• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

The revolution will be supervised.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Mobile Menu

  • Winnable House Races
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Balloon Juice 2023 Pet Calendar (coming soon)
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • War in Ukraine
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • 2021-22 Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Do As I Say

Do As I Say

by John Cole|  December 16, 20082:56 pm| 121 Comments

This post is in: Assholes, Republican Crime Syndicate - aka the Bush Admin.

FacebookTweetEmail

This really says it all about the last eight years:

Karl Rove, who refused to answer questions for years on the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA official, criticized Barack Obama on Monday for not being more forthcoming in the Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.) scandal.

Rove, a former top White House adviser to President Bush, said on Fox News, “[Obama] should have, right from the beginning, been more forthcoming.”

What can you add to that, really?

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Tick Tock, You Don’t Stop
Next Post: Been There, Done That »

Reader Interactions

121Comments

  1. 1.

    Bob In Pacifica

    December 16, 2008 at 2:58 pm

    What I can add is, "Eff you, Rove."

  2. 2.

    Atanarjuat

    December 16, 2008 at 2:59 pm

    You can add that Karl Rove is every liberal’s favorite punching bag.

    Sure, it can help leftists relieve their anti-conservative stress, but it doesn’t really help resolve any actual problems.

    Then again, that’s Leftist Philosophy 101 in a nutshell.

  3. 3.

    N M

    December 16, 2008 at 3:02 pm

    Surely you can’t deny that he is a huge hypocrite…

  4. 4.

    ThymeZoneThePlumber

    December 16, 2008 at 3:05 pm

    Nobody cares what Rove says.

  5. 5.

    The Moar You Know

    December 16, 2008 at 3:06 pm

    @N M: He’s huge, all right.

    @USA Patriot: Actually, I am in utter awe of the man. Anyone who can say anything that hypocritical with that much sincerity is…well, amazing.

    “[Obama] should have, right from the beginning, been more forthcoming.”

    Just…wow.

  6. 6.

    John

    December 16, 2008 at 3:06 pm

    Unfortunately, that says it all for the next eight years too.

  7. 7.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 3:07 pm

    Attanuts right, Karl Rove naked in a zoo pen so everyone could laugh and point, now that would solve some problems.

  8. 8.

    jake 4 that 1

    December 16, 2008 at 3:07 pm

    Karl Rove: Will Wank 4 Food.

  9. 9.

    DJShay

    December 16, 2008 at 3:08 pm

    I usually read this blog through an RSS feed, and will occasionally link to the site to read the comments or post one of my own, but I have to look a pictures of Michelle Malkin and Glenn Reynolds to do this. Sigh.

  10. 10.

    Reverend Dennis

    December 16, 2008 at 3:08 pm

    Why does anyone still provide Karl "you’re entitled to your math and I’m entitled to my math" Rove with a platform? He helped to lead the Republicans over the cliff and anyone commenting on this blog could write his stuff before he even says it. He’s just another multiple-chin Republican douchebag with delusions of cleverness.

  11. 11.

    David

    December 16, 2008 at 3:11 pm

    @Atanarjuat: Better than yelping "Soros!" and "Kennedy!" and "Clinton!" at every opportunity.

    We just lived through Conservative 101 – adding more debt than every president before him, letting a large American city drown, corruption, putting ideology before reality, corporate welfare queens, free money for all of his oil field buddies in Iraq, letting our soldiers drink water polluted with who the hell knows what. And that’s the shortest of short lists for the worst President – a Conservative – to ever have graced the White House.

    Seriously, you want to talk about Liberal ideology? You need to clean the shit out of your shed before you peek in any more windows, Conservative.

  12. 12.

    Comrade Stuck

    December 16, 2008 at 3:11 pm

    What can you add to that, really?

    When you consider this, it begins to make sense.

  13. 13.

    TheAssInTheHatOnMyCat(Formerly Comrade Tax Analyst)

    December 16, 2008 at 3:12 pm

    Atanarjuat
    You can add that Karl Rove is every liberal’s favorite punching bag.
    Sure, it can help leftists relieve their anti-conservative stress, but it doesn’t really help resolve any actual problems.

    Whereas Rove’s "divide and conquer" fetish for wedge-issues surely solved many of our important issues and made us all safer and prosperous, to boot, right?

    Uh, excuse me, but "Go F*ck yourself", OK?

  14. 14.

    Bobby J

    December 16, 2008 at 3:17 pm

    It seems the correct answer to anything Rove (and his comrades) says is, "It happened. So what."

    Have a read of recent interviews with Bush, Cheney and Blubberdolt (Limbaugh). What happened the last 8 years never happened. None of it.

    So what.

  15. 15.

    Brick Oven Bill

    December 16, 2008 at 3:21 pm

    We have not lived through Conservatism 101 David. That day is probably coming, but it will be imposed upon us. I recommend potato farming. Does anyone know what kind of yeast makes a good vodka?

    As an aside, hedge fund managers still pay a top tax rate of 15%. Two years into a Democratic congress. Imagine that.

  16. 16.

    Mojotron

    December 16, 2008 at 3:22 pm

    Why does anyone still provide Karl "you’re entitled to your math and I’m entitled to my math" Rove with a platform? He helped to lead the Republicans over the cliff…

    You answered your own question there

  17. 17.

    jake 4 that 1

    December 16, 2008 at 3:23 pm

    @Reverend Dennis: Because insane asylums no longer sell tickets.

