TPMDC American Crossroads
Barack Obama
Rove Group To Attack Obama For Using Same $1.1M Bus GOP Candidate Will Use
Karl Rove's American Crossroads group is planning to "make a star out of" the $1.1 million armored bus President Barack Obama is using to travel across the country by featuring it in attack ads ahead of the 2012 election.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012, 2012 Presidential Primaries, 2012 elections, American Crossroads, Barack Obama, Karl Rove, Secret Service
2012
Democrats Look To Protect Latino Vote From GOP Outreach
DNC TV Ad "En quien confiar"
Democrats are looking to put the kibosh on conservative outreach efforts to Latino voters before they start.
The DNC's first major ad buy of the season is a Spanish-language ad running in areas with high concentrations of Latino voters around the country. The new spot comes just two days after the Republican National Committee and Karl Rove's Super PAC, American Crossroads, launched their own ad campaigns aimed at the key Democratic voting bloc in battleground states like Florida and Colorado.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012, 2012 elections, American Crossroads, DREAM Act, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Immigration, Latino voters, Reince Priebus
2012 elections
Karl Rove's Money Machine Goes Live With $20 Million Anti-Obama Campaign (VIDEO)
Crossroads GPS attack ad
The real starting gun of the 2012 presidential race may be sounding Monday, and it's coming in the form of massive attack ad campaign aimed squarely at President Obama's economic record.
Crossroads GPS, anonymous-money collecting arm of the Citzens United-inspired political machine founded by Karl Rove and other Republican heavyweights, is going live with a $20 million television ad campaign targeting the president 497 days before voters head to the polls in November 2012.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012 elections, American Crossroads, Barack Obama, Crossroads GPS
NY-26
GOP MegaPAC: NY-26 Is A Wake Up Call For The Right
NY-26 candidate Kathy Hochul (D)
Ditching the popular spin on the right that third party challenger Jack Davis cost Republicans the NY-26 race, conservative Super PAC American Crossroads warned its supporters on Tuesday that the election is a "wake-up" call for the right.
"Republican Jane Corwin gave it her all in a very tough special election today," spokesman Jonathan Collegio said in a statement. "The debate over whether Medicare mattered more than a third-party candidate who split the Republican vote is mostly a partisan Rorschach Test. What is clear is that this election is a wake-up call for anyone who thinks that 2012 will be just like 2010. It's going to be a tougher environment, Democrats will be more competitive, and we need to play at the top of our game to win big next year."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: American Crossroads, Jack Davis, Jane Corwin, Kathy Hochul, Medicare, NY-26
NY-26
Major Party Candidates Debate In NY-26 -- While Tea Partier Releases Most Depressing Ad Ever
NY-26 Congressional Candidates Jane Corwin (R) and Kathy Hochul (D).
Republican Jane Corwin and Democrat Kathy Hochul met Wednesday night for their final debate before the May 24 vote to replace Republican Rep. Chris Lee in New York's 26th district. As it has for weeks, the conversation focused overwhelmingly on the budget passed by House Republicans that would, among other things, abolish Medicare.
Hochul has ran almost her entire campaign on defeating a Republican proposal to cut Medicare benefits and turn it into a voucher program while Corwin has dinged her for supporting higher taxes on the wealthy. The debate fell mostly into these predictable lines.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: American Crossroads, House Majority PAC, Jack Davis, Jane Corwin, Kathy Hochul, NRA, NY-26, SEIU
NY-26
NRCC Dumps Cash Into NY-26 As Special Election Tilts Dem
NY-26 Congressional Candidates Jane Corwin (R) and Kathy Hochul (D).
The GOP is dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into the NY-26 election, hoping to stave off defeat in a right-leaning district that's become a testing ground for Democratic attacks on the Paul Ryan budget.
According to FEC filings, the National Republican Congressional Committee has spent nearly $425,000 on the race, targeting not only Democratic candidate Kathy Hochul but an independent Tea Party candidate Jack Davis. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has spent over $266,000 on the race so far.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: American Crossroads, House Majority PAC, Jack Davis, Jane Corwin, Kathy Hochul, NY-26
NY-26
Big Money Group Linked To Karl Rove Dumps Cash On NY-26
NY-26 Republican candidate Jane Corwin and Republican strategist Karl Rove
American Crossroads -- the political money group backed by Karl Rove -- has chosen to get behind the Republican in the tightening three-way race to fill the New York Congressional seat vacated by the humiliated Rep. Chris Lee (R).
