Karl Rove: Not very popular

Mark, how popular are/were James Carville or Paul Begala? Why is Karl Rove such an issue for you guys? Is it because he helped beat your party and candidates in 2000, 2002, 2004 and again in 2008 after an off-year? Is it because he was not guilty nor charged with any crime in the made-up Valerie Plame outing and nonscandal?

I'd like to see Carville's numbers. I'm sure they're not flattering.

I did get a kick out of Karl Rove's dance machine routine.

Knuckledragging KKKarl Rove has taken slimeball politics to an all-time low and he's poisoned our political process more than anyone that ever proceeded him did.

Yuppie Young Republican Jeffy still thinks he's a "swell guy" thou,must be that white guy hiphop act that he did the other day while our troops were busy dying in Iraq that did it for him.

Is anyone else offended by Rove's hip-hop minstrel show?

John D,

Check your calendar and keep counting your chickens and B-list actors. I see Guiliani's credibility issues are starting to reach the public and it must be an important issue like Kerrick to get him to lose his memory (a strategy which ain't exactly working for Gonzo, either). Quick Judith, don your tiara and come to the cabinet!

John D,

Valerie Plame was an uncover CIA operative. That is a fact. Her own parents didn't know what she did for a living.

If Libby didn't think she was undercover, why did he lie about it?

Why Fitzgerald didn't prosecute Armitage, Rove, Cheney and Novak is a question I hope to have answered someday.

John D,

Do you really think that anyone cares about James Carville? Clinton's been out of office for six years now, get over it. Rove is an issue because, for one, everything that comes from the CURRENT White House has a bad odor to it, and that odor invaribly leads back to the assasin, Rove. Now with another dog on the premises, he'll have to check his shoes even more often than before.

P.S. The "made-up" Valerie Plame outing, is that what they're saying over at Faux News now? Oh my, the indoctrination is complete.

Rove clearly is guilty of a multitude of crimes. The White House keeps protecting him but eventually that will fail also, just like everything Bush has done from day one. Rove's public display of idiocy was the most revolting and arrogant thing he's done yet. Rove and Bush looked like a couple of drunken college punks.

And John D. if you think the Republicans are going to win the White House in 2008, you're more deluded than I thought. The Republican party is so dishonest and corrupt that they'll be lucky to win any office ever again. You swine couldn't nominate Jesus and get him elected.

Johny D,
You're only as good as your last performance. The last time Rove performed he failed...miserably in the 2006 cycle.

John D, 2008 is in the future. Those elections haven't taken place.

John D,

The D must stand for deluded.

Oh to have saved all the predictions you made about the '06 election cycle.

Have you seen your party's approval numbers? You know the ones in a corialis effect free fall spiral down the porcelain device?

Face it John, what you're selling nobody is buying. Come over from the dark side... It'll hurt us more than it'll hurt you.

Oh my.
Well I got up the nerve to watch the video of the stiff suits doing the mock up hip hop.
I had to stop, oh it was painful.
You go John D, wishin you were chillin with this respectable crew, why..thats just Loony!
Whew that was ugly.

I love it.

All these lefty dopes watched the movie "Bush's Brain" buy into it hook, line and sinker...then the hysteria grows into a frenzy.

Its the same way they demonized Ken Starr for doing his job.

...but Patrick Fitzgerald is, as Chris Matthews said "virginal"

Hey left wingers, do you ever feel like you've fallen for the great big "infomercial" that is modern left wing thought?

I mean....look at John E.'s posts for god sakes.

I'm sure Karl Rove (who is himself not running in any election, last I checked) is simply heartbroken that people don't like him. Just devastated, I'm sure.

Rove is clearly popular to at least a small segment of the population. For example, did anyone else notice that Kyle Sampson looks like a very creepy little Rove look-alike: same pasty face, same slicked back hair, same overstuffed suit, same deathly pallor? The little porker plainly adores K to da A, R Leessle.

"Is anyone else offended by Rove's hip-hop minstrel show?"

Kenny, if that is a "minstrel show" then what is a real rap routine considered?

Also, isn't that David Gregory dancing next to him?

John "I don't wanna talk about '06" D,

C'mon John, give it up.

JD,

Minstrel show, as defined by Wikipedia:

"The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the American Civil War, African Americans in blackface. Minstrel shows portrayed and lampooned blacks in stereotypical and often disparaging ways: as ignorant, lazy, buffoonish, superstitious, joyous, and musical. The minstrel show began with brief burlesques and comic entr'actes in the early 1830s and emerged as a full-fledged form in the next decade. By the turn of the century, the minstrel show enjoyed but a shadow of its former popularity, having been replaced for the most part by vaudeville. It survived as professional entertainment until about 1910; amateur performances continued until the 1950s in high schools, fraternities, and local theaters. As African Americans began to score legal and social victories against racism and to successfully assert political power, minstrelsy lost popularity."

David Gregory was dragged up on stage at the last minute and was a reluctant participant. More important, he's not the President's top political advisor.

