Contrary to popular opinion, Rove is not a genius.

[JohnnyCougar]

Karl Rove is agressive, that is it. He is held back by zero ethical standards. That is all.

If you think about it, most of his work has been sloppy. He's no evil genius, he just knows how to use brute force with propaganda. There is nothing creative or smart about it at all.

He barely "won" the 2000 and 2004 elections. In fact, he didn't win the 2000 election, but by use of brute fascist force, the Republican Crime Syndicate stopped the recounts that showed Gore won.

He barely won this time around either (if he did at all). He had a wartime president with an approval rating of 90% at one point. A Massachusetts liberal with one of the most poorly managed campaigns in recent history (rife with internal feuds and personnel changes) NEARLY (or did) beat his wartime president. This was even with the exploitation of 9/11. This was even with the media lying to us.

The evangelicals that Rove promised did not show up to the polls. The gay marriage thing probably did little in the long run. The reason this election wasn't a total blowout was because many people naturally trust their leader in a time of crisis, no matter how stupid he is.

The reason the conservatives are in power is because of their willingness to use brute force. Nothing more, nothing less, and certainly not because of Rove's mental ability.

[tk2kewl]

1. good point

i know a number of guys who are not very bright but have been quite successful in business.

the reason: no conscience.

[knowbody0]

2. his one and only asset is that he loves to be hated

[JohnnyCougar]

4. Exactly. He has a persecution complex.

He needs to feel persecuted in order to justify himself as an "anti aristocracy genius" that is taking control of the country and fucking it up for them.

[Protagoras]

3. Glad to see someone saying this.

I am sick to death of us elevating this slimeball to some level of supreme evil that we are incapable of battling. All of his ideas are recycled garbage from other people. You can read a half dozen books and come up with all the ideas he's ever used.

He isn't stupid, but he isn't Einstein either. He's just a greedy, immoral, slime who's focused his life efforts on politics without limits. Anyone willing to read Goebbels essays, 1984, Brave New World, and It Can't Happen Here, etc. could, if they had no conscience, try the same tricks.

Rove is not a genius, but a lot of people are stupid as hell. He's using a basic playbook and this country falls for the same lame plays over and over again.

He isn't shovelling some magic beans at us, he's shovelling shit and we're just too stupid to smell it. Joseph McCarthy wasn't a genuis either...he was just a drunken opportunist who saw the big red button and pushed it at the right time. Rove will go down in history the same way once we have a bit more perspective.

[David Dunham]

5. Disagree. The gay marriage issue in OH was decisive.

The evangelicals in Ohio DID TURN OUT in much higher numbers than in 2000, and the gay marriage issue and Rove's GOTV campaign were the main reasons.

[JohnnyCougar]

6. I dunno, I just red ACT's post election polling...didn't look that way.

It's a good piece:

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/2942242

From this, it seems that it was pretty much the war and the fact that Bush was CIC and they didn't want to change leaders that people voted for him. Assuming of course, that most of the people in Ohio DID vote for him.

The "Moral Values" folderol is just some Rove psyops to appease the Christian Right and make Democrats feel scared that they are losing the culture war. This is a psyop to get Democrats to bend their views to fit an imaginary mandate. Nothing more.

[Beetwasher]

7. Doesn't Take Genius To Kick Someone in the Nuts and Step on Their Throat

Genius would be taking a defective product like Bush and actually winning an election by getting the most votes. He couldn't do it in 2000 and relied on massive fraud and the SC and this time, massive fraud again.

[xultar]

8. But he is a TURD BLOSSOM

[tmooses]

9. I know "genius" is a term that gets thrown around alot, but I prefer..

it to apply to those who are using their intellect to provide some good in the world. What Rove has done is manipulate a coopted media to his advantage. Any journalistic investigation of his past tactics would reveal him for what he is, but the media won't touch this guy.I agree from the earlier post that his success is more a measure of the ignorance (manipulation?) of the base he appeals to than any great "genius". Remember, even Rove has his "Room 101".