  18. 18.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    December 16, 2008 at 3:27 pm

    Recalling hilzoy’s piece asking Ayers to just go away, you have to wonder when someone on the Right is going to ask Rove to do the same thing.

    SATASQ: Never.

    I personally hope Rove continues on as a public figure. It only serves to remind all of us that Dark Ages of the Early 21st Century was all fun and good times.

  19. 19.

    passerby

    December 16, 2008 at 3:28 pm

    I’m cross posting this from another thread. It has more relevance here:

    Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich is being very scary by calling for the RNC to cease and desist with the bogus Obama smearing:
    "I was saddened to learn that at a time of national trial, when a president-elect is preparing to take office in the midst of the worst financial crisis in over seventy years, that the Republican National Committee is engaged in the sort of negative, attack politics that the voters rejected in the 2006 and 2008 election cycles."

    Compare this to the direction Rove continues to take. And I wonder why aren’t more Dems (that means you Nancy and Harry) making any declarations like this?

  20. 20.

    Reverend Dennis

    December 16, 2008 at 3:29 pm

    I would commend that brother Atanarjuat meditate on Matthew 7:5:

    Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

  21. 21.

    Paul L.

    December 16, 2008 at 3:32 pm

    Everyone remembers how Karl Rove hid behind his kids and claimed he was getting Death threats due to the media coverage like Rahm "tough guy" Emanuel is doing now

  22. 22.

    NonyNony

    December 16, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    @DJShay:

    I usually read this blog through an RSS feed, and will occasionally link to the site to read the comments or post one of my own, but I have to look a pictures of Michelle Malkin and Glenn Reynolds to do this. Sigh.

    If I remember that running these ads pays for the blog (or at least defrays some of the costs – I don’t know how much they make for John), it makes me smile instead of get irritated. And frankly, their goofy smiles have been a lot easier to take for the last month or so – I can’t imagine why that would be…

    I will, actually, shockingly agree with our resident faux-troll and say – no one should care what Rove thinks about anything. The man is not only an asshole, he’s also a loser. The man heralded by so-called political pundits everywhere as a "genius" has been shown to be a loser – his "genius" was in being so dirty he was willing to go lower than anyone had ever gone before him. By listening to him the GOP held the presidency for two terms, but were completely unable to hold onto government beyond that. His ideas are trash and he’s a loser. Fuck him.

    My only desire is that the tools in the media wake the fuck up and realize that this guy isn’t really all that smart. His punditry is almost as wrong as Bill Kristol’s (look at his predictions for the last election cycle – they weren’t punditry, they were propaganda) and his appearances on the teevee always amount to "THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOR JOHN MCCAIN THE GOP!!!". You can read his response to any question you might ask him right off the GOP talking points, so why bother even asking him the question?

  23. 23.

    Brachiator

    December 16, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    Rove, a former top White House adviser to President Bush, said on Fox News, “[Obama] should have, right from the beginning, been more forthcoming.”

    Ya gotta love the Republicans. They know that the prosecutor has asked Obama to hold back some information lest the pending investigation be compromised, but they can ignore reality and play the game called, "What is Obama hiding about his…associations?"

    The larger goal is to try to taint Obama so that the GOP can rationalize their opposition to anything that he might propose.

    The side goal is to do everything possible to force Obama to oust his chief of staff. If Obama can be wounded before he even takes office, the Republicans believe that they could breathe a little easier and regain some of their lost power and prestige, even if they don’t have anything real to offer to the country as a solution to any pressing issue.

  24. 24.

    Ripley

    December 16, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    What can you add to that, really?

    I hope he chokes to death on a giant fire?

  25. 25.

    steve

    December 16, 2008 at 3:35 pm

    rove is a fine american

  26. 26.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    December 16, 2008 at 3:38 pm

    Somewhat on topic: I just heard Michael (Last Name Unknow. I didn’t catch his last name but he was a former Bush speechwriter) say to Norah O’Donnell that had that journalist thrown a shoe at Saddam Hussein he would have been immediately executed, therefore, THEREFORE, Iraq is a better place now. These guys are in full on Legacy Burnishing Mode.

  27. 27.

    Reverend Dennis

    December 16, 2008 at 3:39 pm

    rove is a fine american

    And steve has never touched the Shift key.

  28. 28.

    El Cid

    December 16, 2008 at 3:40 pm

    Also Scooter F***ing Libby jacked an investigation by Patrick Fitzgerald to preserve his bosses from potential prosecution.

    So Karl "F*** You Fitzgerald Eat Me" Rove is now concerned that Barack Obama is not fully publicly disclosing enough information so as to assist an investigation by Patrick F***ing Fitzgerald?

    I swear to God, if even one Bush administration Republican attempted to show some sense of shame or history or hypocrisy or even just god damned irony, their heads would explode on the spot.

  29. 29.

    Napoleon

    December 16, 2008 at 3:41 pm

    I just heard Michael (Last Name Unknow. I didn’t catch his last name but he was a former Bush speechwriter)

    Must have been Garson (or is it Gerson) the guy who not writes for the Post.

