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Karl Rove Redefines ‘Sophisticated’ In Defining ‘The Tea Party Movement’

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Last week Karl Rove told German magazine Der Spiegel “If you look underneath the surface of the Tea Party movement, you will find that it is not sophisticated.” This created a bit of an uproar, or at least further evidence that there is something of a civil war between the GOP establishment (in the person of Rove) and the Tea Party movement. Well, last night Mr. Rove walked back those comments to Greta Van Susteren, claiming that he meant a different definition of “sophisticated.” Semantics, the last vestige of a scoundrel.

Here’s how Mediaite’s Ray Rahman inititially reported Rove’s comments to Der Spiegel:

Karl Rove is all over the place. Some days he’s in the establishment, and some days he’s not. And now he’s in… Europe? Well, sort of — Rove treated German magazine Der Spiegel to a pretty candid interview concerning the American political climate. “If you look underneath the surface of the Tea Party movement,” he told the newsweekly, “You will find that it is not sophisticated.” Ouch. He then boldly asserted, “It’s not like these people have read the economist Friedrich August von Hayek.” That’s certainly one way of saying, “I have read the economist Friedrich August von Hayek.”

Last night, Rove sang a different tune, telling Van Susteren that “in the dictionary, one definition is pretentiously or superficially wise,” adding “Tea Party members are not saying they are skilled in ways they are not…they are not comfortable in a cocktail party in Georgetown or Lobbyist meeting on K Street.” Rove continued, “this wasn’t formed by elitist think tanks,” continuing “this was a spontaneous uprising that began in February of 2009.”

Good points, but it definitely seems like he’s using parsing his own words, in almost a “Clinton-esque” fashion, doesn’t it?

The bottom line is that Rove is right to say that the Tea Party started as a grass-roots movement outside the beltway. But what he neglects to add is that, since the movement started roughly 18 months ago, many have seen its mission co-opted by the very inside-the-beltway think tanks and lobbying groups that the Tea Party has railed against. Case in point; Freedom Works is one of the leading organizations behind the movement, and is headed up by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey – the most insider of insiders.

So yes, the Tea Party did start as an unsophisticated and organic uprising of everyday Americans. But since then its ironically been used by many of the very insiders to keep their own status quo, perhaps at the expense of the Tea Party movement itself.

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  • The Real Royal King

    Interestingly, Turd Blossom seems to hold the Tea Party in even more abject contempt than I do.

  • More Liberty

    Karl Rove is just another establishment politician.

  • More Liberty

    The Real Royal King said:
    Interestingly, Turd Blossom seems to hold the Tea Party in even more abject contempt than I do.

    That doesn’t surprise me.

  • Latin2

    The Kings’ talking points…lol

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGwtG8nVpUU

  • The Real Royal King

    More Liberty said:
    Karl Rove is just another establishment politician.

    I understand what you are saying, and I don’t disagree. Both parties have such people. But, you are being too formulaic, it seems to me. A need for a political class seems to exist.

  • More Liberty

    The Real Royal King said:
    A need for a political class seems to exist.

    I respectfully disagree. We don’t need professional politicians. The mess we are in is because of professional politicians. These morons on both sides have given us wars, debt and recession while enriching themselves. Our government is supposed to be “of the people, by the people, for the people.”

  • VRWC Destruction Machine

    When Mediaite initially came out with Rove’s comments on Der Spiegel, my comments on what he meant by saying the Tea Party being unsophisticated mirrors what he said on Van Susteren’s program. People on the left jumped on the Der Spiegel article so it would go with their narrative of the great divide within the GOP when actually the Tea Party movement is systematic of the great divide between the Washington D.C. establishment and the voters. The Washington D.C. establishment is the Obama-Reid-Pelosi ruling class and the “go along just to get along” Republicans.

  • VRWC Destruction Machine

    The Real Royal King said:
    Interestingly, Turd Blossom seems to hold the Tea Party in even more abject contempt than I do.

    You apparently didn’t watch Van Susteren’s program last night because if you did you should clean out your ears.

  • ROCKSTEADY

    More Liberty said:
    Our government is supposed to be “of the people, by the people, for the people.”

