching Republican strategists try to duck and cover for the guy, I enjoy because you can see the sweat on their brows. Their justifications are incredibly weak and shrill.
For instance, last night a commentator talked about how McCain is trying to court women voters. He only leads Obama in white suburban women who voted for Bush last election -- no real effort there. And he's promising to put more women in his Cabinet, yet earns a 0% voting record for women's rights.
The more that professionals get comfortable calling out these discrepancies, the more backpedaling he's going to have to do. And I think we hit the stupidest of the stupid in voting Bush in twice. We have no place to go but up.
Yeah like trying desperately to keep the neocon nuts in power and thus his ass out of jail (where he belongs).
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