  30. 30.

    steve

    December 16, 2008 at 3:47 pm

    all rove is saying is that theres nothing there, nothing wrong with the president elcet or his liasons having contact with the gov with respect to the senate seat and that by obsfuscating that obama makes the conspiracy folks run amok..of course if rahm or somebody else had contact with the gov AND then became aware that the seat was being sold by the gov to the best offeror and didnt report such to the proper authorities than they do have a problem…you folks are so blinded by your hatred you fail to see things as they are but only as your warped minds want to see things…rove is actually providing obama the neophite some sound advice for the future, i.e. no need to be a clinton and deny deny deny if you’ve not done anything wrong….

  31. 31.

    TenguPhule

    December 16, 2008 at 3:51 pm

    What can you add to that, really?

    Why is Rove not on Death Row yet for High Treason?

  32. 32.

    r€nato

    December 16, 2008 at 3:56 pm

    What can you add to that, really?

    How about:

    Fuck Rove in the ass with Atanarjuat’s pointy little head.

  33. 33.

    Tsulagi

    December 16, 2008 at 4:01 pm

    What can you add to that, really?

    Nothing.

    Say what you will about those tards, you can’t question their consistency. It’s a gift.

  34. 34.

    DJShay

    December 16, 2008 at 4:03 pm

    @NonyNony

    You are right. I should look at it like a squirt of lemon juice in the eye of the right when I read the above post, then gaze at the ads that support it :-)

  35. 35.

    Chuck Butcher

    December 16, 2008 at 4:06 pm

    “Democrats— should have, right from the beginning, been more forthcoming.” than we ever were or ever will be…

    Is this what he meant?

  36. 36.

    ET

    December 16, 2008 at 4:06 pm

    The first rule of Republicanism: Do as I say not as I do.

  37. 37.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    December 16, 2008 at 4:06 pm

    @steve: So… if you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to fear. Right.

    Let’s say you’ve done nothing wrong. You’re asked by one million reporters, one at a time, whether you did anything wrong. How many times do you deny doing anything wrong? Are you being a Clinton?

  38. 38.

    Comrade Kevin

    December 16, 2008 at 4:09 pm

    @r€nato:

    How about:
    Fuck Rove in the ass with Atanarjuat’s pointy little head.

    Atanarjuat already has his head up his own ass.

  39. 39.

    MikeJ

    December 16, 2008 at 4:14 pm

    obama makes the conspiracy folks run amok.

    That implies that need a reason to run amok. As we saw during the clinton years, if there’s no impropriety, they’ll make some up.

    Fuck them. Who cares what the insane think? You’ll never convince them because they don’t believe what they’re saying to begin with.

  40. 40.

    Bobby J

    December 16, 2008 at 4:15 pm

    you folks are so blinded by your hatred you fail to see things as they are but only as your warped minds want to see things –steve

    But it can be argued that it’s difficult to accept Rove’s words at face value given his history and profession. Let’s face it: the man isn’t as trusted today by too many people, even those who once praised his brilliant performances in 2000 and 2004.

    Kinda like Tom Cruise. We still remember fondly Top Gun. Valkyrie? Who knows? So what.

  41. 41.

    Comrade Jake

    December 16, 2008 at 4:17 pm

    Rove said in 2006 that his math added up to a Republican Senate and a Republican House.

    Atanarjuat guaranteed a McCain victory in 2008.

    These people are much closer to assholes than geniuses.

  42. 42.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 4:18 pm

    @steve:

    Dude, he’s not denying anything! Not a goddamned thing!

    He first stated what he knew for certain: "I didn’t personally talk to him about it."

    Then he stated that he would look into it on his end and see what contacts his people had.

    Then he was ready to release this and the prosecutor asked him to hold up. He complied.

    So I don’t see what the hyperventilating is for, much less Rove’s unsolicited patronizing advice. Besides if I were Obama the only advice I’d take from Rove would be to do the exact opposite of whatever that monkey said.

    Hatred?! You better fucking believe it. I’m pissed off and gettin’ my hate on for those retarded monkeys driving my country into a fucking ditch!

  43. 43.

    Atanarjuat

    December 16, 2008 at 4:21 pm

    Comrade Kevin said:

    Atanarjuat already has his head up his own ass.

    My, my, it seems deplorable things burst out of your own chocolate starfish, CK, including the statement above.

    ObTopic: the previous comments from the usual BJ rabble simply confirm a particular political axiom: when a leftist is confronted with a social or economic issue, the first response is to find a conservative to blame (i.e., Karl Rove, George W. Bush, etc.).

    Every. Single. Time.

    We now return to the regularly scheduled rant from the Great Liberal Hive Mind.

  44. 44.

    shirt

    December 16, 2008 at 4:24 pm

    Bush nicknamed Rove as he did because of the vocal erruptions, not for his anal ones.

  45. 45.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 4:27 pm

    @Atanarjuat: Attanut’s right, we should instead blame the dark-skinned, the homo, the immigrant, the librul, the muslim, the poor, the unions, whatever powerless group we can scapegoat. Every. Single. Time.

    As for hive mind, where do you think these folks practice these insults? On each other because very few people here agree on anything other than the Attanuts of the world took our country into a ditch.

  46. 46.

    Bobby J

    December 16, 2008 at 4:29 pm

    My, my, it seems deplorable things burst out of my chocolate starfish, including everything I’ve ever posted at BJ. Since my backdoor is well-used, though, I didn’t notice its escape.

    On Topic: the previous comments from the usual LGF/Hot Air/Red State/etc. rabble simply confirm a particular political axiom: when a conservative is confronted with a social or economic issue, the first response is to find a liberal to blame (i.e., NObama, Clinton, etc).

    Every. Single. Time.

