Karl Rove in the doghouse? You betcha.

 

"Wha?" twittered Cubachi in response to a midmorning tweet on something we'd just seen on Fox:

FASCINATING. Karl Rove on Martha MacCallum's show is telegraphing free political advice to Christine O'Donnell & says he'd told RNSC to promise her funding.

"It must be the new social-networking thing," we tossed back. Hell hath no fury, and Rove's scorning of the freshly minted Delaware Republican Senate nominee on Hannity Tuesday night had loosed the Hounds of Hell amongst the candidates and their supporters. O'Donnell mentor Sarah Palin was the first among equals, the Mama Grizzly rearing up to face down the unteachable old dogs who would savage O'Donnell's reputation. In case you missed it, TPM has a handy blow-by-blow of this new kind of televised debate: 

O'Donnell's nomination has created deep divisions between the Republican Party and right-wing activists [TPM's tendentious term for Tea Partiers]. Last night, Rove bashed O'Donnell — and her chances of being elected — and insisted that she's said a lot of "nutty things." He was attacked by some right-wingers for those comments. O'Donnell whacked him back in a televised interview this morning. And then Rove responded to O'Donnell and his right-wing critics, daring them to 'prove me wrong.' Then Palin slammed Rove. Now it's Limbaugh's turn.

Rove tried to spin it in his favor on Fox this morning, not realizing a seismic shift had occurred while DC slept:

She's got a shot to win, but it's got to be passionate and factual and hard-hitting …

My job as a Fox analyst is to call it as I see it. My job is not to be a cheerleader for every Republican. Now I've got a different role outside my Fox role, and that's where I'm raising 50 million dollars to elect Republicans to the Senate.

Reportedly a behind-the-scenes consultant for O'Donnell's primary opponent Mike Castle, Rove was already limping badly last night when alpha grizzly Sarah went for the jugular: 

[Christine O'Donnell's] going to have to learn very quickly to dismiss what some of her handlers want. Remember what happened to me in the VP. Remember I used to have to sneak in my phone calls to you guys … She’s gonna have to dismiss that, go with her gut, get out there, speak to the American people, speak through FOX News and let the Independents who are tuning in to you, let them know what it is that she stands for, the principles behind her positions …

Some of these good old boys — and I have nothing against Karl Rove personally, yanno, he's the "expert" [finger gestures quotation marks] — but, Bill, some of these folks, they are saying that people like Christine O'Donnell and others, Tea Party Americans can't win because they don't want them to win. Because they know that a Christine O'Donnell, a Joe Miller from Alaska … These folks are gonna shake it up, and they are going to do what's right for America, not necessarily what's right for a political party machine.

This robust new form of political debate — spread out over days and weeks and months, disintermediating the moribund "gateway media" by exploiting the panoply of old and new media — will surely be the death knell of the stilted, you-will-each-have-five-minutes-for-your-reply affairs that still pass for televised debates.

The last word goes to our friend and sometime mentor Dan Riehl, who diagnosed the underlying cause of Karl Rove Syndrome last night on the Tammy Bruce Radio Podcast:

I think it's a combination of arrogance, ignorance and a lust for power and an egotism, that they believe they are so smart and so above everything that they can say and do whatever they want. 

Follow the money: O'Donnell raised over 1 million dollars online yesterday. Talk about disintermediating the powers that be through the internet! Go here to sweeten that pot.

Update: Scott Ott of Scrappleface and PJMTVs "Trifecta" in full disintermediation mode on Twitter:

Listening to DanRiehl interviewed by HeyTammyBruce on ChristineOD victory. Why do I enjoy this more than MSM?

Update II: Michelle Malkin "Buzzworthy" link.

Update III: Larwyn's Linx at Doug Ross Journal links.

Crossposted at Riehl World View and Liberty Pundits.

Comments

[goomp]

Let us hope the revolution stays bloodlees

[Realsaveliberty]

Sissy, you are fabulous!

Governor Chris Christie, who is wonderful, campaigned for Castle. Castle was a bad candidate and campaigner. We love Governor Christie, even when we don't agree with him.

Respectfully, I think that Rove got mad. Remember all of the grief that GWB had heaped on him. It was bearable because we all knew that GWB was trying his best and that he was an ethical person at heart. And we know that he didn't have a problem facing adversity.

I'm not defending his over the top rant, but I am wondering if that's what he was thinking.

Thank you, Sissy!

[tommy mc donnell]

rove is always on television talking about how bad obama is with all his spending. well thats what bush did too. rove is always acting they were the good guys now. just because obama is worse, that doesn't make rove and bush good on spending. he is part of the big government spending that has incumbent republicans in trouble as well as democrats.

[WooHooYoo]

I tweeted to Rove that he was rewriting history by saying the NRSC did NOT say they would not fund O'Donnell Tuesday night. Bret Baier did report the withholding of NRSC funding citing two sources at the NRSC on both twitter and facebook. Interestingly, Karl has not replied;) But then I am just an ordinary barbarian...
Rove is off his meds. Also, as a FNC analyst I do not recall him saying one word about O'Donnell's opponent,the self proclaimed Marxist, Democrat Coons. What happened to fair and balanced? Something personal triggered this unprofessional outburst and it is remarkable that he doubled down today.I do not think this is strategy.

[KingShamus]

Karl Rove could've recused himself from commenting on O'Donnell/Castle long before he went on-air. That would've been the fair thing to do.

Why he didn't is anybody's guess.

[Gayle Miller]

Personally, I suspect male menopause! Even Uncle Karl is not exempt.

Seriously, the so-called "big tent" Republicans who have been running the Party (into the ground in some cases) forever are seeing their era come to an end and they don't like it one bit.

I'm amused to recall the over-the-top calumnies heaped upon Rove during GWB's first term. To hear the Left tell it, Karl Rove was Machiavelli reborn, Satan's better looking older brother - you name it, they said it. And suddenly, they're expecting people to take every single thing Rove says as gospel?!

If you're looking for consistency, never apply to a Democrat!

[Meadow]

You may want to change 'juguar' to 'jugular', unless you are talking about the very large cat (jaguar)

You can also delete this post :)

[Sissy Willis]

Meadow: Thanks for the typo alert.

You'd never know I competed in the State Spelling Bee in my youth (fell down on "colossal").

Correction made. :)

[Teresa]

Out with the old big spenders (no matter what party they claim they belong to) and in with the new small government representatives.

They may not be able to accomplish everything they want, but both of the entrenched, fat cat parties need to be shaken to their core and even completely replaced.

I'm liking this tea party movement.