And in keeping with American Crossroads' m.o., the group is backing Republican nominee Jane Corwin in a big, big way. The group has purchased $350,000 in television ad time this week on Corwin's behalf in the western New York district. A second run has been reserved as well. The first seven-day round of ads, which will be released publicly on Tuesday night, will begin running Wednesday. Election day is May 24.
Crossroads says it hopes the blanket of spots will help set things right in the Republican district, which appears in danger of falling into Democratic hands thanks to perennial candidate (and former Democrat) Jack Davis, who is this time running on the Tea Party platform.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: American Crossroads, Jack Davis, Jane Corwin, Kathy Hochul, NY-26
Priorities USA
Watchdogs Target New Democratic Super PACs
President Barack Obama
That didn't take long.
Just hours after the launch Friday of two new Democratic Super Pacs designed to keep President Obama in the White House and counter deep-pocketed GOP groups who helped Republicans win control of the House in 2010, a prominent watchdog group announced plans to file a complaint against them with the IRS.
The two new groups, Priorities USA and Priorities USA Action, were formed by former Obama White House aides Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney to take advantage of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling last year and will collect unlimited funds -- with the goal of $100 million -- from corporations and unions. Only one of the two groups will disclose their donors to the Federal Election Commission.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: American Crossroads, Campaign Legal Center, Chris Van Hollen, Citizens United, Democracy 21, FEC, IRS, Priorities USA
2012 elections
In 2012 Money Race, Democrats Say Game On!
President Barack Obama
Democrats, still smarting from the 2010 midterm defeats, are determined not to sit on the fundraising sidelines and be caught flat-flooted again. Leading Democratic strategists are building a new arsenal for control of the White House and Congress in 2012, employing the same unlimited, secret donor activities that President Barack Obama and many Democrat have vociferously opposed.
Two new groups, Priorities USA and Priorities USA Action, have launched to counter deep-pocketed GOP groups and are planning to raise $100 million to keep Obama in the White House and elect more Democrats to Congress, according to a report in Politico.
The twin Priorities committees will mimic the example of Karl Rove's American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, the two groups that drew widespread criticism from Obama and Democrats during the 2010 cycle for taking full advantage of the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United that allowed unlimited, undisclosed corporate and union donations to outside groups. One will disclose its donors while the other will not.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2012, 2012 elections, American Crossroads, Barack Obama, Bill Burton, Citizens United, Fundraising, House Democrats, House Majority PAC, Paul Begala, Priorities USA
American Crossroads
Crossroads GPS Sues Obama Admin Over Health Care Docs
President Barack Obama
The Karl Rove-linked conservative advocacy group Crossroads GPS has filed a lawsuit against the Obama Administration over information about waivers the Department of Health and Human Services granted from the health care reform law.
Crossroads GPS is a non-profit political cash machine, founded by Rove and former RNC chair Ed Gillespie last year. It is not required to release the names of its donors.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: American Crossroads, Barack Obama, Crossroads GPS, Health Care
Crossroads GPS
Rove-Linked Spending Machine Takes On Unions In New TV Spot (VIDEO)
The conservative campaign spending group linked to Karl Rove is going up with a tough ad aimed at America's labor unions and the president they supported in 2008.
The short version: Unions and their political activity are "a threat to democracy."
Crossroads GPS, the non-profit political spending outfit who Rove and former RNC chair Ed Gillespie helped launch last year, is going on national cable news channels Wednesday with the 60-second spot, aimed squarely at the union leaders and Democratic politicians who have been taking on governors across the Midwest in the past few weeks.
Crossroads GPS is not required to release the names of its donors, and has been a common target of Democratic and progressive criticism since its founding.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: American Crossroads, Crossroads GPS, Karl Rove, Ohio protests, Wisconsin Protests, unions
Roundup
TPMDC Sunday Roundup
Steele: 'No One's Produced One Shred Of Evidence' Of Foreign Money
Appearing on Meet The Press, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele responded strongly to the accusation that foreign money was being funneled into pro-Republican political organizations: "I don't know what they're talking about. No one's produced one shred of evidence that any of that is happening. And, you know, I--look, you know, when President, then candidate, Obama was asked to disclose some of his donors because there was suspicion of their being, you know, the foreign source of money into his campaign, they refused to do it. So don't give me this high and mighty, you know, holier than thou attitude about, about special interests flooding, flooding the political marketplace. The Democrats have been dabbling in those areas and clearly disclose it. If you, if you think that there's something out there, disclose it, Nancy. Disclose it, you know, anyone else who's got that evidence."