    We now return to our regularly scheduled lies from the Great Conservative Hive Mind. –Atanarjuat

    Fixt.

  47. 47.

    mak

    December 16, 2008 at 4:33 pm

    Asshattard. Aholesnutsinajar. Attaboynutjob. Atardsnardsinajar. Anardjuttingtard.

  48. 48.

    kay

    December 16, 2008 at 4:34 pm

    @Atanarjuat:

    Why don’t more conservatives distance themselves from Rove?

    He’s become a symbol of what a lot of people think is wrong with the country. Why it doesn’t work.

    Why defend him? He was a paid political hack. He was never elected, and he never served anything other than a narrow partisan self-interest that aligned with his own rise to power.

    Do you owe him? Is that why you can’t cut him loose?

  49. 49.

    r€nato

    December 16, 2008 at 4:34 pm

    These people are much closer to assholes than geniuses.

    Taint that the truth.

  50. 50.

    p.a.

    December 16, 2008 at 4:35 pm

    My favorite Rove was a side-by-side vid on The Daily Show. First from before the Dem convention when Gov. Mark Warner D-Va was mentioned as a vp candidate. Rove: He’s only been gov. 3 years. Before that he was mayor of Richmond, a city of only 200,000. That’s not experience! He’s not qualified to be a heartbeat away!

    Next vid, of course, from the R convention talking about Palin: she’s been gov. 2 years. Before that she was mayor of Alaska’s 2nd largest city. She’s eminently qualified!

    I used to get homicidally pissed with this kind of stuff, and Limbaughism etc. until I realized this institutionalized idiocy is why they are where they are today. Took 4 years too long (actually 2000 should never have happened either- see Greg Palast), but there you are.

  51. 51.

    steve

    December 16, 2008 at 4:37 pm

    hatred is not healthy..moreover, yours is misplaced..

  52. 52.

    Delia

    December 16, 2008 at 4:38 pm

    @passerby:

    Yeah, I expect Newtie’s trying to position himself as the mature and farseeing Republican, as opposed to all the others who can only throw tantrums. All the better to clean up in 2012.

  53. 53.

    Comrade Kevin

    December 16, 2008 at 4:40 pm

    @r€nato:

    Taint that the truth.

    Groan.

  54. 54.

    r€nato

    December 16, 2008 at 4:46 pm

    Rove, a former top White House adviser to President Bush, said on Fox News, “[Obama] should have, right from the beginning, been more forthcoming.”

    …by which Rove means, "Obama should have confessed his guilt and pre-resigned from the presidency, regardless of the facts."

  55. 55.

    kay

    December 16, 2008 at 4:46 pm

    @Delia:

    Newt Gingrich was elected. Granted, it was a long time ago, and he laid low for while, post-power, until he crowned himself Elder Statesman, but he was once representative of someone or something.

    What idea or group of people does Karl Rove represent, on the Right, and why can’t they quit him?

    They hired him. Why can’t they fire him?

  56. 56.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    December 16, 2008 at 4:46 pm

    @steve: hatred is not healthy..moreover, yours is misplaced..

    Who are you addressing?

    Why aren’t you capitalizing or punctuating?

  57. 57.

    r€nato

    December 16, 2008 at 4:47 pm

    My anti-conservative stress was relieved by the election of Barack Hussein Obama on Nov. 4, and it will turn into anti-conservative gloating on January 20.

  58. 58.

    BH-Buck

    December 16, 2008 at 4:49 pm

    What can you add to that, really?

    A fist to his nose? A karate chop to his neck? Lord knows intelligent conversation has never worked.

  59. 59.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    December 16, 2008 at 4:49 pm

    @kay: They hired him. Why can’t they fire him?

    Because then liberals would have been right about something, which never happens.

  60. 60.

    Reverend Dennis

    December 16, 2008 at 4:49 pm

    Why aren’t you capitalizing or punctuating?

    Because he’s posting from an XBox 360?

  61. 61.

    Atanarjuat

    December 16, 2008 at 4:50 pm

    kay said:

    Why don’t more conservatives distance themselves from Rove?
    […]
    Do you owe him? Is that why you can’t cut him loose?

    I’m not defending Karl Rove, kay. A careful re-reading of my first post in this thread will show that I am simply highlighting the knee-jerk tendency of liberals to shoot spitballs at Rove whenever he says… well, just about anything.

    Moreover, I very much doubt you’ll find any conservatives anywhere who are openly championing or defending Karl Rove, much less needing to "cut him loose."

    I’m afraid the passionate attachment — and that’s exactly what it is, a passionate attachment — for Karl Rove can be completely attributed to liberals who, not surprisingly, are also unable to shed their contempt for conservatives in general.

  62. 62.

    Reverend Dennis

    December 16, 2008 at 4:55 pm

    …are also unable to shed their contempt for conservatives in general.

    I might have respect for a conservative if there were any left. The borrow-and-spend, torture-enabling, Constitution-shredding pack of baboons who ran this nation into the ground are not conservatives.

  63. 63.

    kay

    December 16, 2008 at 4:55 pm

    @Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist:

    It’s revealing, though, isn’t it? Rove isn’t a governor, he isn’t in Congress, he was never the President, yet he’s the embodiment of the last 8 years of conservative governance.

    He stopped winning elections three cycles ago, the job for which he was hired, and yet they can’t cut him loose. They owe him, I think.

