Karl Rove stepping down

[Kaldaur]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/rove_resigning

I thought this was interesting. I doubt there was any internal pressure, so why would he step down now, after putting up with the firefights for six years?

[Jice Virago]

Rats deserting a sinking ship, really. He needs to distance himself from W so that he can begin crafting new turds to fling for the next flunkie in chief he manages.

[Wulfran]

I saw this and have to wonder even if Rove distances himself from W and the final few months of his administration, are other Republicans going to want anything to do with this guy? I haven't followed American politics as closely as I have as the past couple years (and some of the shit still baffles the hell out of me), but I have followed current events since I was a kid (credit a 5th grade teacher who believed we needed to be informed, back when Jimmy Peanut Farmer was your president, and an 8-9th grade teacher who built on that basis). I do not ever recall someone in Rove's position (which is a little vague in itself to me) being as prominent as he has been, seeming to generate more headlines than your Sec of State, be it or Rice or Powell before her. He has been a lightning rod for controversy from issues like Plame-gate to blurring the lines between church and state to general mis-advice on issues like the Iraq invasion.

The guy is a politcal animal so I don't expect his opponents to like him but at the same time, his profile has been raised and linked to a lot of the reasons/issues Bush's popularity has sunk into oblivion. As a strategist and advisor it seems like he's beyond damaged goods to almost poisoned goods. Sure the G.O.P. will look after him for "fighting the good partisan fight" but with his public profile right now what contender or even aspirant would want this guy involved in anything beyond maybe some occasional consultation on specific subjects far away from the the public eye? Maybe in a decade he might be able to get back in the Great Game, once the recollection of the American people has dimmed about the errors/controversies of the Bush Administration, if he still has the drive and energy... or am I totally off base?

[Fash]

Heh... Rove has managed to make it through 5 grand juries without a scratch. He's going to take some time off with family, but I'm sure he'll be quite involved on a consultant level with republicans until he dies of old age. He knows what's up.

[Xatrei]

I tend to agree, Wulfran. I can't see any of the current republican candidates getting mixed up with Rove, at least directly. He's got too much baggage attached to his name, and the republican nominee would probably take a smaller hit for choosing Cheney as his running mate. I really don't believe that Rove's brand of divisive, steamroller politics can be successful in the growing backlash to the political environment that he helped to create with GWB's gubernatorial and presidential campaigns and subsequent administrations. Even amongst his own party, his stock seems to be greatly devalued. Many of the problems that the declining republican party now faces are a result of his play-dirty efforts to create an enduring republican majority. That's not to say that he won't be involved behind the scenes in a less hands-on consulting capacity. The fact that he's an evil, souless fucker not withstanding, he's been incredibly successful with his bag of dirty tricks, and there will always be people looking to duplicate his success and anxious to pick his brain. I'm sure that his advice will be sought, but to what degree remains to be seen.

[Boogahz]

I agree with Rove being political poison, but I would not be shocked if he showed up working with/for a new candidate soon. I cannot credit any politician with having the fortitude to resist the power he can "help" them get. It's like the One Ring. Even though you know it is evil, it calls out with the power it can give you...

[Niffoni]

"Ahh, my work is here is done!"

[masteen]

Rove and Juliani are meant for each other. The Shitslinger and the Fearmonger.

[Markulas]

I heard Rove is going to continue with his highly successful rap career.

MC Rove motherfuckers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYZre8kEsuw

[Midnyte_Ragebringer]

Rove and Juliani are meant for each other. The Shitslinger and the Fearmonger.

It's all about Clinton and Obama man. They will return the words "dignity" and "honesty" to the politcal discussion.

[Kaldaur]

Wait...when has Obama displayed indignity and dishonesty?

[Boogahz]

I had to chuckle at this local commentary regarding Rove's impending return to Central Texas:

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/n ... kelso.html

You know it, and I know it. You'd love to pie Karl Rove.

Seriously, if you're reading this, there's a good chance you're in Austin and of the lib persuasion. Which means you've thought about pieing Rove — you know, just walking up to him and putting a baked good in his pudgy little face.

Not that I'm trying to stop you. Now that Rove has left the White House, I hear he's headed to Ingram over by Kerrville. But what if he comes here? Oh my God. Hide the children.

As a public service, I thought I ought to provide y'all with a list of places where you won't find Karl Rove in Austin. That way, if you're fixing to track him down to pie him, you won't waste your time looking for him in these places.

Like the Wheatsville Co-op on Guadalupe Street. Karl Rove ain't going there. General manager Dan Gillotte said Rove might come in "if he just wanted a really delicious deep-fried tofu sandwich." Republicans don't eat tofu.

And don't expect to see Karl Rove in Hill Country Weavers, a knitting store on South Congress. The women in there would needle him. Another place you won't catch Karl Rove is Chester's Club, that BYOB joint on East 12th Street that just closed down.

Rove doesn't strike me as a guy who mixes well with people who bring their own booze. I have a hard time imagining Karl Rove saying at a GOP strategy session, "Boys, we need to get out the BYOB vote."

And don't expect to find Karl Rove at Nomadic Notions on West Anderson Lane. The only nomadic notion Karl Rove ever had was when he decided to haul butt out the White House door before it got even worse.

You ain't gonna see Karl Rove at Flamingo Automotive on Guadalupe Street, either. Karl Rove wants Democrats to stay home on election day. At Flamingo, they hand out voter registration cards to customers. They also give away condoms. I'll bet it's hard to hand Karl Rove a condom.

Nor would you find Karl Rove hanging out at Oilcan Harry's, a gay bar in the Warehouse District.

"He's been in here a couple times," said Josh Martinez, the happy hour bartender.

I stopped breathing momentarily, thinking I was onto a big story.

"No, I'm just kidding," Martinez added.

Rats.

[Gzette]

on a tangent, since I live in Austin, that club Chester's that got shut down was total bullshit. For a town that prides itself in it progressive or liberal tendencies, I'm surprised by the amount of thinly veiled racism that goes down here.

[Funkmasterr]

Did you just say that racism in the south surprised you?

[Boogahz]

on a tangent, since I live in Austin, that club Chester's that got shut down was total bullshit. For a town that prides itself in it progressive or liberal tendencies, I'm surprised by the amount of thinly veiled racism that goes down here.

I dunno, 200+ 911 calls in 5-6 months? There were things he could do to stay open. He chose not to due to having to actually sink money into the club.

[Gzette]

I actually talked to the guy and he did pretty much all he could. The 911 calls mostly came from 3 or 4 furious members of the neighborhood association. Granted I do think he screwed up a lot, but I think a lot of it was to his own inexperience in dealing with cops and complainers. In the end he had addressed pretty much all the issues, and the cops I spoke to at the club actually had noticed an improvement, but the council had been lobbied hard enough by the neighborhood association.

[Boogahz]

It probably would have helped if he had not also had the code violations to deal with (such as resurfacing the parking area without a permit). Everything I have heard/seen just made it sound like he didn't know enough about owning/running the club beyond being everyone's friend. He would be the type of person you would have manage a club, while someone else handled the behind-the-scenes work. Reading up on the history of that location, I am amazed he was able to reopen it a couple years ago anyhow.

[Gzette]

true, but some of the stuff he was cited for were completely ridiculous, IE a health code violation for having an ice machine without a permit or getting cited for having cars parked on the grass in his own parking lot. granted there was a lot of ignorance on his part, but there is no way a business owned by a white man catering to white people would ever have so much scrutiny.