Rove: Liberal Attacks On My Funding 'Hypocritical'
Appearing on Face The Nation, Karl Rove defended the fundraising and spending of his group American Crossroads, which the White House has attacked for not disclosing its funding sources. In response, Rove said that Prescient Obama benefitted from over $400 million in outside support during the 2008 campaign: "And if liberals do it and nobody complains about it, it strikes me as somewhat hypocritical when conservatives adopt their strategies and follow their models and conservatives get criticized by the President of the United States by name."
Topics: 2010 elections, American Crossroads, Campaign Finance, Charlie Crist, FL-SEN, Karl Rove, Marco Rubio, PA-SEN, Pat Toomey, Roundup, Sunday Shows
DSCC
Outside Groups Dominate Campaign Ad Spending In 2010 (CHARTS)
Karl Rove
Anonymous outside interests have gone from being a relatively minor source of funding for campaign-season television ads to being the dominant player in 2010, according to figures compiled by the Sunlight Foundation.
A new (and effective) Democratic messaging strategy -- criticizing Republicans and their conservative backers for letting outside, anonymously funded groups run ads attacking candidates -- isn't an example of a party desperately looking for a new bogeyman. It's backed up by data, freely available from the Federal Elections Committee.
The sea change is largely the result of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, overturning a ban preventing pressure groups and corporations from running so-called independent expenditure ads for or against a candidate (these are distinct from issue ads, which only mention candidates vis-a-vis their policy positions). As a result of that shift, the official party committees and candidates face direct contribution limits and must disclose their funders. PACs have a bit more leeway -- they still face disclosure rules, but no donation limits and can make unlimited independent expenditures. Groups organized as non-profits, though, are unencumbered: they can take in as much money as they want, without having to disclose any of their donors.
The result has been extraordinary.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2006 elections, 2010 elections, American Crossroads, Citizens United, DCCC, DNC, DSCC, NRCC, NRSC, RNC
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
Tonight: Reid And Angle To Hold First (And Last) Debate
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and his Republican opponent Sharron Angle will meet tonight for their one and only debate. The debate will be held at 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET).
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the presidential daily briefing at 10:15 a.m. ET. Obama will meet with senior advisers at 11:15 a.m. ET, and have lunch with Biden at 12:15 p.m. He will meet at 3 p.m. ET with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. At 4 p.m. ET, he will participate in a youth Town Hall live on Viacom's BET, CMT and MTV networks.
Topics: 2010 elections, 2012 elections, American Crossroads, Barack Obama, Bush Tax Cuts, Harry Reid, Joe Biden, Mitt Romney, NV-SEN, Roundup, Senate '10, Sharron Angle
Roundup
TPMDC Sunday Roundup
Axelrod: Corporate Spending On Election 'A Threat To Our Democracy'
Appearing on Face The Nation, White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod continued to blast corporate spending in the current election season, including the charge made by Democrats that spending has included money from foreign sources. "This issue of this special interest spending is very important," said Axelrod. "It's never happened before that organizations are spending this kind of money. And the American people need to ask, 'Why is the oil industry, Wall Street and others spending this kind of money to defeat candidates and elect others in this sort of secretive way?' You know, that is a threat to our democracy."
Rove: Obama Has 'Enemies List Unrestrained By Any Facts Or Evidence'
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Karl Rove hit back at accusations from the White House and Democrats his group American Crossroads, and other conservative groups, are receiving foreign money. "They have not one shred of evidence to back up that baseless lie. This is a desperate and I think disturbing trend by the president of the United States to tar his political adversaries with some kind of, you know, enemies list unrestrained by any facts or evidence whatsoever."
Topics: 2010 elections, American Crossroads, CT-SEN, David Axelrod, Karl Rove, Kevin McCarthy, Linda McMahon, Richard Blumenthal, Roundup, Senate '10, Sunday Shows
2010 elections
New DNC Ad Targets Karl Rove's Election Spending (VIDEO)
The Democratic National Committee will go up on television with a new ad targeting Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie for their political activity during the midterm elections through groups which don't need to disclose their donors.
TPM obtained a copy of the ad, which hits the GOP on a point the Democrats have been hammering of late -- corporations getting involved in elections thanks to the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, American Crossroads, Center for American Progress, Chamber of Commerce, DNC, Ed Gillespie, Karl Rove
Roundup
TPMDC Saturday Roundup
Obama: I Will not 'Shortchange Our Children's Education'
In this weekend's YouTube address, President Obama declared his commitment to strengthening the country's education system, and attacked Republicans for wanting to cut education spending by 20 percent.
