Looks like Karl Rove argued against Tim Kaine for lack of experience just last month.
But now ~ Sarah Palin is the perfect choice for VP because of her experience ~ which just so happens to be much less than Tim Kaine's. If you haven't seen it, this video from last night's Daily Show is hysterical.
And Rove believes her to be a populist, too. He absolutely adores her!
Bush's Brain, Karl Rove is ignoring a Congressional subpoena to testify on the political firings inside the Department of Justice, and has opted to fundraise for embattled Republican's instead. The question the Texas Democratic Party is asking is, "Will vulnerable Republicans welcome tainted money?"
Rove is no stranger to controversy. He was willing to risk the life of a CIA operative by devising a plan to reveal her identity and the person behind many of the White House policies that put raw politics above doing what's best for our country.
The scary thing is Rove is now making history as the first political operative and White House staffer to ignore a Congressional subpoena to go raise money.
"It is time for Karl Rove to stop acting like he is above and beyond the law and put an end to his flagrant violations of the people's trust," said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie. "Until that happens, any candidate trying to raise money at an event featuring Rove should immediately cancel the fundraiser and return any money raised."
In an unprecedented move, Karl Rove blatantly ignored a Congressional subpoena to testify on the political firings at the Department of Justice, forcing the House Judiciary Committee to issue Rove a rarely-used Contempt of Congress citation. Although Rove has been trotting around the country appearing on talk shows, when it came to owning up to the American people, he indefensibly claimed immunity.
"Karl Rove is responsible for a lot of what's gone wrong in Washington and Austin, and the Republicans that welcome his fundraising help are thumbing their noses at Texans who want to change things and restore a government that works for us again," added Richie. "Americans deserve to hear Karl Rove testify under oath and tell the truth, but here he is, defying a subpoena and raising money for Texas Republicans who are offering more of the same old failed and corrupt politics."
We will absolutely keep our eyes on Rove's benefactors. So far we know he is raising money for Big Bland John and Sherrie Matula's opponent John Davis.
We try to avoid rumors and speculation as much as possible, but something strange is going on in the Travis County DA's race.
Capitol Annex and Austin Political Report are reporting two different stories of Republican big wigs campaigning for Travis County District Attorney Candidate Mindy Montford.
The Austin Political Report states that Republican and Craddick loyalist Terry Keel has decided to campaign for Mindy Montford instead of helping his sister-in-law Donna Keel defeat Valinda Bolton.
Now it seems Bush's Brain himself appears to be helping Mrs. Montford too.
Capitol Annex has the story complete with pictures. Vince states:
Karen Johnson, a longtime lobbyist and Bush pioneer who lives in the Pemberton area of Austin, has a Mindy Montford yard sign in front of her house. Asked by a neighbor this weekend why she is supporting a Democrat, Ms. Johnson replied: "I never have before, but Karl Rove asked me to help her."
Early vote started yesterday in this close election. This last minute revelation could dramatically effect the outcome in this low voter turnout situation.
Updated: A spokesperson from the Montford had this to say in response to the allegations Terry Keel and Karl Rove are working to elect Mrs. Montford:
This latest negative attack by Rosemary Lehmberg fits the pattern of lies and distortion meant to distract from the positive, issue-based campaign of Mindy Montford.
While Montford talks about real changes she will make, Lehmberg only talks about Montford. If Karl Rove has been advising anyone, it is obvious from their tactics that it is Lehmberg's unscrupulous campaign.
There is a problem with the Texas Supreme Court race. It is a basic math question. There are three seats, with two candidates, but there is only one race. The Texas Supreme Court has three potential seats-- Wallace Jefferson for Chief Justice, Phil Johnson in Place 8, or Dale Wainwright for Place 7. Instead of having Democratic nominees in all three of these seats, we have two highly qualified candidates running against Phil Johnson in place 8.
All three seats are statewide elections and all three seats have a democratic base number of 43.2%. All three Republicans need to be challenged and all three incumbents are out of touch, do nothing, place holders.
Rather than having a bitter primary fight between two amazing candidates, it is time to have two great candidates take the fight to the corrupt Republicans. Having viable candidates in every race is the only way we can get our courts back. This is, after all, the Court that Rove built.
In 1988, Rove helped Tom Phillips become the first Republican elected as Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Phillips had been appointed to the position in November 1987 by Clements. Phillips was re-elected in 1990, 1996 and 2002.
Phillips' election in 1988 was part of an aggressive grassroots campaign called "Clean Slate '88", a conservative effort that was successful in getting five of its six candidates elected. (Ordinarily there were three justices on the ballot each year, on a nine-justice court, but, because of resignations, there were six races for the Supreme Court on the ballot in November 1988.) By 1998, Republicans held all nine seats on the Court.
Tom Phillips is now an attorney at Baker Botts, but the fact remains, Rove used the court to launch the Republican take over in Texas. As long as two fantastic candidates like Susan Criss and Linda Yanez fight each other in a primary, Texas loses. Hopefully one of these candidates will take on Dale Wainwright or Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson instead. We need a trio of heroes fighting for us and working to undo everything Karl Rove built.
From the perspective of a Texas political type, what was up with the press' unfatuation with guy?