    They couldn’t have done it without him. That itself speaks volumes about the quality of the ideas, wouldn’t you say?

  64. 64.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 4:56 pm

    @steve: Au contraire, it is therapeutic. I don’t believe in all this new age happiness is healthy crap, particularly if your happy-happy is not based in reality. My ire is targeted right where it needs to be, at the driver of the bus teetering on the cliff. Now I’m more than willing to work with anyone to pull the bus back up on the road, but the damned driver better own up to his piss-poor driving and not blame the loud passengers or the slippery road.

  65. 65.

    Comrade Jake

    December 16, 2008 at 4:56 pm

    Just remember, Atanarjuat guaranteed a McCain victory. He didn’t suggest it was possible, mind you, he guaranteed it.

    This guy deserves about as much attention as Rove does.

  66. 66.

    Atanarjuat

    December 16, 2008 at 4:59 pm

    Reverend Dennis said:

    I might have respect for a conservative if there were any left.

    So, Colin Powell is no longer a conservative, even though he considers himself as such and tells everyone he’s very much a Republican, too?

    Do tell.

  67. 67.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 4:59 pm

    I very much doubt you’ll find any conservatives anywhere who are openly championing or defending Karl Rove

    Messers Hannity and O’Reiley are obvious examples of Rove’s champions.

  68. 68.

    Xecklothxayyquou Gilchrist

    December 16, 2008 at 5:01 pm

    @kay: They couldn’t have done it without him. That itself speaks volumes about the quality of the ideas, wouldn’t you say?

    Indeed. I think you’re right that that’s a big part of why he’s not laughed straight off the TV. In addition, I suspect that a) there’s the spite factor that liberals can’t stand him so he must be good, b) Rove may know a dirty little secret or two, but more than that, c) he’s one of the tribe and therefore an Authority even though he’s never held office.

  69. 69.

    kay

    December 16, 2008 at 5:02 pm

    @Atanarjuat:

    Karl Rove has a column in the Wall Street Journal. He writes an editorial in that paper nearly monthly. He appears on FOX. He’s running the nascent campaign to block the next attorney general, in the US Senate.

    Why is Karl Rove orchestrating the actions of Republican Senators regarding something as serious as the confirmation of the attorney general of the United States?

    Why can’t the people who hired him fire him?

  70. 70.

    Xenos

    December 16, 2008 at 5:03 pm

    Is Powell considered a conservative by anyone in the Conservative Establishment? Has he ever been considered to be anything other than a Rockefeller Republican with some military credentials?

  71. 71.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 5:05 pm

    @Atanarjuat: I’m as conservative as Collin Powell. The point, dear Attanut, is that those who claim they are conservatives, don’t really seem to be consistent with their own claimed philosophy. It is a convenient rubric for their authoritarian groupthink. Even so-called "economic conservatives" seem to only claim it because it’s easy for them to comprehend the idea of a "free market", when they clearly don’t understand the history or the inevitable nasty outcomes of truly free markets.

    Shorter version: the exception that proves the rule.

  72. 72.

    Atanarjuat

    December 16, 2008 at 5:06 pm

    bootlegger said:

    Messers Hannity and O’Reiley are obvious examples of Rove’s champions.

    [Cue the “O RLY?” owl]

    Got a recent example to back your claim, bootlegger?

    And by recent, I mean this VERY month.

    Thanks.

  73. 73.

    Laura W

    December 16, 2008 at 5:07 pm

    @r€nato: You’ve not already started gloating? I came up behind a mini-van on the highway today, bearing at least two McCain/Palin stickers, a huge yellow ribbon, and probably a big flag sticker or the like. A tacky display, to be sure. As I passed on the left with my tasteful little "Obama ’08…Moveon.org" sticker taped to the inside of my back window (it’s not my car), I shouted: "HA!"
    Very distasteful and childish of me.

    Yesterday I realized that every time Obama has a press conference I rush into the living room so I can watch him walk onto the stage and tell the crowd of reporters: "Have a seat, please."
    The thrill of that moment never dies for me.
    "Thank you, Mr. President Elect."
    HA!

  74. 74.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 5:10 pm

    @Atanarjuat: Yep. He was on O’Reilly’s show late last week and Billo was pitching him softballs and at one point asked him "so you agree with me that the press is pretending that the country is going downhill just to make Obama look better…." and Rove said "yes….." (quotes from memory, not exact). I would say that using Rove to confirm his opinion means that Billo still holds him in high regard.
    Then Hannity used him to tag-team the feckless Colmes early last week.

  75. 75.

    kay

    December 16, 2008 at 5:10 pm

    @bootlegger:

    Myth. It’s more than the screamers on FOX.

    Rove gets a forum in Serious Conservative Circles.

    He’s set up shop in the Wall Street Journal.

    He’s also a popular and sought-after speaker, at think tanks.

    No. They continue to hire him, and not the nitwits either. The brain trust.

    They need him.

  76. 76.

    Randall

    December 16, 2008 at 5:12 pm

    The shift key is overrated

  77. 77.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 5:13 pm

    @kay: Oh, I agree, I was just picking low hanging fruit.

  78. 78.

    Atanarjuat

    December 16, 2008 at 5:23 pm

    Laura W said:

    Very distasteful and childish of me.

