Karl Rove, Bill Clements, Armstrong Ranch and Harry Whittington

[dave29]

http://bnfp.org/neighborhood/Lemann_Rove_NYM.htm

Rove left the Bush pre-Presidential operation to work in the gubernatorial campaign of Bill Clements, an oilman who in 1978 became Texas's first Republican governor since Reconstruction. Rove was appointed Clements's chief of staff. In 1981, he left to set up a direct-mail business in Austin called Karl Rove + Company. This put him in a position to make more money than you can as a politician's full-time employee, and allowed him to work for many Republican candidates at the same time. Rove had the imprimatur of Texas's Republican aristocracy from the beginning, through his connection to the Bush family and to Clements. An early financier of Karl Rove + Company was Tobin Armstrong, the owner of a Texas ranch (it was on land leased from Armstrong Rove and Bill Frist were planning to go hunting) and the husband of Anne Armstrong, a former Republican Cabinet officer (-->my insert... and on the board of directors of Halliburton when Cheney was hired). Becoming chairman of the College Republicans provided Rove with an introduction to such people, which may be one reason that winning mattered so much to him; it also seems that Rove, the self-made man, gets pleasure as well as practical advantage from his association, with the Texas upper crust, people who give off the glow of ease, charm, and connection which he detected in George W. Bush the first time they met.

snip

He (Rove) had helped Rick Perry, the future governor, win his first state office. And in 1994 he helped get Kay Bailey Hutchison, a protege of Anne and Tobin Armstrong whom Rove had known for years, elected to a full term in Texas's other United States Senate seat, even though she had just been indicted and acquitted for misusing state resources.

FYI Clements appointed Whittington to the Texas Public Finance Authority.
George W. Bush appointed Whittington to the Texas Funeral Board.

[MarianJack]

1. I Remember When...

...anne armstrong was supposedly on Ford's short list for VP in '76, but Ford went with the hatchet-man.

[f-bush]

2. Holy shit...too bad they all weren't shot!

[Erika]

3. Ah, the Texas upper crust

who have never held a job in their lives. Nor did they serve their country in war time. Just the normal GOP eltist trash.

[JanusAscending]

4. Yeah, they're all a bunch of idiots!

None of them should be handling fire arms. I think they need to go to Iraq for some target practice!!(for the well trained Iraq Army):sarcasm:

[Straight Shooter]

5. This is the most politically incestuous administration ever.

They are all connected. It's creepy.