[PROGRESSIVE1]

10. I agree! Democrats pride themselves in their Alan Colmes style of...

weakness.

Repugs are agressive and fearless as well as they have a love of kicking people when they are down!!!

Democrats were once like this and then Vietnam came along and that ruined the party. It was right to oppose that horrible war, but we still needed to be like Rove and we have not been so!

[mitchum]

11. Rove is a bitter, twisted man because:

-his "father" denied his parentage
-his mother committed suicide (pity she didn't do it decades sooner)
-Superman Karl sired a disabled child

He is a miserable SOB who wants to spread misery

[NoSheep]

12. My boss is just like him. Not a genius...just a huge asshole who will do

anything for money. No conscience whatsoever. He is extremely successful in all his ventures.

[PurityOfEssence]

13. I love hearing this; you are SO correct

Morality binds and hamstrings the left, but the right has no such qualms. Why should they? They're superior; they don't have to be bound by the reality of their actions. Their motivation is maintaining power at all costs.

The very idea of floating a concept about Kerry that "he'll do anything to win" is mind-bogglingly beyond mere hypocrisy.

He goes for the primal reptilian motivators of fear and greed, and he inevitably wins. This is not "genius" as much as it's deep unscrupulousness and simple button-pushing. These aren't even his own discoveries: the Reagan mob figured this out. Put the skeer in the po' white folks, and you can demonize anyone on the subjects of taxes, affirmative action and concern for the poor. As for the latter, it's not surprising that this can't even be raised these days: the right will just spook the poor into thinking that they'll have to bear the burden of taxation for anything that smacks of socially responsible market substitution.

These people have absolutely no scruples; they'll lie under oath to the god they may or may not believe in, and they'll do it for personal gain and the gain of their shockingly wealthy patrons. It's nothing but gaining those ends by whichever means necessary.

This isn't genius, it's amorality. The deep cynicism of this man is breathtaking, but for us to be surprised anymore is not much more than naivete. It's a tough-guy posturing thuggery out there, and being naive or encumbered with silly morals is a social crime second only to being without money.

We have to fight Class Warfare, and we have to use that name. The take is that they're fighting it, and we're fighting against it. No more can we be apologetic for our root concerns; it's not foolish or childish to care for the weak, old and poor, it's the measure of decency in a person. They are NOT the defenders of the great unfettered personal freedom of enterprise, they're henchmen for the subjugation of all those who aren't wealthy.

John Edwards put it best in his early stump speech: "The only thing George Bush respects is wealth." It's bad enough that the forces of greed have made us back away from the name and thrust of liberalism, but to not call plutocrats to account is directly responsible for all of our defeats of the last 24 years.

[A Simple Game]

19. It's nothing but gaining those ends by whichever means necessary.

Exactly, to the Republicans any means justifies the end.

To Democrats the means have meaning and the end must not be tainted.

[w4rma]

14. Maybe if more Dems realized this, they'd quit trying to come up with

all sorts of freaky ideas on how to beat them and instead spend that time on just flat out fighting back with pure brute force, also.

[OnionPatch]

15. I have been saying this for years

The only reason the guy keeps "winning" is that he's willing to sink lower than any human being ever sunk before. Period. Plenty of people have thought up schemes like his but rejected them. In the long run, these tactics cause you to lose credibility. It is taking a long time, though, but that's because the media is on their side.

[Swamp Rat]

16. Reptile Rove ain't no genius!

[BiggJawn]

17. He'll do until one comes along....

He's not half as smart as me, but he sure as shit is a 1000X more successful.

Damn, WHY did I have to raised with MORALS, anyway!?!?!?!

[Redleg]

18. "Cheating" and "win-at-all-costs" are conservative values.

Rove is effective because he has no scruples.

[JohnnyCougar]

20. all we need to do is get down and dirty.