    And that’s different from being a liberal how?

    bootlegger: wait a minute… an interview on a TV show where Rove is asked his opinion on various matters is "championing and defending" him? And here I thought you were going to provide evidence of Bill O’Reilly actually confronting some dastardly detractor of Karl Rove and telling him that Rove is a national treasure and a hero whose accomplishments are without parallel — or something to that effect.

    I think you’re intentionally confusing any high regard O’Reilly might have for Karl Rove with actual championing and defending. Sorry to to have to inform you of this, bootlegger, but there IS a difference.

    I’ll now await your other example that involves Hannity championing and defending Karl Rove, as you mentioned him, too, as another pro-Rove stalwart.

  79. 79.

    Glenn

    December 16, 2008 at 5:25 pm

    With Karl Rove lecturing Obama about being more forthcoming, in regards to the Blago scandal, we can safely say this whole scandal has now "jumped the shark."

  80. 80.

    Punchy

    December 16, 2008 at 5:26 pm

    OT —

    Peeps apoplectic over on CR after what BenBenacks pulled off today. Since I know so little about ZIRPs and PPTs and ETAs, I just read that shizzle to gauge the FOF (FreakOut Factor). It hit 11 today, natch.

    Those that know seem absolutely scared shizzle-less.

  81. 81.

    Wayne

    December 16, 2008 at 5:29 pm

    Irony so rich it tastes like candy.

  82. 82.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2008 at 5:33 pm

    As an aside, hedge fund managers still pay a top tax rate of 15%.

    The ones who still have jobs, that is. I have no problem with hedge fund managers paying 15% tax on nothing.

  83. 83.

    peoplesrepubliconcoppockroad

    December 16, 2008 at 5:33 pm

    Limbaugh and Rove are the Barry Bonds and Pete Rose in the Enabling Shitheads Hall of Fame. They’ve been reduced to an audience of imbeciles, cheats and gun nuts. Who cares?

  84. 84.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 5:37 pm

    @Atanarjuat: Seriously Attanut? You’re going to parse "defend and champion" as an actual spirited defense of Rove as opposed to having him on the show and using his opinion as an echo chamber?
    Perhaps I should have chose words more carefully because in my world I would only treat someone this way if I was a supporter and defender of that person. Why would I use someone I don’t respect as a sounding board or tag-team partner? So if you think "defend and champion" are not the words to describe Hannity and O’Reilly paling around with Rove, then how about "they obviously still respect him and hold him in high regard"?

  85. 85.

    r€nato

    December 16, 2008 at 5:39 pm

    So, Colin Powell is no longer a conservative, even though he considers himself as such and tells everyone he’s very much a Republican, too?

    Conservative != Republican, especially these days.

    In fact I’d say these days your typical libertarian is far closer to classical conservative values than your typical Republican.

    I grew up reading a lot about conservatism and today’s Republican party bears little resemblance to conservative values.

    Hell, Barry Goldwater saw that 20 years ago and said so.

    If in 1988 you had told a Republican that in 2008 the POTUS would be a man who gained the White House based solely on his family name, who illegally spied on Americans, doubled the national debt during his tenure, assumed the power to deprive Americans of their liberty without due process, greatly expanded the government, assumed the power to interpret laws any way he likes, and broke the military by involving it in an unnecessary foreign war, that Republican would have replied, "Oh no! Ted Kennedy got elected president!"

  86. 86.

    r€nato

    December 16, 2008 at 5:43 pm

    You’ve not already started gloating?

    Nope. Right now I am just enjoying the schadenfreude, letting it wash over me like waves on a beach.

    Indulging in gloating as well could be fatal.

  87. 87.

    Ash Can

    December 16, 2008 at 5:45 pm

    @bootlegger: Actually, there’s nothing conservative about those two wackos.

    @Atanarjuat:

    …the knee-jerk tendency of liberals to shoot spitballs at Rove whenever he says… well, just about anything stupid, which is just about every time he speaks.

    Edited for accuracy.

  88. 88.

    jnfr

    December 16, 2008 at 5:46 pm

    @DJShay:

    Firefox with AdBlock. That is all.

  89. 89.

    Comrade Jake

    December 16, 2008 at 5:48 pm

    @Punchy:

    Yup. The comments are something to behold. "Holy no arrows left in quiver Batman!"

  90. 90.

    J.

    December 16, 2008 at 5:51 pm

    What you need to know about Karl Rove.

  91. 91.

    r€nato

    December 16, 2008 at 5:52 pm

    "Holy no arrows left in quiver Batman!"

    well I am not as well-informed as the CR regulars, and that’s what I said upon reading of this.

    If this doesn’t work… then what?

    Either that or they had to do this because as bad as things are and as bad as it seems things could get before they get better… it could be even worse.

    The Fed hit the panic button today. Short term, great for the markets. Look for a sell-off soon as that sinks in as well as fear over what will be in the 4Q results.

  92. 92.

    Ella in NM

    December 16, 2008 at 5:53 pm

    @Atanarjuat:

    You can add that Karl Rove is every liberal’s favorite punching bag.

    Kinda like how OJ Simpson? How he’s a punching bag? Cause he got away with murder? Kinda like that?

  93. 93.

    bago

    December 16, 2008 at 5:55 pm

    Just so everyone knows, Atanjurat is a spoof created by Brachiator.

  94. 94.

    Atanarjuat

    December 16, 2008 at 5:58 pm

    Sorry, r€nato, but Colin Powell is very much a conservative Republican, no matter how much you try muddy the waters of truth on his political identity. However, if you happen to have a video clip or interview transcript you can pass along that has Powell stating, in so many words, that he’s somehow a non-conservative Republican — or something else equally contradictory.