"Now, it is true that when it comes to our budget, we have real challenges to meet. And if we're serious about getting our fiscal house in order, we'll need to make some tough choices. I'm prepared to make those choices," said Obama. "But what I'm not prepared to do is shortchange our children's education. What I'm not prepared to do is undercut their economic future, your economic future, or the economic future of the United States of America. Nothing would be more detrimental to our prospects for success than cutting back on education. It would consign America to second place in our fiercely competitive global economy. But China and India aren't playing for second. South Korea and Germany aren't playing for second. They're playing for first - and so should America."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, American Crossroads, Barack Obama, Bobby Bright, Education, House '10, Israel, Israel/Palestine, John Barrasso, Nancy Pelosi, Pledge To America, Roundup
American Crossroads
Rove-Backed Group Pushing Out More Ads In Senate Races (VIDEOS)
Ad from American Crossroads, "Not My Job"
American Crossroads, the Karl Rove-backed group that is spending heavily on ads for this year's Senate races, has been rolling out a whole bunch of ads in some top races.
An ad against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) reprises a theme from an earlier Crossroads ad, hammering Reid for his past remarks on the Senate floor about how "only" 36,000 jobs had been lost in a previous month, which was "really good."
Then the announcer uses a clever turn of phrase: "Harry Reid. Extremely out of touch with Nevada." Look at that as a clear effort to counter Reid's ads, which have derided Republican nominee Sharron Angle as being "extreme."
The TPM Poll Average puts Reid ahead by 47.2%-44.0%.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, Alexi Giannoulias, American Crossroads, Harry Reid, IL-SEN, Jack Conway, KY-SEN, Karl Rove, Lee Fisher, NV-SEN, OH-SEN, Senate '10
American Crossroads
Rove-Backed Group Attacks Hodes For 'Fiscal Conservative' Claim (VIDEO)
Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH)
A new ad by Karl Rove-backed outside group American Crossroads attacks New Hampshire Senate nominee Rep. Paul Hodes (D) for calling himself a "fiscal conservative" in a recent ad.
"Hodes voted for the pork-filled stimulus bill," the American Crossroads ad says. "$1.9 million to study ants in Africa. $39 million for office upgrades for politicians. Billions wasted and unemployment still higher."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, American Crossroads, Karl Rove, Kelly Ayotte, NH-SEN, Paul Hodes, Senate '10
American Crossroads
Rove-Backed Outside Groups Raised $14.5 Million In Last 30 Days
Karl Rove
American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, outside groups backed by GOP heavy-hitters Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie, raised $14.5 million in the 30-day period ending Sunday, bringing their fundraising total this year to $32 million, according to the Associated Press.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: American Crossroads, Crossroads GPS, Ed Gillespie, Karl Rove
CO-SEN
Slew Of Ads Attack Bennet Over Spending (VIDEOS)
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Sen. Michael Bennet (D) might want to stick to watching his Netflix this week. Turn on the TV in Colorado, and he's bound to see one of the many, many ads his opponents are attacking him with. The ads come from different groups, but share a common theme: they hit Bennet hard on spending, and on his votes for the stimulus and health care reform.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, American Crossroads, CO-SEN, Ken Buck, Michael Bennet, NRSC, Senate '10
American Crossroads
Rove-Backed Group Drops Four New Senate Race Ads (VIDEO)
American Crossroads, the conservative group backed by Karl Rove and former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, has a whole set of new ads in four key Senate races.
First up is an ad in Nevada, against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). This spot continues the theme from American Crossroads's previous ad, complaining about stimulus spending going to help other states.
"Really, Harry," the announcer says. "How about some help for Nevada?"
The TPM Poll Average of the Nevada Senate race puts Reid ahead of Republican Sharron Angle by 46.6%-43.7%.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, American Crossroads, CO-SEN, Ed Gillespie, Harry Reid, Jack Conway, KY-SEN, MO-SEN, Michael Bennet, NV-SEN, RNC, Robin Carnahan, Senate '10
NV-SEN
Rove-Backed Group's Ad: Reid Helps Other States -- And Louisiana Horse Drivers (VIDEO)
Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies ad
American Crossroads, the conservative group backed by Karl Rove and former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie, has an ad in the Nevada Senate race attacking Harry Reid. And this one features caricatures of all the people in other states that Reid has helped.
"Obamacare is bad for health care in America -- and worse for Nevada," says the announcer. "Because when Sen. Harry Reid needed votes to push Obamacare, he cut sweet deals across the country -- to help Nebraska, to help Louisiana, to even help Florida. What has Nevada gotten from Sen. Reid? Record foreclosures, and the highest unemployment rate in the nation. And Reid's still pushing for even more government control of your health care. Really, Harry? How about some help for Nevada?"