John D,it is quite in-appropriate to speak of the former first lady and current Senator and Leading Presidential candidate in the vulgar manor of which you have chosen.

I would urge the Moderator of the Swamp to not only remove your vulgarity,but to ban any future comments from you.

Well,Mr.Moderator,how about cleaning up the hateful message from John D.

Why is Karl Rove such an issue for you guys?
Posted by: John D | Mar 30, 2007 1:50:08 PM

Ok lets see.....lets take out the you guys. No republicans..No democrats. Lets see what the independents think.......
17 percent favorable and 48 percent unfavorable.
oopps.....

Turd Blossom looked like an imbecile up on that stage bouncing around like a fat drunken fool. I guess this Jeff thought his little routine was cute. Tells us what you liked about it. Maybe he should go to Iraq and entertain the troops.

Crazy John Davola,

'President Clinton, President Clinton'

Keep repeating until you get used to it.

Rove fiddles while our national honor burns. And who was that goofy idiot grinning from the sidelines? The one who refers to Rove as Turd Blossom, that's who. Actually, TB should take that as a compliment. Can't believe I finally agree with a W assessment.
rrr
rr

Duh.
Rove is an infectious agent that created the large abscess that has festered in the White House since 2000.

"Minstrel shows portrayed and lampooned blacks in stereotypical and often disparaging ways:"

Yeah, exactly my point....I'll ask again...then what is a real rap routine considered?

"David Gregory was dragged up on stage at the last minute and was a reluctant participant"

I expect you to believe left wing B.S.
..but it looks like you also believe your own.

Karl Rove: eeeeevil participant in the minstreal show.

David Gregory: dragged up at the last minute and was reluctant to participate (smiling the entire time of course)

Rove: EEEEvil dirty politician.
Shrum: No reputation..doesn't get much press.

Ken Starr: EEEvil witch hunter
Fitzgerald: Virginal, almost honest to a fault.

Yea, liberals!

JD,

Time to change your drool cup.

I watched it and yes, Erick, it was indeed painful. How 'bout those overbites? It might have been funny for about 20 seconds, but they thought they were so cool and the people sitting behind have looks on their faces that say "Make it stop. Enough, children." And yes, while they're dancing our kids are dying.

erick,

I finally worked up the nerve to watch that thing. I am still swallowing the erp that welled up in my throat, and not just for Karl's 'performance'.

They should all be ashamed.

It is war time. For all their mistakes, stupidities, and foul ups, could you imagine ANY of the following or their people, doing comedy routines during war?
Nixon
Johnson
Ike
Truman
FDR
Chruchill
Thatcher
Mier
I can't. Maybe one or two of them did, but I don't recall.

Also, re. the 'cult of personality'.
They all seem to want to look like Rush, but, man that guy on the right could be a Cheney clone!

We'll try this again, since Tribune censors chose to not display.

In the post (which is no longer there) I referred to Hillary Clinton as Queen (and then slang for female dog). Now Raving Look took offense to that and it was taken off the board.

But there have been posts by Leftists that have called Bush, Cheny, conservatives a$$es, ba$tards, President Chimy McFlightsuit, etc. etc.

So, Mark Silva and the rest, I ask: Why is it OK for leftists to use foul language and speak of Republicans and conservatives in vulgar manners, but not the other way around?

That is a legitimate question. Why is it OK for some Lefty to call Bush a ba$tard or Paulo an "a$$" but not OK for me to call Hillary, Queen (female dog)?

In fact, that really was the whole point to the post; to see if it would in fact get posted and to see the reaction from the Left. And as I expected, the Tribune used a double standard as did the Left.

Karl Rove is not a brilliant strategist - he is simply completely ruthless and completely shameless and will say or do anything to advance his candidate or cause (and this is not the typical 'MO' of preceding political advisers, Republican or Democratic - some may be tough, but even they have lines they won't cross, unlike Mr. Rove). Other than President Bush, he more than anyone is responsible for an Administration that puts loyalty ahead of competence and professionalism - thus the 'head in the sand' approach to Iraq and its aftermath (where people who were volunteering to work in Iraq were asked whether they voted for President Bush); the Valerie Plame affair; and most recently, the US Attorneys firings (which fortunately did not get Fitzgerald, who is by the way, a Republican appointed by Bush). It was this mindset that has led to the most tragic missed opportunity - the decision after 9/11 to employ the politics of fear to divide the country and the world, rather than the politics of uplift and vision; exploiting 9/11 for an executive power grab rather than uniting the country and the world in common purpose. For our Republican and conservative bloggers, I think you should ask yourselves: Do you think this is the same approach, Ronald Reagan, would have followed? I rather doubt it and I'm not really that big a fan of his.

Poor John D,

He was born with a silver sniff-sniff, wah-wah, whine in his mouth.

(In remeberance of the late great Ann Richards.)

It's so much fun watching the house of cards fall down. Who heard Karl Rove talking about "the math" (there's your math, then there's real math) before the election last year? What a riot to see him reduced to a caricature, by his own volition. His true colors are shining through, and they are not at all pretty.

