During Sarah Palin’s speech at CPAC, which was — predictably — little more than a long list of platitudes and one-liners (my favorite was when she read a line about Obama using teleprompters off her teleprompter), Sarah Palin took a shot at Karl Rove for his support of more establishment candidates over the seriously far-right nuts that Palin tends to like.
“If these experts keep losing elections keep raking in millions, if they feel that strongly about who should run in this party they should buck up and run or stay in the truck. The architects can head on back to the Lone Star State and put their name on the ballot.”
Rove wasted little time in responding:
“Well, first of all I live in Texas and not Washington. Second of all, look Sarah Plain should be agreeing with this. She didn’t support Todd Aiken and when he said the reprehensible things he said. she said he ought to get out of the race,” said Rove…
“I appreciate her encouragement that I ought to go home to Texas and run for office. I would be enthused if I ran for office to have her support but I don’t think, I’m a particularly good candidate, a balding fat guy. Second of all, if I did run for office and win I would serve out my term and I wouldn’t leave office midterm,” said Rove.
Oh no he didn’t!
16 comments
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Michael Heath
March 21, 2013 at 11:13 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Karl Rove states:
Donovan
March 21, 2013 at 11:15 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Damn it, Ed. Give us a heads up. I didn’t have any popcorn ready.
Kevin
March 21, 2013 at 11:16 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
So, candidates can only be tall and good-looking and “normal” weight?
Karl, check your zipper. Your self-loathing is showing.
Ben P
March 21, 2013 at 11:20 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I think he’s completely conscious of it. Rove’s a great political operator (even taking the 2012 election into account), but I’ve long thought that he’s not a “true believer.” He’s obviously conservative or he wouldn’t be doing it for republicans, but I’m almost certain he’s one of the “politics is blood sport” types.
He does what he does because he wants Republicans to win, and he wants republicans to win because he works for Republicans. If getting Republicans to win means duping or scaring religious conservatives into voting for him? he’ll do it.
Marcus Ranum
March 21, 2013 at 11:25 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I have to speak up for intellectual honesty, Palin had that line memorized.
… Well, I woulda.
oranje
March 21, 2013 at 11:27 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
His politics aside, that was brief, blunt, and funny. All the more effective with him being self-effacing with his own appearance and then just leaving a last line like that.
Phillip IV
March 21, 2013 at 11:31 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The most delicious aspect about seeing Rove having to fend of attacks by has-almost-beens like Palin is the thought that he would be fellated thrice daily by the wingnuts right now, if only he had managed to pull that thing with Romney off.
Bronze Dog
March 21, 2013 at 12:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
If this isn’t a typo, I sense misogyny by way of attacking Palin’s appearance.
Wes
March 21, 2013 at 12:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
When taken together with the sentence that follows, I’m pretty sure that was a zing at Palin for relying so heavily on her good looks rather than the substance of what she actually says and does.
Also, it is just simply true that good looking candidates usually do better in elections than candidates who are less attractive. You don’t have to like it, but it is the case.
Doug Little
March 21, 2013 at 3:14 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Oh snap! Look out Sarah you’re fucking with a heavyweight.
ottod
March 21, 2013 at 3:14 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
In this, as in almost everything else, I disagree with Karl Rove. The greatest contribution of Palin’s governorship was its brevity.
Rip Steakface
March 21, 2013 at 3:18 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I’m with oranje (which bothers me). Rove is scum of the lowest order, but that was a pretty solid thrashing.
frog
March 21, 2013 at 5:24 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
He doesn’t think a balding fat guy is a particularly good candidate.
Oh, I could unpack that all day long, but I’ll start with:
Does anyone know what Karl Rove was like in grade school or high school? This just stinks of him being the picked-on kid, who has now managed to suck up to the wealthy and powerful and bathe in their reflected glory and enrich himself by sponging off them. And now he thinks this makes him somehow a worthwhile person…except in his moments of self-doubt, slipping out in a line like that.
Because you know, being fat brought down a lot of rude commentary, but Republican Chris Christie still managed to get elected governor of an otherwise Blue state. “Balding and somewhat portly” did not prevent Republican (at the time) Michael Bloomberg getting elected mayor of one of the most liberal cities in the USA.
Sorry, Karl, you’re ugly because of what’s on the inside. If you had a decent personality, you would look more attractive. That is, in fact, how it works.
Michael Heath
March 21, 2013 at 7:59 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The written portion of the linked article quotes Karl Rove stating, Sarah Plain.
Bronze Dog:
I listened to the video. Mr. Rove refers to Ms. Palin where he clearly pronounces her name correctly.
You’re sensing misogyny is not sufficient cause to disingenuously smear someone; you could have at least listened to the video before associating Rove with an act of misogyny.
Conservatives unfortunately provide us with an overwhelming volume of rhetoric and actions that we can justifiably condemn and ridicule, both their actions and their bad actors. So why not stick to that which we know? Even so, it’s never good form to defame others.
And even if Mr. Rove had called her, “Plain”, that’s quite a stretch from there to misogyny given that’s the totality of evidence you rely on here.
skinnercitycyclist
March 22, 2013 at 7:59 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Not sure if that is the precise line you mean, marcus ranum, but ALL of Palin’s folksy little turns of phrase strike me as artificial for her. This one is particularly banal, being the redneck’s version of “piss or get off the pot,” presumably, what, because they are unfamiliar with indoor plumbing?
=8)-DX
March 25, 2013 at 11:19 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
So it’s ok to call people you don’t disagree with ugly? From that perspective it sounds like that would be a factual statement (albeit irellevant to any discussion, an ad hominem).