Karl Rove Goes Toe-to-Toe with Matt Lauer on Today
When NBC's Matt Lauer threw out the tired, overused, standard media line, on Friday's Today show, that the public is tired of all the "vitriol" and wants the Republicans to just work with Barack Obama and the Democrats, his guest, Karl Rove, threw Obama's words back in Lauer's face as he pointed out it was the President who called Republicans "enemies." When Lauer asked if the GOP could advance their agenda "without personally attacking Obama" Rove responded that Republicans could work with the President but it was he, who needed to tamp down the rhetoric, as the former George W. Bush senior adviser reminded Lauer: "It was the President out there saying to a Latino radio station, 'We need to punish our enemies and reward our friends.'"
The following is the relevant exchange as it was aired on the November 5 Today show:
(video after the jump)
MATT LAUER: Karl Rove served as senior adviser to President George W. Bush, and his book Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight is now out on paper back. Congratulations on that Karl, good to have you back.
[On screen headline: "Political Architect, Rove On GOP, Tea Party, O'Donnell, Palin & Bush"]
KARL ROVE: Good to be back.
LAUER: So I know you worked closely with outside Republican groups in this election, you got a lot of money into races that you thought were very winnable. 2004, George Bush said you were the architect. Were you an architect of this big win for Republicans on Tuesday?
ROVE: Well, I don't - look others can apply the labels. I just had a lot of fun being involved in American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS and our efforts to help elect more Republicans.
LAUER: It was a thumping for Democrats, no question about it, on Tuesday in-
ROVE: Oh absolutely.
LAUER: -in the House and the Senate, in some governors races across the country. I thought it was interesting what you wrote in an op-ed yesterday, and let me read some of that for people. "Republicans must not delude themselves: The voters didn't win throw out the Democrats because they're enraptured with the GOP. The polling data suggests that many voters, while warming to the party, still remain nervous about it. Republicans are on probation and whether they get off it depends on whether they do what they said sad they would do on the campaign trail. What do they need to do?
ROVE: Well they need to, they need to attack Obamacare everywhere they can. They need to ratchet down the spending, and attack the deficit. They need to extend the tax cuts and they need to have a pro growth agenda. It's not just simply enough to say, "We're gonna stop doing the bad things that the American people clearly want to have stopped." It's also important for them to lay out an agenda that encourages prosperity and jobs and economic growth.
LAUER: Can they attack Obamacare and these other things, without personally attacking Obama or do they go hand in hand? I think the people are sending a message, they're tired of the vitriol-
ROVE: Yeah.
LAUER: They want the parties to work together. Can they accomplish that?
ROVE: Sure, absolutely. That's part of the reason why the Republican sweep was so big because people talked about the facts and the specifics of it. And it was the President out there saying to a Latino radio station, "We need to punish our enemies and reward our friends." Interesting study done by Wesleyan University that pointed out that of the negative ads done this year, the vast majority of the Republican ads were either devoted exclusively to policy questions or policy and personnel, personal questions whereas most of the Democrat ads were aimed personally at Republican candidates.
LAUER: You, you talk about the President's indelicate use of the word "enemies," but both sides have been guilty of these things. Mitch McConnell, even just admits that-
ROVE: Yeah.
LAUER: -that he should not have said that "Our priority number one is to make Obama a one-term president." We understand what he meant, but do the Republicans have to send a different sign? That it's not about President Obama. That it's about changing course.
ROVE: It's about President Obama's policies. Absolutely it's about President Obama's policies. And look there is no moral equivalency between what President Obama did for months and months and months during this campaign, excoriating the Republicans, and the Republicans having a very focused attack on his policies. It was President Obama who said, "Oh we're welcome to have those Republicans come along with us, but they ought to be riding in the back." Anybody who says - you know if there's one person in America who ought to be keenly aware of any kind of metaphor that says people ought to be riding in the back of a moving vehicle, that's this President of the United States.
—Geoffrey Dickens is the Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here
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Comments
Not just policies, his agenda
Submitted by jon_torlin on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 12:43pm.
ROVE: It's about President Obama's policies.
It's not just the policies. It's about his agenda, Obeyme said it himself "I'm not on the ballot, but my agenda is." His agenda needs to be stopped dead in its tracks and REVERSED. There should be no working with him, compromising with him, nothing. When you have someone there pushing an agenda that NO ONE WANTED, and implement it anyway, that makes him an enemy of the people.
His statement alone about the redistribution of wealth makes him an enemy of the people.
-Jon
Obama will be on the ballot
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 1:55pm.
Obama will be on the ballot in two short/long years and there will be many facts coming out before then. Viva la Revolution
Obama's pep talk to MoveOn....
Submitted by motherbelt on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 3:28pm.