    Yes but the people have to have some form of intelligence on how the world of politics works.Its wonderfull to have ideas and the man pants to run for office but it can’t be “we the people” for just a few people.Seems alot of those “we the People” have more money to throw around to have their ideas put into play.

  • The Real Royal King

    Again, a bit formulaic. I suppose that’s the nature of blogging. Gouvernment has become large and complex, even more so with W’s creation, with Congressional approval of the unfortunately named “Homeland Security”. We have become more bureaucratic than even the Italians ever envisioned in their little rubber stamp and seal world. And, it is not going to get any smaller. Bureaucrats breed in ways that shame rabbits. Control and containment are our best hopes, but those are onerous and burdensome. That may require a political class. I would very much like to see some of the same goals as you, but in practical terms, I would think all will have to be accomplished incrementally. I would start with electoral reforms. Greater transparency in money. Shorter campaigns. More focused campaigns including true debates. An abatement to campaigning 3-5 days before the election. Much of this can be accomplished by concerted public pressure, without law. Indeed, tailoring laws to this end might be difficult given the current Supreme Court’s belief that there is something akin to corporate free speech in America. A can’t see a cold turkey route, however, without irreparable damage.

    More importantly, we desperately need a free, vigilant media, and I just don’t see that happening. All of the broadcast and cable media outlets, all of them, are nothing but corporate whores. That includes, but it is not limited to FOX “News”. The fact that CNN may better reflect by philosophy whilst FOX “News” better reflects yours matters not at all. Without a bonafide media, we are sunk.

  • The Real Royal King

    VRWC Destruction Machine said:
    When Mediaite initially came out with Rove’s comments on Der Spiegel, my comments on what he meant by saying the Tea Party being unsophisticated mirrors what he said on Van Susteren’s program. People on the left jumped on the Der Spiegel article so it would go with their narrative of the great divide within the GOP when actually the Tea Party movement is systematic of the great divide between the Washington D.C. establishment and the voters. The Washington D.C. establishment is the Obama-Reid-Pelosi ruling class and the “go along just to get along” Republicans.

    It is also the McConnell-Boehner-Cantor ruling class.

  • The Real Royal King

    VRWC Destruction Machine said:
    You apparently didn’t watch Van Susteren’s program last night because if you did you should clean out your ears.

    What Turd Blossom says whilst performing for his employer has little relationship to what he believes or to what he says elsewhere.

  • Seeing November From My Window

    Poor Dems can’t win on the issues so they resort to voter fraud and trying to cause trouble within the Republican party. Enjoy your fun, it will only last another week!

  • NORBIT

    HEY RHODE ISLAND! – VOTE CAPRIO!!

    The GOP guy will have to take one for the Team!!!

  • More Liberty

    ROCKSTEADY said:
    Yes but the people have to have some form of intelligence on how the world of politics works.Its wonderfull to have ideas and the man pants to run for office but it can’t be “we the people” for just a few people.Seems alot of those “we the People” have more money to throw around to have their ideas put into play.

    Just because someone is not a career politician does not mean that they are incapable of governing. If “knowing how politics works” means giving handout to Wall Street, Big Pharma, the Banks, Unions, and other large powerful corporations than we need no more of that.

  • More Liberty

    The Real Royal King said:
    I suppose that’s the nature of blogging. Gouvernment has become large and complex, even more so with W’s creation, with Congressional approval of the unfortunately named “Homeland Security”. We have become more bureaucratic than even the Italians ever envisioned in their little rubber stamp and seal world. And, it is not going to get any smaller. Bureaucrats breed in ways that shame rabbits. Control and containment are our best hopes, but those are onerous and burdensome.

    That is a reasonable point. Slowly doing away with these bureaucrats can be accomplished by a hiring freeze, and chopping the fat in all matters of government from the DOD to the DHS to the Department of Education.

  • The Real Royal King

    Seeing November From My Window said:
    Poor Dems can’t win on the issues so they resort to voter fraud and trying to cause trouble within the Republican party. Enjoy your fun, it will only last another week!