I guess we all have to defend the 1st Amendment, even for John D. My question is:

Do you think John D. would even defend our
right to defend HIS rights. THAT is the
divide.

When is Rove going to jail? I know his political machinations are not illegal, but his use of non whitehouse.gov email servers directly flouts the law regarding presidential records! Not to mention national security.

Actually, he should be fined at least for that performance...

John D...They have an issue of free speech to deal with. If you want to continue your posts with all your silly name calling (and your one of the worst offenders) than you also have to allow others with a different view point to use the same. I would believe it would be the "word" you used that makes it offensive. I already know that your going to say "I only give back what I get" but sometimes real adults have to be responsible for their own actions. I would like to see a lot less name calling on the threads, but hearing you complain is real hypocrisy.

Kenny Bunkport, you are a masterdebater.

Does your response mean you give up, or can't admit you're wrong?

JD...It probably means he is tired of debating on a third grade level with you. Re-think your pom-poms and come out with an adult debate.

"Kenny, if that is a "minstrel show" then what is a real rap routine considered?" JD

You've answered your own question before you started your rant, and you resorted to namecalling. "A real rap routine" is not "lampooning in disparaging ways," otherwise it's not "real" -- the term you chose. I think the performance reinforced unfortunate stereotypes hence my reference to minstrel shows, which seems uncannily accurate when you read the definition I provided from Wikipedia in my earlier post.

As for David Gregory, his comments about his participation at the dinner are available online at the Today Show's website. But as I wrote above, he's not the President's top political advisor who must have other accusations on his mind by now.

A real rap isn't disparaging? All the glorification of violence, degradations of women and exultance of the gangster lifestyle? As to your reference to wikipedia, I didn't see anyone in blackface and I can name tons of white rappers off the top of my head: Eminem, the Beastie Boys, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, House of Pain/Everlast, 3rd Base, Eyedea and Abilities, Bubba Sparxxx, Kid Rock, Stereo MCs, Vanilla Ice, and the ironically named Young Black Teenagers.

Sorry Kenny, but your assertion is ridiculous considering how long it's been that white suburban culture has co-opted and made rap its own. Heck, I'd wager that rap is listened to by more white teenagers than any minority group in this country.

If you take a critical look at the biggest rap hits of today (those by, say, 50 Cent, The Game, and Jay Z) you'd realize that they don't focus on anything "real" about the struggles of inner city youth. They're more about Bentleys, Ice and the glorification of the gangster lifestyle. John D's point is correct, today's rap is nothing more than a sad parody of what it once was and once stood for.

Peace.

Jeff,

What office does Eminem hold in the administration?

He doesn't hold any office, Kenny, but that's immaterial as to whether or not he held a "minstrel show" as you claim (and Rove's similarly never been elected to any office). Hundreds of white people appear in public and rap everyday. Exercising the art form is not, in and of itself, mocking black people like you seem to think. Sure, Rove did it as a joke and he's nowhere near as good at it as Eminem, but to suggest he's racist and somehow trying to parody and belittle black people by appearing at a dinner PUT ON AND PAID FOR BY JOURNALISTS is a huge leap of assertion.

Face it, rap is like any other mass appeal product that came from an honest expression of revolt against oppression. In the beginning it was about activism, empowerment, and social change. Now it's about one and one thing only: making money for the people that produce music. Period. It's been thoroughly coopted as an art form and a protest.

Word. To the windows, to the walls...

It's a question of motivation.
Rap artists rap.
Politicians who rap are engaged in mockery.

Funny? No, I don't think so, and as I've said I found it offensive, particularly coming from a senior person in the administration.

You seem to be complaining about the current state of rap; I yield to your superior knowledge of Vanilla Ice.

Alternative Headline;

Herpes: Not Very Popular

Motivation? His motivation was to entertain a bunch of reporter chums! Who, look at the tape, ate the whole thing up. Whether you thought it was or not, they thought it was funny so Rove did the job, as an entertainer, he was at the dinner to do. David Gregory got up there and danced, no matter what he said after.

I just think you're awfully thin-skinned in looking for offense in this. There are PLENTY of things to be offended by with this administration. Heck, why do reporters and politicians get together for this antiquated night out anyway? I just don't think doing purposely bad dancing is one of them.

Kenny, if that is a "minstrel show" then what is a real rap routine considered?" JD

You've answered your own question before you started your rant, and you resorted to namecalling. "A real rap routine" is not "lampooning in disparaging ways," otherwise it's not "real" -- the term you chose. I think the performance reinforced unfortunate stereotypes hence my reference to minstrel shows, which seems uncannily accurate when you read the definition I provided from Wikipedia in my earlier post.

As for David Gregory, his comments about his participation at the dinner are available online at the Today Show's website. But as I wrote above, he's not the President's top political advisor who must have other accusations on his mind by now.

Posted by: Kenny Bunkport | Apr 1, 2007 8:47:29 PM

Kenny Bunkport= HYPOCRITE..... Your defense of your point is pathetically weak.

Don B,

Just curious, what do you think my point was? Thought so....