    Bootlegger: I finally noticed the infantile "Attanut" name-calling you’ve been using to address me, so I’ll make this my last comment to you in this thread.

    Yes, I’m very much in agreement with you: "championing and defending" is NOT identical to "respecting and holding in high regard." And there’s nothing wrong with either O’Reilly or Hannity expressing such a sentiment vis-a-vis Karl Rove. This does not at all mean that they’re somehow Rove’s lieutenants who attack anyone who dares question the integrity of Mr. Rove, or that they’re out there spreading the good word of He Who Shall Save Conservatism, Blessed Be His Name.

    Enough with the jackalope tangents, please.

  95. 95.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 6:00 pm

    @Ash Can: Other than their claims to be conservatives (Hannity) and not liberal (O’Reily). But yeah, they’re no more philosophical conservatives than Bush, Rove and practically anyone with an (R) beside the name. Actually, only wild-man Ron Paul can lay claim to true conservative principles.

  96. 96.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 6:00 pm

    @Ash Can: Other than their claims to be conservatives (Hannity) and not liberal (O’Reily). But yeah, they’re no more philosophical conservatives than Bush, Rove and practically anyone with an (R) beside the name. Actually, only wild-man Ron Paul can lay claim to true conservative principles.

  97. 97.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 6:00 pm

    @Ash Can: Other than their claims to be conservatives (Hannity) and not liberal (O’Reily). But yeah, they’re no more philosophical conservatives than Bush, Rove and practically anyone with an (R) beside the name. Actually, only wild-man Ron Paul can lay claim to true conservative principles.

  98. 98.

    Comrade Jake

    December 16, 2008 at 6:02 pm

    There’s some irony with Atanarjuat demanding that we end the jackalope tangents. Good times.

  99. 99.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 6:02 pm

    Triple post! A new record!

    Well, if the Attanut fits….

    But thanks for agreeing that, in fact, Rove has many supporters among so-called conservatives, which is the point we were debating. FTW!

  100. 100.

    Steve V

    December 16, 2008 at 6:04 pm

    @steve:
    1. You’re saying Rahm would be in legal hot water if he didn’t report any untoward statements by Blago? What crime would that be? 2. Also, I’m sure everybody on the Obama team was well aware that Blagojevich was already under investigation and knew that he basically was radioactive. The funny thing would be if team Obama was coordinating with prosecutors from the start, something which I think isn’t completely unlikely.

  101. 101.

    jake 4 that 1

    December 16, 2008 at 6:04 pm

    Just remember, Atanarjuat guaranteed a McCain victory. He didn’t suggest it was possible, mind you, he guaranteed it.

    I think Anaturdsquat posts as The Truth over at Sadly, No!

    In his defense, he seems to have scared Paul L. away.

  102. 102.

    libarbarian

    December 16, 2008 at 6:13 pm

    Stop Feeding the Trolls.

    That guy must have such fun baiting you dudes

  103. 103.

    bootlegger

    December 16, 2008 at 6:18 pm

    @libarbarian: Sorry, I have to feed the Trolls, I feel so sorry for them all wet and hungry, whining for some attention. Who wouldn’t be moved by such pitiful displays?

  104. 104.

    jake 4 that 1

    December 16, 2008 at 6:27 pm

    That guy must have such fun baiting you dudes

    He’s ‘baiting all right.

  105. 105.

    Chuck Butcher

    December 16, 2008 at 6:49 pm

    It is pretty funny to watch Assinhat essentially cry "guilt by association." In fact it is pretty funny to watch him accuse "liberals" of the Republican tactics and complain about it as it doesn’t happen.

    He makes it so easy, and then whines about not being taken seriously by the people who’ve put up with at least 8yrs of what he’s on about – more nearly 30yrs.

  106. 106.

    Joshua Norton

    December 16, 2008 at 6:57 pm

    The American people are still waiting for Rove to be transparent in the Plame situation. Not only weren’t Rove and the Bushies NOT transparent, they invented their own secret branch of government.

  107. 107.

    Reverend Dennis

    December 16, 2008 at 6:58 pm

    "Holy no arrows left in quiver Batman!"

    Well, they could start paying banks to borrow from the Fed. One of the many spooky parts of this situation is that the Japanese tried the same thing when the Bubble Economy tanked. It didn’t work then either and the Japanese economy is in some ways still feeling the effects of the bubble’s collapse.
    My guess is that the Bush Legacy will be about a decade and a half of very hard times followed by a decade of merely hard times.

  108. 108.

    Joshua Norton

    December 16, 2008 at 7:00 pm

    “[Obama] should have, right from the beginning, been more forthcoming.”

    I only wear a size 10 1/2. Could someone lend me a couple 14’s?

  109. 109.

    Reverend Dennis

    December 16, 2008 at 7:09 pm

    @Joshua Norton:
    I will loan you my famous Junk-Seeking Boot.

  110. 110.

    Bokonon

    December 16, 2008 at 7:15 pm

    Every word that comes out of Karl Rove’s mouth is issued for political effect, not for truth. Rove is just sheparding the media narrative and providing talking points to the dispirited party faithful.

    And reality (let alone fairness, morality, or standards of hypocrisy) have got nothing to do with it.

    Still, it makes me want to puke.

  111. 111.

