An Open Letter to Karl Rove
By Kevin Robinson in News on Jan 11, 2008 6:26PM
Karl Rove, what are you doing? First you gave our senator Barack Obama some unsolicited advice on how to beat Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. When that didn't work, you took him to task in an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal.
Some might wonder why you would dedicate two separate columns to the Democratic presidential primary. Oh sure, it's been fun watching the Democrats fight amongst themselves, and the rest of the nation sure seems engaged this time around. But shouldn't you, the supposed architect of the permanent Republican majority, be more interested in who will emerge as the standard bearer for the GOP?
Could it be, Karl Rove, that maybe, just maybe, the quiet civil war that is right now tearing apart the GOP is far more terrifying to you than who might be the Democratic nominee this year? Could it be that dedicating column inches in widely read, authoritative publications about the faults, both real and perceived, of the two Democratic front runners, is far more effective in moving your message than critiquing the GOP front runners? After all, your wing of the Republican party won't be satisfied with any of the candidates in your primary. So instead you turned your gaze to Hillary Clinton, veiling your critique of her in "advice" to Barack Obama. And when she won the New Hampshire primary (narrowly, we might add) and Obama seemed poised to rally, you realized that you might not get what you want? So you take Obama down a few notches, get people talking, doubting their choices, maybe bolster the candidate that you really want to win the nomination. With such slim pickings in the GOP primary this year, what better way to distract Republican voters than to focus on the Democratic race? After all, nothing whips the staunch Republican base into a frothing fury quite like a Clinton.
Your political chops are undeniable, Mr. Rove; even life-long Democrats respect that. But it doesn't excuse your cynical maneuvering to meddle in the selection of the Democratic candidate. You have the right to your opinions, but you, more than most, understand the power of ideas. Go write a book, Mr. Rove. Teach at a university. Mind your legacy. But leave the electoral decision-making to the American voters.