tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22183958.post2783349423583107680..comments2023-12-24T15:36:16.969-05:00Comments on Chuck for ...: Machiavellian PoliticsChuck Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13656874242638324636noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22183958.post-45053630219125691002007-03-30T01:17:00.000-04:002007-03-30T01:17:00.000-04:00I definitely defer to Les regarding Newt, he's see...I definitely defer to Les regarding Newt, he's seen this up close. There's little doubt Newt is a prick personally and a cutthroat politically, but what he set in motion lasted until Nov 06 and Rove's come-uppance. Rove hasn't paid personally and he may not, but his Party sure has and will.<BR/><BR/>I'm serious about Rove, if you track what's befallen the Rs over the last 2 years, it all falls back on Rovian politics.<BR/><BR/>BTW, I don't get a lot of comments, but I'm impressed with the Roster, thanks.Chuck Butcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13656874242638324636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22183958.post-47652253801218519032007-03-30T01:09:00.000-04:002007-03-30T01:09:00.000-04:00Les and Jeff make overlapping points regarding Rov...Les and Jeff make overlapping points regarding Rove's "genius." I don't agree that it is genius, there is a street cunning cut-throat quality to Rove that works in the short run. That short run is the key to my disagreement. An armed robber at a convenience store has money when he gets out of the door but he has set in motion a series of events which will end in disaster, sure, he's got bucks for awhile but the outcome is very nearly guaranteed and it sucks. This is not genius, it's thuggery. It works because most people are not thugs and they don't look for it or know how to deal with it, even partisans don't look. As for the 2nd Bush election, that race was Kerry's to lose, and he managed it. Sure, he had help doing it, unfortunately some of it was his own hired help. <BR/><BR/>While I despise the Newt, I also believe most of his downfall was a direct outcome of his personal life view rather than political machinations gone south. I'm pretty sure he's quite a bit smarter than Karl, he worries me more than Rove as well.<BR/><BR/>I don't know Kiss, currently the Dems are playing this well. They've put the Prez & Republicans in a fairly neat box, I don't envy them, it'll be a tough exit from this one. The prez will veto the military funding, the repubs will sustain it, the dems could send another essentially identical bill through, same/same, and then give him the money stringless, except the clear statement that he was given 2 chances to get out, he wouldn't, the dems refuse to harm the troops in the face of his lunacy; and the Republicans OWN the disaster, now until memories fade. The problem is not political, it is the deaths and injuries over the next 2 years.<BR/><BR/>I don't think Rove learned anything from Dick.Chuck Butcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13656874242638324636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22183958.post-46063286102616018612007-03-29T13:58:00.000-04:002007-03-29T13:58:00.000-04:00Good to see another reader of "The Prince" I alway...Good to see another reader of "The Prince" I always enjoyed the part of what face to show to the crowd and which one to never let the crowd see.While the dimmos are exacting blood from Rove as with Gingrich, let us not forget the Daily Chicago machines and good ol Bubba.Like FDR, Buba was a master at calling a bluff and playing victim when necessary, and promoting enemies to a vapid position. The Shrub has little inclination of what is happening, the same as Reagan. While dimmos slept Rove has masterminded a take-over of government and the dimmos seem powerless to prevent more from happening. Only the destitution of the populace will change direction in 2008. Not the incompetent dimmos that have held office way too long. like the Schummersand Kennedy's are blocks of incompetence. I'm hopping the new breed of dimmos are more astute and demanding than the weak-knee [she who must be served]Pelosi.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22183958.post-15071114522219294422007-03-29T13:04:00.000-04:002007-03-29T13:04:00.000-04:00How much did Rove learn from Dick Tuck?That said, ...How much did Rove learn from Dick Tuck?<BR/><BR/>That said, Tuck's stuff always had a touch of humor about it. Rove's humorless.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22183958.post-55958267473207485992007-03-29T12:42:00.000-04:002007-03-29T12:42:00.000-04:00I'd make a distinction about Rove's genius. He is...I'd make a distinction about Rove's genius. He is clearly a genius at elective politics. He managed to get Dubya elected twice, partly through hardball, but also by building an impressive machine. He managed to take a guy who should have very little popular support, based on his resume and accomplishment, and get him elected to the governor's mansion and then the White House. (Yeah, he gamed the system, too--also smart.)<BR/><BR/>But where he was stunningly boneheaded was his manipulation of public policy. He thought he could use laws to reward patrons and punish foes and that this would never bite the WH in the ass. He was half right. Now we're seeing what six years of this has wrought. It's a lesson for Dems--hire the street fighters to get you elected and then ban them from entering the building until you are running again.Jeff Alworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02930119177544342495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22183958.post-52669187367664942402007-03-29T04:58:00.000-04:002007-03-29T04:58:00.000-04:00Chuck,I'm one who has called Rove--and Gingrich--"...Chuck,<BR/><BR/>I'm one who has called Rove--and Gingrich--"evil geniuses." It's not only that they are willing to use any means to their ends. It's the lethal way they chose to use those means.<BR/><BR/>Of course, evil geniuses can fall, as did Gingrich (although no wooden stake was proverbially plunged into his heart and we can look for him to try to rise again in the 2008 presidential election if he sees an opening. And Rove may yet fall.<BR/><BR/>But I saw the evil genius of Gingrich when he took down House Speaker Jim Wright (whom Newt said he had to destroy because Wright had the makings of a modern day Henry Clay). The so-called Contract with America was also a masterstroke--a terrible one for the poor, the infirm, the middle class, veterans, and just about everyone except Yacht club millionaires.<BR/><BR/>And Rove's diabolical but deft decision to use the worker unionization issue in the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (just one of many examples) succeeded portraying one Saxby Chambliss more patriotic than Democratic Senator Max Cleland, a multiple amputee and veteran of Vietnam.<BR/><BR/>Just my thoughts.<BR/><BR/>Always enjoy visiting your blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com