Rovism

I’m going to be very rude here and quote an entire post from Glen Smith on BOP. (Do click over to read the comments.) I think it’s important that people think about this:

Karl Rove’s un-American attacks on those who disagree with him deserve the condemnation they’re receiving. I’ve known him for 20 years, and I’m not surprised he said them. He’s a socially inept but patient thug whose willingness to haunt the nation’s dark political alleys for years, waiting for the right time and the right victims, is too often taken for unparalleled political intelligence.

Being attacked by Rove is a little like being criticized by the Boston Strangler. At least you know you’re alive. If we want to understand Rove, maybe we should get an FBI profiler.

Rove’s a hack. His strength comes from his immorality. There are no barriers. If power didn’t corrupt, Rove would have corrupted it.

I’ve been on the road in America for much of the last two years. I’m asked all the time about the need for Democrats to find their own Karl Rove. If we ever find such a monster in our midst, we should exile him.

I like the black hat Rove wears, but it troubles me that so many people believe he really is a political genius. He’s just pathological.

For years I’ve suspected that Rove is stuck in an adolescent rage, taking revenge upon the Civil Rights marchers (whose courage he couldn’t match), the anti-war organizers (who beat him), and those who believe in and struggle for democracy (who drove off Nixon).

I don’t recommend therapy for Bin Laden. But Rove might give Dr. Laura a call.

I am currently working on a project about Rove and have done a lot of research on how people perceive him as compared to his actual success. I agree with the assessment above. He is highly overrated as a strategist — indeed Democrats have imputed to him almost magical powers to shape events in the most complicated ways. It’s much simpler than that.

He is just someone who has no limits. And he has a client and a party that are willing to do as he advises. That is a powerful thing, but it is not genius. It is useful in elections, but it is a disaster in governance, as we are seeing. Brute force cannot accomplish every task, as any plumber or mechanic can tell you.

But barring a total meltdown, which is unlikely, Rove is going to be running the Republican party for some time to come. We need to start looking at this man realistically. The key is that the Republicans think he’s magical too.

Bravo to Peter for telling it like it is. (And nice new re-design too. Check it out.)

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