    Whilst the Republicans engage in violence, intimidation and suppression. Really, Michelle-in-Utah, you can’t smell the turd you’re holding in your own hand for sniffing at the cesspool. This is systematic, not partisan.

  • Seeing November From My Window

    Whilst the Republicans engage in violence, intimidation and suppression. Really, Michelle-in-Utah, you can’t smell the turd you’re holding in your own hand for sniffing at the cesspool. This is systematic, not partisan.

    Olbermann, give it up, we know it’s you. Your condescending, “i’m smarting than EVERYONE” attitude was a dead giveaway. Doesn’t Prescious Perfect need to be fed?

  • ROCKSTEADY

    More Liberty said:
    Just because someone is not a career politician does not mean that they are incapable of governing. If “knowing how politics works” means giving handout to Wall Street, Big Pharma, the Banks, Unions, and other large powerful corporations than we need no more of that.

    Your including all politicians with this statement correct?All means Dems and Repubs.I would add going to war that some of “we the people” made money on.

  • ROCKSTEADY

    More Liberty said:
    chopping the fat in all matters of government from the DOD to the DHS to the Department of Education.

    How does chopping fat from education help the future “we the people”.

  • sarainitaly

    faux controversy.

  • Stratdude

    They called this pig Bush’s brain — kind of like being a eunuch’s dick.

  • More Liberty

    ROCKSTEADY said:
    How does chopping fat from education help the future “we the people”.

    With the exception of student loans, the Department of Education educates not one child. This is what the Department of Education does:
    “The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is responsible for maintaining policies related to education. They provide financial aid to students and help them find other resources for financial aid. ED also studies trends, ideas and techniques in education to determine what works. The U.S. Department of Education works to improve the education system and provide educators with information that can make them better teachers.”

    Education has not really improved since the Department of Education was established by President Carter.

    ROCKSTEADY said:
    Your including all politicians with this statement correct?All means Dems and Repubs.I would add going to war that some of “we the people” made money on.

    Yes I am. I clearly mentioned in my previous statement the fact that career politicians sent us to war, and/or voted to fund it.

  • Harry Flashman

    If anyone reads my comments here you’ll know I’m an unabashed conservative, but I have to say this about Rove…..

    Go away. Shut up. You’re not helping. Every comment you make is pounced on and either twisted out of shape or treated as words of the Messiah.

    You spend half your time explaining yourself after sticking your foot in your mouth and your immediate torpedoing of Christine O’Donnell showed clearly that you’re simply this – and old school Washington politician, the type we’d be much better off without.

    Stop your incessant self promotion on every talk show that will listen to you and just….go away. As the prole would say these days – you’re noy all that. Not any more.

    Enough from you.

  • Pablo

    NORBIT said:
    HEY RHODE ISLAND! – VOTE CAPRIO!!

    The GOP guy will have to take one for the Team!!!

    I’m very seriously considering it. Governor Linc Chaffee is not a pleasant thought, and Robataille really isn’t in the race.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jonathan-Scott/654124552 Soros Youth

    It is disturbing to watch Karl tuck his penis under his ass and do his best Buffalo Bill impression, stop it Karl!!!

  • More Liberty

    Soros Youth said:
    It is disturbing to watch Karl tuck his penis under his ass and do his best Buffalo Bill impression, stop it Karl!!!

    What a very educated and well thought out remark. Please stop embarrassing yourself.

  • ROCKSTEADY

    More Liberty said:
    Yes I am. I clearly mentioned in my previous statement the fact that career politicians sent us to war, and/or voted to fund it.

    I must have missed this statement.

    More Liberty said:
    Department of Education works to improve the education system and provide educators with information that can make them better teachers

    How is this not helping.Doesn’t this mean they are working for the best way to teach the children.?How else would you have them do this?And explain just how did Mr.Bushes No child left behind help.

  • ROCKSTEADY

    Interesting Mr.Rove said all of these things in another country.Maybe he just assumed people wouldn’t notice.

  • gar

    This movement will change in the next few years to something that will be palatable to a large amount of Americans.Right now it’s in infancy stage.Problem is people like Rove aren’t giving it time to evolve.Look how many times the Democrats have changed their colors in the last 50 years. They wear out one label and change to another.There will be many mistakes but I think this could be something special.