If Lauer, or anyone else, thinks Obama is going to compromise on anything after this election, they need to hear this message from him to MoveOn.org:
Obama to MoveOn...Full Speed Ahead
The gist: We knew it wasn't going to be easy, (because no one likes what we're trying to do), and it just got harder (because the peasants are strating to fight back). So we need to take all the time we need to defeat them....
Heard his call on radio
Submitted by MaximusBraveheart on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 10:50pm.
A Christian radio station covered that in Dallas. I think I was on 90.5FM AFA on Friday.
-- Maximusbraveheart -- Is TRUTH knowable? Moral Relativism is the abandonment of Truth. Truth is knowable. Truth conforms to Reality. Reality is observable by evidence & witness in this day & from history. Relativism is Sesame Street play land.
It would have been nice if
Submitted by mattm on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 12:47pm.
It would have been nice if Lauer would have had this interview on about October 29th, and it also would have been nice if Karl would have been that motivated in defending O'Donnell and Angle, but then, I ask too much....I guess.
Help Me Out Here, Matty?
Submitted by bigdaddy on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 12:51pm.
Who was it that said,
"Elections have consequences!"
and
"The election is over and we won!"
I'll wait, you won't have to go too far in the "Wayback Machine"...
Dude, my hand is raised....
Submitted by Tomorama on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 1:01pm.
Big Daddy, I KNOW, I KNOW..........
MEAN Republicans win, "How are they going to get along wit da wittle innocent america lovin' Democrats"?
When sweet innocent Democrats win, "America is a great country and these great people have showed that they REJECT what those bastard Republicans want to do".
Rove was excellent here, I have been a little pissed at him lately, BUT, he did help a lot of GOOD REPUBLICANS win around the country and that can't BE UNDERSTATED.
Matty, real simple skippy and even you can understand - F U.
Every time I see Karl Rove on
Submitted by marpel on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 1:13pm.
Every time I see Karl Rove on TV, I learn something. He's a great resource in politics, no doubt. Good Texas Boy that he is. As much as I would have liked to see him back all the GOP candidates, I can understand why he would not back O'Donnell and Angle. I think those two would have done great in DC, but they were HORRIBLE campaigners. No matter what, that's just as important..because the campaign was their job interview. They blew it. Not Karl Rove.
"Deep within my heart lies a memory. A song of ol' San Antone..."
No real Texan
Submitted by jon_torlin on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 1:22pm.
I wouldn't call him a good Texas boy and I'm from Texas.
What he did was publicly denounce someone on the side of the Republicans first and foremost rather than attempt to help campaign for her to win in Christie O'Donnel's case. He helped the enemy. Had he campaigned for her and she lost anyway, then we know where the people stand. As it is, we'll never know what could have happened.
Same thing with Angle.
Sure, there can be "understanding" about what he did and why, but it still helped the enemy, especially Reid in this case, for God's sake. I would not forgive him for that.
-Jon
I agree, j-t
Submitted by Galvanic on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 1:49pm.
Rove is a brilliant political strategist and tactician, and he appears to be (for the most part) a conservative.
But he is first and foremost a Republican, and his focus is on the GOP. His political pragmatism led him to shun Angle and O'Donnell as weaker than the less-conservative candidates he would've preferred, because his eye was on regaining control of the Senate.
Rove was aiming for winning the war in one battle, and given the unpopularity of the GOP, that was just to big a bite to chew. Naturally, he's worried about unforeseeable events that could reverse or at least mitigate the gains, as Clinton did on Gingrich with triagulation.
But this is different phenomena. It's grass roots Republicans, independents, and even some Democrats who repudiated Obama-ism, and what he needs to do is:
Step 1:
Step 2: 2012 Elections
I'm with you on this, Jon.
Submitted by ML Stovall on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 2:12pm.
I'm with you on this, Jon. And besides, Rove isn't really even from Texas - not that we'd claim him anyway. He's actually originally from the same small town in Nevada from which Dingy Harry slithered forth.
I'm from Texas, born and
Submitted by marpel on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 5:50pm.
I'm from Texas, born and raised, and I still think he's a good Texas boy. You may not agree with him and that's fine. But, he does have the birthright of a Texan.
"Deep within my heart lies a memory. A song of ol' San Antone..."
Yes the campaigners blew it
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 1:58pm.
Yes the campaigners blew it but Rove should have made more of an effort to help them get their act together. But Rove wanted them to fail.
Yes GOP first.
Submitted by MaximusBraveheart on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 3:14pm.
