Please STOP Referring to Rove as Some GENIUS! He's NOT!

[Closer]

I see at least 20 posts a day about a "Rove conspiracy" or the "Rove Machine" or some "Rovian Plot."


Please people!


Do you realize you give him more power and control by constantly referring to him as some unheard of political genius? He's NOT. If he were even HALF as smart as 85% of DUers claim, Bush would be polling higher than 50%. Bush's re-elect numbers wouldn't be in the thirties. Bush wouldn't have stood under the "Mission Accomplished" banner. And Ambassador Wilson's wife name WOULDN'T have been leaked.

We must start to weaken this supposed, mysterious power of Karl Rove. And the BEST way to start, is to DIScredit him, both his intellect and his savvy. Because it's simply NOT there. Don't get me wrong, Rove is a sleezy, crooked, ruthless, cold and calculating political operative, but make no mistake, he is NO genius. He will be FINISHED once Bush is.

So let's PLEASE stop empowering this hidious TROLL. Stop fearing some evil masterful wizard who's simply NOT there.

Let's empower OURSELVES, and more importantly, FIGHT!


</rant>


P.S. Now if you wanna talk GENIUS, Joe Trippi is your man. He is the Democrats' next weapon of mass destruction againt the Republican machine. :-)

edit: grammar

[pruner]

1. agreed

another "meme" that bothers me is that when Republicans support Dean it's because they want Dean to be the nominee so he'll lose to Bush; but when Republicans support Clark it's because he's got "cross-over" appeal.

[sfecap]

2. Closer...you gotta understand...

...some people here consider Rove a good friend.

Watch who attacks Trippi.

[Closer]

3. LOL

I know this.

And several here are making his job MUCH easier.

[elperromagico]

4. I don't know what Rove is,

but it's scary as hell.

[AlinPA]

5. I don't think he is a genius, but believe he controls most of what

goes on at the White house (along with Cheney)- including the decision to put the troops in Kuwait before going into Iraq and the stupid aircraft carrier landing. The war was to make Bush look like a "war time president" and for Halliburton's bottom line. Everything the White House does is about getting Bush re-elected.

[blm]

6. Rove doesn't HAVE to be a genius. They control most of the media.

The media pushes what Rove requires to keep BushInc. in power. That's it. Nothing more. But that trumps genius.

Rove has more power within that media than any 10 geniuses put together. See Chomsky, Moyers, Krugman, Palast, et al.

[FarLeftRage]

7. kkkarl rove is a worthless repukkke

an overrated POS who couldn't fight his way out a wet paper bag...

[Walt Starr]

8. I agree, the son of a bitch is NOT a political genius

but he has mastered the art of propoganda.

[leyton]

9. could it be

could it be that Rove is a political genius, but the guy he's pushing is just a crappy president whose policies are failing? might Bush's numbers be ten points lower without Rove?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

10. Oh yeah? Look at what the IWR vote has done to divide us. eom

[blm]

24. They used Vietnam the same way in 68 and 72.

.

[Zorra]

11. Great post. My thoughts about Rove exactly.

All these neocons really are are just ruthless, demented 8 yr.olds in adult bodies. Id and ego. It is easy to figure out what they are going to do, because they are entirely visceral. In any given situation, what kind of rotten things will these guys do? Make a list, and be ready for them. Whatever the sneakiest, most underhanded, and corrupt things they need to do in order to get their way is what they will do. No conscience, no ethics.

[boxster]

12. Wouldn't it take a genius to get GWB elected in the first place?

Honestly, I don't think he's being empowered by anyone. Knowing your enemy is the first step in understanding how to defeat him.

Many DUers believe he's the power behind the throne. If that's true, our strategy needs to account for him. My personal opinion is that Cheney is the true man behind the curtain and frankly, I think he's probably more dangerous.

[Closer]

16. LOL

Wouldn't it take a genius to get GWB elected in the first place?

Can't argue with that. LOL :hi:

[oasis]

13. Rove coordinates the media. He rewards them with access if they're good.

He's a manipulator, and that includes his manipulation of G.W. Bush.

[Closer]

14. Precisely.

Anyone care to come up with an analogy?

[oasis]

18. Iago perhaps?

For the analogy.

[submerged99]

15. The genius label has started to wear off

Like a lot of people, I started to view the whole cabal as evil, but brilliant tacticians.

That was until the Iraq debacle. Now, I view them as predictable ideologues who blunder about due to their dogmatic blinders.

[Closer]

17. WELL SAID!

Now, I view them as predictable ideologues who blunder about due to their dogmatic blinders.

I couldn't agree more!

[caledesi]

19. Closer, you are so right. If there is someone who is brilliant, it's

Joe Trippi, certainly not Rove.

And since you are onto the Rove stupidity...let's include Cheney and Rummy as well.

When Cheney left Halliburtion, he made a very sleazy deal that didn't work out quite that well.

We don't even have to mention *. He has failed at EVERYTHING he has undertook and got bailed out every time.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

20. He's gotta be smart...he's thinking for two.

[brook]

21. Fight is right!

Rove may have been a protege of Lee Atwater - but he doesn't seem to be much more than *'s "keeper" and a media manipulator now and I do think Cheney's the premiere puppeteer.

I'm sure it's already been discussed here - this month's Vanity Fair article on the neo-cons telling * "We'll put you in - just give us the judiciary". It seems to me to have been a fire sale on souls to the devil.

But what's done is done. We really have to believe we can win - and we have to be willing to come together to do so. One thing is clear. * must go - and take his shadow-men/vultures along with him.

[sendero]

22. I agree with you....

... 100%. For starters, a bright man would not have let Bush* do some of the really dumbass things he has done that get him little and cost him a lot.

[Silverhair]

23. Rove's genius is in the campaign phase, not the governing.

Rove is preparing for the campaign. He is doing oppo research, focus groups, that sort of stuff. Right now the Reps aren't campaigning as it is too soon for them to do that stuff. They are waiting for a definate nominee before opening fire.

Poll numbers now don't really mean a whole lot. The election is a year away and that's a lifetime in politics.

You will start to see Rove's handiwork in the late spring of next year, and it will be highly visible after their convention.

Right now, he is like a general, planning the upcoming battle, adapting his battle plan to new events, studying his enemy.

Until you learn to respect your enemy, you will find it impossible to win.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

25. Goebbels wasn't a genius-neither is Rove

[Renew Deal]

26. Howard Dean or Joe Trippi for DNC chair.

They would fit that role.

[belle]

27. His *genius* is and was just this:

sheer gall. His arsenal is exclusively composed of dirty tricks. He, and others like him, have been getting away with what they do for as long as they have because the "loyal opposition" a) were in shock (which is the point of such tactics, so not so much blame there, b) were/are afraid, simply, and c) because they thought, and still think, a lot of them, that they shouldn't "sink to their level." Well, boo-ya to that. It doesn't take "sinking to their level" to call bullshit bullshit, and loudly.

Seriously, I think every Democrat in office should be handed a copy of "Bullies in the Workplace" or some such before swearing in. Not to mention every journalist.