  • Seeing November From My Window

    More LIberty says:

    What a very educated and well thought out remark. Please stop embarrassing yourself.

    What do you expect with the name he chose?

  • writer

    His interest in Rove’s penis is a bit disturbing. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

  • More Liberty

    ROCKSTEADY said:
    How is this not helping.Doesn’t this mean they are working for the best way to teach the children.?How else would you have them do this?And explain just how did Mr.Bushes No child left behind help.

    They can say whatever they want say but the fact remains that education has not improved since its establishment in 1979. It sounds good – gives someone a nice feeling to say that they “works to improve education” but they don’t approve. What they do, however, is spend $56 billion a year of the taxpayers money on bureaucratic non-sense such as “studies” that don’t improve anything. The money would be better spent on education vouchers for lower income children, or given back to the taxpayers.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jonathan-Scott/654124552 Soros Youth

    More Liberty said:
    What a very educated and well thought out remark. Please stop embarrassing yourself.

    Not as half as embarassing as the horrible Mediaite teabagger trolls, okay we get it your name is “More Liberty” and you have a picture of Thomas Jefferson as your avatar. Okay we all believe you really are a member of the tea party.

    Your screen name should actually be “Look I am a real tea partier, you dont believe me??? Look Liberty and Jefferson!!!!”

  • ROCKSTEADY

    More Liberty said:
    The money would be better spent on education vouchers for lower income children, or given back to the taxpayers.

    I disagree with you.Explain to me what an education voucher means to you. And this is off topic of the article, sorry people i was just interested in what More would say.

  • Seeing November From My Window

    Soros Youth says:;

    Not as half as embarassing as the horrible Mediaite teabagger trolls

    Ah the idiocy of liberal youth!

  • More Liberty

    ROCKSTEADY said:
    I disagree with you.Explain to me what an education voucher means to you. And this is off topic of the article, sorry people i was just interested in what More would say.

    Well there is nothing like reinforcing failure by throwing more money at the problem.

    Voucher systems allow lower income students who would not be able to afford private schools, such as the one President Obama’s little girls go to, attend those schools. Additionally, these schools which statistically out perform their public school counter-parts ( read this http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20094050/pdf/20094050.pdf) are significantly less expensive. The average tuition at schools that accept vouchers is approximately $6,600, while the public school cost per student is around $26,000 in the DC area according to the districts own 2009 FY budget.

    Now, the public schools in DC have been failing their students. Why not give these kids a better chance.

  • ROCKSTEADY

    More Liberty said:
    such as the one President Obama’s little girls go to, attend those schools

    All the people in office have all of their children go to private school.you pointing out This current one has his going is like what, a slam?

  • More Liberty

    Soros Youth said:
    Okay we all believe you really are a member of the tea party.

    I’m not a “tea Party” member. I’m a free individual with his own beliefs and views; some match up with certain groups and some don’t. Those that like to view everyone in either one box or the other are simply just too ignorant to understand the extremely diverse opinions that Americans have on an assortment of topics. I am neither red, nor blue – nor am I a republocrat.

  • ROCKSTEADY

    More Liberty said:
    The average tuition at schools that accept vouchers is approximately $6,600, while the public school cost per student is around $26,000 in the DC area according to the districts own 2009 FY budget

    Ok so how do those poor children pay for school or are you saying someone else will pay their tuition. And so who would be these other people paying for it? lol and i’m sure it wont be answerd here today but thanks for answering me.

  • More Liberty

    ROCKSTEADY said:
    All the people in office have all of their children go to private school.you pointing out This current one has his going is like what, a slam?

    I’m not trying to point out anything but the truth. The fact is, most of those that can afford it send their children to private school because they know the real benefits – and President Obama is no exception.

  • More Liberty

    ROCKSTEADY said:
    Ok so how do those poor children pay for school or are you saying someone else will pay their tuition. And so who would be these other people paying for it? lol and i’m sure it wont be answerd here today but thanks for answering me.

