I wonder if the cohort that watches Fox New Sunday still thinks that Karl Rove has any credibility. The producers of the show must think so, since they keep inviting Rove back. But his pronouncements are increasingly absurd. Take his performance this morning:
Democrats are raising a fuss about the closure of the George Washington Bridge because they are afraid of Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) chances in 2016, according to former President George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove.
“The reason the Democrats are doing this is because Gov. Christie is a strong potential candidate in 2016 and they’re going to try to smother every Republican presidential possibility they can,” Rove said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“They know that this race in 2016 is going to be difficult for the Democrats, hard to get a third term, particularly after the two terms of Obama.”
While it’s true that the Democrats would like to damage any seemingly strong Republican candidates for the presidency, Gov. Chris Christie’s problems are wholly of his own making. Christie might have been a strong candidate in 2016, but the Democrats in New Jersey basically rolled over and did not seriously contest his reelection, with numerous party bosses and big city mayors actually working with him. The Democrats in Washington DC hardly contested the race, either. They didn’t think Christie was beatable and they valued the sheen of bipartisan cooperation they got from Christie after Superstorm Sandy hit the Garden State.
So, it’s unlikely that Christie would be taking such a beating from the Democrats if his administration had not shut down lanes on the George Washington Bridge for completely spiteful purposes and then lied about it for months.
Sadly for Rove, if the Democrats are seeking to “smother” strong Republican presidential candidates, their real problem is finding one to smother.
Where are these strong candidates?
great post – christie was the only one who needed smothering and it’s hard to imagine him breathing again after jersey-gate has run its course. All the others smother themselves every time they open their mouths.
Is Mitt Rmoney just joining “President” get-off-my-lawn McCain on the talk show circuit, or is someone thinking he’s the only viable candidate for ’16?
Rove has become such a joke. Even Republicans don’t listen to him anymore. The other so-called moderate is Jeb and good luck getting another Bush in the White House. Unless someone emerges or the Democrats fall apart, the Republican chances to retake the presidency in 2016 are slim to none.
Is someone were to emerge, he or she would have to be able to simultaneously pretend to be both moderate and conservative, convincing each base of his/her sincerity. Mitt tried to pull that off. McCain too. Not an easy thing to accomplish.
Accordingly, Gov Scott the TX Rep Gov candidates must all be closet Dems as well after the way they all ran away from Christie on his visits.
Even if you take this at face value (never a good idea when talking about Karl Rove), what’s his point? Chris Christie is done as a 2016 Presidential candidate. Even if it was all those mean nasty Democrats sabotaging him, he obviously wasn’t as formidable as Karl Rove thinks he is if he can be brought down basically weeks after his landslide re-election, at the height of his popularity and power. They’re “strong potential candidate” has been knocked out on the first punch before he was even in the game. As you say, where are these strong candidates?
What is Rove really trying to say? That the Democrats are now as good as he and his old boss were at ratf*cking? If so, they’re well and truly screwed.
Yeah, just darn those Dhimmicrats, putting out traffic cones on the GW bridge just to blame Christie.
And it’s especially unconscionable how they used their mind-control rays to get Christie’s staff to send incriminating text messages about the bridge closure.