Agree that makes me not trust him. And for good, proven reason now. He needs to change his loyalty to the conservative principals vs. the party. That needs to overtake the RINO REPS & remove them from power. Only then will the REP party stand for something that will HELP the Country over the very long term. Freedom has no bounds. We can do great things for ALL people. Government was NOT the solution. That is proven. Opportunity, freedom, low taxes, simplicty of regulation, stability ARE the answer.
-- Maximusbraveheart -- Is TRUTH knowable? Moral Relativism is the abandonment of Truth. Truth is knowable. Truth conforms to Reality. Reality is observable by evidence & witness in this day & from history. Relativism is Sesame Street play land.
Rove's mistake was not to keep his mouth shut ...
Submitted by jawebster1 on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 2:05pm.
when it came to Republican candidates he didn't like. He hurt the O'Donnell campaign. She might have lost anyway, but she deserved better support from 'so-called' Republicans.
I am personally just about as
Submitted by Captain Repus on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 1:24pm.
I am personally just about as sick of seeing Rove's face on my TV as I am of Geraldo and increasingly of O'Reilly. The three of them are becoming almost as obnoxious as the crew of morons on MSDNC. Rove, take your childish whiteboard and trade it in for an EtchASketch and go draw some new opinions, then keep them to yourself.
No doubt about it Captain. O'
Submitted by ML Stovall on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 2:02pm.
No doubt about it Captain. O' Reilly seems to get more and more smug every time I see him. And for some reason he sees it as his duty to defend Obama. I don't get it. Maybe he's sucking up trying to score another interview. Whatever. Also, have you noticed recently that after he asks a question he never lets the other person answer before he's interrupting with his usual bloviating BS?! I know he's always done this to some extent but lately it's been over-the-top ridiculous. And don't get me started about that little liberal worm Geraldo...
Rove is so stupid. It takes
Submitted by snaggletoothie on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 1:57pm.
Rove is so stupid. It takes a master of politics like Lauer to understand that the main goal of any member of the Republican leadership is to re-elect as many Democrats as possible. It's a good thing that NBC will spend the money to corral the real brain power.
Lauer should know better than to 'confront' Rove ...
Submitted by jawebster1 on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 2:01pm.
'man to man'. He should have done what Liberals usually do. (Wait until the interview is over and attack him only when he can't answer back.)
The question Matt Lauer didn't ask (hee hee)
Submitted by Gary Hall on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 5:05pm.
The question Matt Lauer didn't ask (hee hee):
Matt Laurer: Many, on both sides of the isle, have noted that this president is thin skinned, arrogant, divisive, and from the beginning refused to honestly reach out across the isle to forge compromises as President Bush did when he came in and had inherited such a mess from the Clinton economic crash. Do you think the results of this election are calling that into attention?
Rove: Code Blue - Code Blue - help - gasp.
(;~> gary
Don't make excuses for Rove
Submitted by TheHistorian on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 5:16pm.
You say that Rove is aconservative, a "traditional Republican", and just wants the Republicans to win? Then why did he open his yap AFTER O'Donnell won (he ran his mouth on September 14; she was elected earlier. There was no excuse as a political operative to do this to help the Republican Party win in DE. The only thing this might help is to preserve the current "insider" Republicans from being further challenged by "nutty" Tea Partyers.
Quit making excuses for Rove; as far as I am concerned, he showed that in the Republican party, he will align with the big money bluebloods. It is my personal goal to make sure that group disappears from power in the Republican party.
Dennis Prager
I don't think I'm ready to
Submitted by the struggler on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 7:44pm.
I don't think I'm ready to throw Rove under the bus or off the team for a perceived lapse.Dang.If he said he was sorry and begged for forgiveness and promised to go away forever would that make everyone feel better.Maybe burn him at the stake.
As is written here, Rove is
Submitted by Chris Norman on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 10:04pm.
As is written here, Rove is first and formost a Republican. He's not a tea party-er. He addressed the viability of O'Donnell as an political analyst for Fox News - not as a spokesman for the O'Donnell campaign. Rove is entitled to his opinion without being denounced by the zealots for a woman most of didn't know existed before a few months ago. Christine O'Donnell never did have a snow ball's chance in hell of winning in a navy blue state like Delaware. Rove didn't hurt her campaign and he raised and spent millions of dollars helping many conservatives get elected. Get over it.
I dissagree Chris
Submitted by Boudin on Fri, 11/05/2010 - 10:26pm.
Christine O'Donnell never did have a snow ball's chance in hell of winning in a navy blue state like Delaware.
Now Rove's comments sure didnt help, and he certainly got the bash O'Donnell ball rolling. But I think if the RNC would had supported her, if she wasnt demonized by the national media as if she were evil, and if she would had received support from fellow Repubs she could had won. In-fact I think a good conservative can win anywhere, as long as the playing field isnt turned upside down, like O'Donnell had to deal with.
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