    I can answer that. No problem Ms steady. Instead of wasting billions of dollars on the Department of Education, or throwing more money at public schools, put it into the voucher system. DC was putting money into the system until it got canceled by Ms Duncan, President Obama’s Education Secretary.

  • NORBIT

    Can NPR fire Rove?

  • ROCKSTEADY

    More Liberty said:
    I’m not a “tea Party” member. I’m a free individual with his own beliefs and views; some match up with certain groups and some don’t. Those that like to view everyone in either one box or the other are simply just too ignorant to understand the extremely diverse opinions that Americans have on an assortment of topics. I am neither red, nor blue – nor am I a republocrat.

    This was a good answer.And if more people spoke to each other like humans maybe we could all learn something.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jonathan-Scott/654124552 Soros Youth

    ROCKSTEADY said:
    This was a good answer.And if more people spoke to each other like humans maybe we could all learn something.

    Yeah More Liberty is one of the good ones.

  • http://sharethisurlaboutglennbeck.com/ GlennBeckReview

    “The bottom line is that Rove is right to say that the Tea Party started as a grass-roots movement outside the beltway.”

    Freedom Works is “outside the beltway?”

  • CAconservative

    It seems that Mr.Rove has trouble with Conservatives thinking on their own. If they are not fallowing the GOP script, as written by Rove and the GOP, then they must be the unwashed, unintelligent minority. The problem is, they are not unintelligent or a minority, and they don’t fallow the script because, the script is just more of the same old crap that’s been shoved down our throats for decades and it’s not working! As a political strategist, I have enormous respect for Mr.Roves talents but, his lack of understanding of what the Tea-party is trying to do, and the difference in ideology, is very disturbing. Even if not all Tea-party backed candidates don’t get elected, the ground-roots movement will have been an enormous victory and the ground work for a viable third-party movement will be well underway.

  • http://sharethisurlaboutglennbeck.com/ GlennBeckReview

    CAconservative says:
    “It seems that Mr.Rove has trouble with Conservatives thinking on their own. ”

    The tea party is NOT conservative because they do not wish to maintain the status quo. They are reactionaries, like Glenn Beck. Hell, I’m more conservative than most of the tea party movement!

    http://www.sharethisurlaboutglennbeck.com/2010/10/for-undecided-voters-various-strains-of.html

  • Orion Antares

    Off on time tables a little bit. The Tea Party movement started much earlier then Feb 2009. February 2009 is when the movement was corrupted or as you said, “co-opted”.

  • http://sharethisurlaboutglennbeck.com/ GlennBeckReview

    Orion Antares says: “The Tea Party movement started much earlier then Feb 2009. ”

    That’s when Santelli had his CME floor rant against efforts to try to slow the crashing housing markets. Some of the folks in Ron Paul’s presidential campaign were calling themselves the tea party.

  • VRWC Destruction Machine

    The Real Royal King said:
    It is also the McConnell-Boehner-Cantor ruling class.

    Well, it was Obama, Reid and Pelosi who gave us ObamaCare and Stimulus Bill that the voters didn’t want. It was Obama who the GOP “We won.”

    Obama cannot use the GW Bush excuse anymore. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is tired of that lame excuse of his. Whether he like it or not, Obama has to take ownership of the lousy unemployment rate, more people on food stamps and record foreclosures. Obamanomics in its current state is writing his legacy for th future.

  • VRWC Destruction Machine

    The Real Royal King said:
    What Turd Blossom says whilst performing for his employer has little relationship to what he believes or to what he says elsewhere.

    I see it now. You base your commentary from a person who writes Cliff notes for retards.

  • http://sharethisurlaboutglennbeck.com/ GlennBeckReview

    VRWC Destruction Machine says: “You base your commentary from a person who writes Cliff notes for retards.”

    Oh, Sarah Palin is going to put her right pump up your ass for using the R- word. Oh, that’s right; she doesn’t care when reactionaries like herself use the R-word, just when a liberal uses the R-word.

    Ok, Reactionary Destruction Machine, carry on with your retarded comments. Like how the recession that we’re slowly crawling out of was not the Bush recession. Who believes that nonsense? Retards! I’m sorry, I mean reactionaries. (Not much difference.)

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