In 2000, George W. Bush lost the popular vote and the Republicans lost two seats in the House of Representatives and four seats in the Senate. The Bush administration quickly alienated Sen. Jim Jeffords (R-VT) so thoroughly that he changed his party affiliation to ‘Independent’, started caucusing with the Democrats, and threw control of the upper chamber to the Dems for the remainder of the term. That was just the beginning for Karl Rove…alleged genius.
In the wake of 9/11, Rove make a decision to seek political advantage out of the tragedy. A country that had been briefly united in grief and resolve was reduced to acrimonious bickering and partisan sniping. Bush’s first term was such a failure that Rove was forced to resort to every type of chicanery to win re-election for his boss. It is this period, between 9/11 and the 2006 midterm elections, that define Rove’s success. But we should keep two things in mind. First, the success was fleeting. Second, the success was based on criminality. The triumphant Republicans of the 2002-2006 era lie in ruins.
Dennis Hastert is now a backbencher serving his last term in office. Tom DeLay is facing criminal charges. Bill Frist is retired. Rick Santorum was crushed in his re-election bid. Colin Powell is disgraced. George Tenet is disgraced. Scooter Libby was convicted to 30 months in prison. Jack Abramoff is behind bars, along with Reps. Duke Cunningham and Bob Ney. This only scratches the surface as officials from Rep. Mark Foley, to the Pentagon’s Larry Franklin, to campaign official James Tobin have all gone down in disgrace.
And what of the Crawford Mafia? Harriet Miers was rejected as a Supreme Court nominee and is now criminally defying congressional subpoenas. Alberto Gonzales is the most untrusted government official in political memory. And the architect of it all, Karl Rove, is resigning under so many clouds that it’s impossible to finger any particular cloud that forced him out.
Rove leaves with nothing to show but a shattered presidency, a totally discredited and exhausted political party, and a badly weakened country.
The media won’t tell you this story, but it is the true legacy of Karl Rove’s operation. A total, unmitigated disaster.