Okay, I get the Nebraska farmer, and the senior citizen in Florida taking his grandson on a fishing trip. But the guy with the red vest, black bow-tie and horse carriage for Louisiana? Did they run out of modern stereotypes and have to go back to the 1890s?
The TPM Poll Average for this race gives Reid lead of 46.4%-43.8% over Republican nominee Sharron Angle.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, American Crossroads, Harry Reid, Karl Rove, NV-SEN, Senate '10
American Crossroads
Fundraising Group Led By GOP All-Stars Raises Big Money In June
Karl Rove
Turns out that American Crossroads, the group backed by Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie, among others, to raise money for Republican candidates, is pulling in the dough after all: The group says it raised $8.5 million in June, according to Politico.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: American Crossroads, Ed Gillespie, Karl Rove
NV-SEN
Conservative Group's Attack Ad: Harry Reid Thinks Job Losses Are 'Really Good' (VIDEO)
New American Crossroads ad attacking Senator Harry Reid (D-NV)
The conservative group American Crossroads is using Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's words against him -- out of their key context, but still a serious gaffe in that it set Reid up for this sort of thing -- when he said that the loss of 36,000 jobs was "really good."
The group, headed up by former Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan, is using video of that gaffe in a new attack ad in the Nevada Senate race, with a statewide buy of $120,000.
Video of Reid on the Senate floor is shown: "Today is a big day in America. Only 36,000 people lost their jobs today, which is really good."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, American Crossroads, Harry Reid, NV-SEN, Senate '10, Sharron Angle
NV-SEN
Conservative Group Hits Reid With Ad Attacking Stimulus (VIDEO)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
The conservative group American Crossroads is up with a new television ad in Nevada attacking Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) for his support of the stimulus.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: American Crossroads, Harry Reid, NV-SEN
2010 elections
GOP 527 Group Will Spend Big And Play Tough
There has been quite a bit of discussion lately about whether the new Republican campaign group American Crossroads will be competing with the RNC for donations this election season. But while American Crossroads may make some GOPers nervous, founder Jim Dyke says it's the Democrats who should be running scared.
"This is the Republicans using all the tools that are available to try and win in November," Dyke told me in an interview. He's teamed up with former RNC Chairman Mike Duncan and RNC member Joann Davidson and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Steven Law. Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie also are involved.
Dyke said the GOP realized in 2004 that 527 groups ACT and the Media Fund were doing a better job on campaign ads for Democrats than the GOP could do. That kept up in 2006 and 2008, he said. "We've known we needed this for a long time," Dyke said.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, 527 groups, American Crossroads, Jim Dyke, Karl Rove, RNC, Republicans
Republicans
New Republican Group Sparks Worries About Party's Future
The annual Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 'Elephant Walk' in Washington, D.C.
There is growing worry that a mysterious new Republican political action committee formed by Bush-era heavyweights including Karl Rove could harm the Republican National Committee down the line. As we've been reporting about the RNC's woes and chairman Michael Steele's tenure, more and more GOPers tell me that Rove's new "American Crossroads" group spells trouble.
"That is very destructive to the party," a former very high-ranking RNC official told me in an interview today. The official said the group, which already has $30 million in donor pledges but does not seem to have an active Web site, will have broad implications for the RNC if it is successful during this election cycle.
The former official told me that my story about Steele sparring with Rove and his allies offers a glimpse at where the new group is headed. "They are gathering the sinews of power and drawing off RNC resources. If they have the power, the party will have to turn back to them for leadership," he said.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)Topics: 2010 elections, 527 groups, American Crossroads, Karl Rove, Michael Steele, RNC, Republicans
Republicans
Steele Allies Point Fingers At Rove -- Say Former RNC Team Fanning Flames
Karl Rove, former President George Bush, and Michael Steele
Seems like just about everyone is irritated with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele these days, but both friends and foes of the embattled party leader think allies of Karl Rove and former Bush-era RNC staffers are fanning the flames to make Steele's problems worse.
Republicans told me in interviews that Rove's team got cozy at the RNC during the eight years of the Bush presidency, and feathers were ruffled when Steele was elected and cleaned house. They admitted Steele has dug himself into a deep hole, but the spate of recent death watch stories on national television and gracing the nation's front pages seemed like a calculated effort to trash the chairman as revenge.
The GOP universe isn't huge -- consultants who worked with the RNC decades ago are bound to pop up again and hop from campaign to campaign. But some people tied to Rove, George W. Bush's right-hand man, were "badly, badly hurt when Michael came in," an RNC member told me in an interview. "It's no surprise he's got a collection of enemies."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: 2010 elections, American Crossroads, Karl Rove, Michael Steele, RNC, Republicans
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