Karl Rove is smart enough, but he's no genius. Rove's political depravity put moral Americans at a disadvantage in contests with him. But crediting him with innovation or genius is like crediting Jack the Ripper with the invention of the knife. So why did the political press do it? Why did they love Karl Rove?
I don't think there's a comforting answer to this question. The relationship of Rove to the press really was like something out of an Anne Rice novel. They couldn't escape the erotic appeal of his lust for power, even when it was their blood he sucked, their consciences he corrupted. As they paled, they found it difficult to call him anything but a genius. Could they be so suckered by a dolt?
Kuff mentioned this yesterday, and I thought it was a great idea.
Well, if Karl Rove is coming back to Texas, I think the least we can do is to make him feel welcome once he's here. I think justice would never be more poetic if Rove were to return to Texas in time to see it turn blue. So, in the spirit of helping to bring that about, why not make a donation to Rick Noriega. Surely nothing would make Karl Rove feel more warmly received than that.
Clearly, great minds think alike, because Christy at FDL has the same thought.
George Bush and Karl Rove don't want Rove to talk to Congress under oath. What is it about "So Help Me God" that Rove finds so offensive?"
Not a bad way to frame an argument against an arrogant White House whose fundamental belief is that their authority is beyond question and their behavior beyond the law. The line about Rove and God is not mine. Political psychologist Drew Weston suggested it last night to an audience of writers and activists.
Weston argues that the public does care about the balance of power, but for most there is little emotional content in arcane arguments about executive privilege. So we should go for the gut.
The same holds here as Rick Perry continues to balk at the Legislature's efforts to end the abuse of children in the TYC and to understand the cover-up of that awful scandal.
What is it about the safety of our children that Perry doesn't understand?
That's a good way to open the argument about Perry's refusal to put the TYC in conservatorship, instead opting for a legally unrecognized special master who may have already so tainted the evidence that we may never see full justice in the scandal.
I first met Ann Richards when she was a County Commissioner in Travis County. She had succeeded Commissioner Johnny Voudouris.
After being elected as a Precinct Chair in Dallas County in 1978, I was called on by Democrats in my neighborhood to start a Democratic club - the Park Cities Democrats. It was 1979, and Republican Bill Clements had defeated the
Democratic nominee for Governor, John Hill. We wanted to show that not everyone in the neighborhood supported Clements and his young junk mail manager Karl Rove. Some of the club members told me about a woman who had been active in the PTA at the University Park Elementary School, who moved to Austin and was elected to the Travis County Commissioners Court. So I made an effort to meet Commissioner Richards at her office. I won't forget that meeting. She told me
that in addition to serving as a Commissioner that Lt. Governor Bill Hobby had recently appointed her to a state board. With all she said I had some important news to report back to my neighbors.
My friend Harry Weisbrod told me about Ann Richards participation in the party in the 1960's, when TV news cameras came to the Democratic precinct conventions to cover all the controversies. He offered a recollection of her appearance at a rally during the LBJ campaign in 1964, shortly before the birth of one one of
her children. According to Harry she got a lot of attention carrying a sign that said "All The Way with L B J"
At a later State Convention I was waiting for an elevator at the headquarters hotel, when suddenly someone came up from behind and gave me a big hug. I looked around - - and it was Ann Richards. I was delighted to see her again. I
was equally delighted to see her run for, and win, the office of State Treasurer, and was impressed with the way she involved young people from her old neighborhood in the campaign. One of them was Jim Smith.
There were other times when she delivered keynote speeches for the Young Democrats at our State Conventions, and at a Jackson Day Dinner at the Great Hall of the Dallas Apparel Mart.
The Young Democrats served as an important part of her campaigns for Governor. During the first campaign, Martin Hoffman, now a Democratic nominee for Judge of a Civil District Court in Dallas County, conducted a meeting in Waco, to help plan our participation. Her mother, Ona Willis, sat next to me at the meeting. Her father, Cecil Willis, walked in with a large stack of boxes of hot pizzas, which the Young Democrats quickly converted into history.
I last spoke with Ann Richards at the service for Senator Mike McKool. It was a cold winter day in Dallas, but this did not stop a large crowd from filing in to the chapel of the Hillcrest Funeral Home on Northwest Highway. It was the one time that I heard her shed a few tears, in the course of sharing her memories of Senator McKool. The Senator was a remarkable man who returned in later years to serve as the Dallas County Chairman. We won't forget Mike McKool, who did so many positive things for our state.
I am proud that during the Richards administration, she signed some of my words
into Law, closing a special interest loophole in the "Lemon Law" that had existed for too long. This has remained on the books and has withstood the test of time.
We will soon find the final resting place of Governor Ann Richards at the State Cemetery. She will take her place along with Stephen F. Austin, Barbara Jordan, Oscar Mauzy, John C. White, Ralph Yarborough, and some relatives of mine who
participated at a convention at Washington on the Brazos. It seems there is a whole convention of Democrats at the State Cemetery now - - where each marker offers a lesson in History that our future activists should come to understand.
I won't ever forget Ann Richards or Mike McKool. Texans live with their contributions daily. I am directly reminded of them when I pass by Richards' former residence at Lovers Lane and Athens, and the McKool residence on Hillcrest.
He's baaaack! Like that other monster, Jason of horror movie fame, Karl Rove won't go. Now that he won't be indicted either, we have to deal with him and more importantly his tactics somehow. Let's talk about it.