    The Moar You Know

    December 16, 2008 at 7:35 pm

    The Fed hit the panic button today. Short term, great for the markets.

    @r€nato: Except that it wasn’t great for the markets. The markets are, at this point, kinda like Terri Schiavo – they twitch and sometimes moan a little if you jab ’em with a stick, but that’s all they can do.

    The analogy can be taken further in that they are on life support (from the Fed), slowly going downhill, and as soon as we run out of money to feed them with, they’re going to die.

    We’re not even, as the famous Churchill quote goes, at "the end of the beginning". Japan lost more than a decade of economic growth when they chose the suicidal policy of destroying savers by taking their interest rates to 0%. We have just chosen the same course of action. Of course, to make this moire entertaining, we’re now experiencing deflation.

    How many people here can take a 5% pay cut per year for the next decade?

  112. 112.

    The Moar You Know

    December 16, 2008 at 7:41 pm

    Well, they could start paying banks to borrow from the Fed.

    @Reverend Dennis: Banks now get to borrow at 0% and relend at 5%. That’s payment. Not to mention that Paulson has issued guarantees to the tune of about 3 trillion dollars for a bunch of banks.

    They’ve stolen pretty much all the liquid cash, are sitting on it, and they’re not lending – and why would they? Would you? Hell, if they play their cards right they’ll own us all – literally.

  113. 113.

    everywhere

    December 16, 2008 at 7:44 pm

    He wasn’t called Turdblossom for nothing.

  114. 114.

    Reverend Dennis

    December 16, 2008 at 7:49 pm

    @The Moar You Know:
    They will. The one bright spot is that the carry trade has once again become viable. That won’t help more than a few of us but a few of the rich will become richer.

  115. 115.

    Broken

    December 16, 2008 at 9:56 pm

    Next Right-Wing Meme:

    Okay so Obama has no involvment in Pay-to-Play, why didn’t he turn Blagogevich in? Why didn’t Obama report Blago and Rezko a long time ago? Why didn’t Obama clean up all of Chicago? Will this crushing failure doom him?

  116. 116.

    Mike in NC

    December 16, 2008 at 10:48 pm

    We now return to the regularly scheduled rant from the Great Liberal Hive Mind

    This comes from the pinheads who heaped death threats on Chris Buckley, Kathleen Parker, and anybody else who refused to rush to embrace the laughable Cult of Palin and got banned from several so-called conservative outlets like NRO as a result.

  117. 117.

    Phoenix Woman

    December 16, 2008 at 10:54 pm

    Ata’s just nutty:

    Actually, Colin Powell spent most of the last two decades being crapped on by conservatives like you in some way or another. He tried to put the brakes on the PNAC Platoon, but failed.

  118. 118.

    binzinerator

    December 17, 2008 at 2:08 am

    What can you add to that, really?

    Karl Rove is a fat greasy little fuck.

  119. 119.

    AnneLaurie

    December 17, 2008 at 4:10 am

    Why does anyone still provide Karl "you’re entitled to your math and I’m entitled to my math" Rove with a platform?

    I figure some combination of "The Media Village Idiots need a never-ending supply of noisy shiny novelties to feed their various addictions" and "Rove has NSA shots of every politician above the rank of school superintendent doing something they don’t want made public."
    To quote the great Roy Edroso, both Stupid and Evil — the only question is the percentage of each.

  120. 120.

    El Cid

    December 17, 2008 at 6:04 am

    Unfortunately, AnnLaurie and I presume Roy Edroso are expressing a partially optimistic view: i.e., the hope that if the NSA didn’t have dirt on all the Village idiots, then maybe there’s a chance that they would behave and report better.

    The sadder, and more realistic possibility, is that they behave the way they do and write and say what they do because it’s how they like behaving and what they like writing & saying.

    I wish the former were true, because then I could hope that someday when the NSA had nothing on these people, they’d do better. But that isn’t the case, and they won’t.

    So I’ll side with 0% of the NSA-threat possibility for Village idiots. Now, on maybe a few real investigative journalists, I might give you that. But not the publishers and punditocracy.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. Too Far Gone « Beware The Man says:
    December 16, 2008 at 8:09 pm

    […] Cole on the truly execrable Karl Rove. John does great stuff daily. Again, this stuff seems pretty clear to me. I was 70% cash when the […]

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • Steeplejack on Late Night Open Thread: Sam Bigly Fraud Bankman-Fried, Still Grinding His Grifts (Mar 30, 2023 @ 1:26am)
  • YY_Sima Qian on I’ll Never Get Used to It (Mar 30, 2023 @ 1:20am)
  • HumboldtBlue on Late Night Open Thread: Sam Bigly Fraud Bankman-Fried, Still Grinding His Grifts (Mar 30, 2023 @ 1:14am)
  • David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch on I’ll Never Get Used to It (Mar 30, 2023 @ 1:06am)
  • kalakal on Late Night Open Thread: Sam Bigly Fraud Bankman-Fried, Still Grinding His Grifts (Mar 30, 2023 @ 1:05am)

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Seattle Meetup coming up on April 4!

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
We All Need A Little Kindness
Classified Documents: A Primer
State & Local Elections Discussion

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
TaMara
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Join the Fight!

Join the Fight Signup Form
All Join the Fight Posts

Balloon Juice Events

5/14  The Apocalypse
5/20  Home Away from Home
5/29  We’re Back, Baby
7/21  Merging!

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!