[Barry] Jackson is seen as cool, analytical and fiercely partisan -- "none of this 'let's get along' kind of stuff," in the words of one GOP acquaintance from Capitol Hill, who described Jackson "as the man behind The Man."
He grew up near Cincinnati.
Mike Duncan. Mitch McConnell. Karl Rove.
There's a debate as to why the GOP's obsessed with Senator Clinton. I doubt that it's a feint; the GOP is having trouble animating their base, and Senator Clinton is about the only unifying thing they've got left.
Speaking of trouble motivating their base: "McConnell's base of support erodes". Analysis from Matt Gunterman.
It shouldn't shock many Kentuckians that Karl Rove worked with the White House to enlist "political appointees at every level of government in a permanent campaign that was an integral part of his strategy to establish Republican electoral dominance."
We've seen the same thing in Frankfort for the last four years. Even today, after all the investigations and pardons, Governor Fletcher still thinks over-sized govt checks and over-sized govt tax breaks are part of his reelection campaign.
Ernie Fletcher was an early, and rather vigorous, adopter of the Rove strategy. Perhaps because it's not just the Rove strategy, but the Rove-McConnell strategy. After all, Scott Jennings, Senator McConnell's former political director, was one of Rove's key hatchet men.
And Mike Duncan, "the long-time supporter and fundraiser for Senator Mitch McConnell," now chairs the Republican National Committee, where he works at Rove's direction. The same Mike Duncan who chaired Governor Fletcher's transition team in 2003. The same Mike Duncan who said Governor Fletcher's pardon's were "commendable."
And Secretary Chao:
Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao made 13 official visits in the last two months of the election, never straying more than 50 miles from the media markets on Rove's office list, the analysis showed. That August, she attended three local Fraternal Order of Police meetings in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan to tout new overtime rules that would soon go into effect. Likewise, she traveled to Tampa -- another targeted media market -- to announce grants for recipients who actually lived in Jacksonville, Fla., a less competitive area.
Kentucky, 2003-2007, is Karl Rove's vision for America. Governor Fletcher and Senator McConnell have brought it to fruition. Thankfully, it's not Kentucky's vision, and we are going to reject it over the next eighteen months.
permalink | all links |Karl Rove has made an enormous contribution to our country and our party. Now, as he leaves the White House and turns to new challenges, I wish him and his family well as they begin this new chapter in their lives.
permalink | all links |If that quinella pays off, however, Mr. Rove will have to savor it from somewhere other than his West Wing office. He's resigning effective Aug. 31 -- 14 years after he began working with Mr. Bush on his campaign for Texas governor, 10 years after they began planning a White House run, and after 79 months in the political cockpit of a tumultuous presidency.
"I just think it's time," he says, adding that he first floated the idea of leaving to Mr. Bush a year ago. His friends confirm he had been talking about it with others even earlier. But Democrats took Congress, and he didn't want to depart on that sour note. He then thought he'd leave after the State of the Union, but the Iraq and immigration fights beckoned. Finally, Chief of Staff Josh Bolten told senior White House aides that if they stayed past a certain point, they were obliged to remain to Jan. 20, 2009.
