Editorial Roundup: "Republican Supremacy in Tatters"

August 17, 2007 -- Karl Rove is retiring from the White House at the end of the month, leaving behind a President and a Republican Party weaker than anyone would have predicted just 20 months ago after the 2004 election. An article in yesterday's Christian Science Monitor states that the "decline of the GOP on Rove's watch has occurred on a number of levels and throughout different types of voters" and quotes one history professor as saying "'We might be seeing conservatism imploding in the years of George W. Bush.'" [Christian Science Monitor, 8/16/07]

Editorials from around the country are echoing that notion and the sentiments of the American people, who are turning away from the Republican Party in droves and looking for a new direction. From his involvement in the politically motivated firings of US Attorneys to his role in the leaking of the identity of a covert CIA officer to his fear and smear tactics along the campaign trail, Rove encouraged Republicans to put what's best for their Party ahead of what's best for the country, leaving the GOP "fac[ing] an uphill struggle in next year's elections" and his dream of a "Republican supremacy in tatters."

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The following are excerpts from recent editorials from across the country:

Times-Herald (Vallejo, California): 'Bush's brain' overran foes, friends alike: "Back in those days, the 'boy genius' spoke boldly of a 'permanent Republican majority.' Then came the lowest approval ratings for a president in 30 years. And loss of Republican control in the Congress which, up until the wee hours of Election Night 2006, Rove insisted wouldn't happen. And a tattered Republican base that has produced polls showing 'none of the above' leading a current GOP field of presidential candidates." [Times-Herald (Vallejo, California), 8/16/07, http://www.timesheraldonline.com/opinion/ci_6639074]

Newsday: Rove quits, Bush presidency in decline. "The string ran out in 2006 when, in a rejection of Bush's performance and agenda, voters handed control of Congress to Democrats. That defeat also marked the failure of Rove's attempt to build an enduring Republican majority. And Rove will continue to draw heat for the role he may have played in the firings of eight United States attorneys. Failures in Iraq and on the post-Katrina GulfCoast have fed doubts about the administration's competence. And legislative losses on Social Security privatization and immigration reform have left Bush in search of a legacy. In the end, there was little left that Rove could spin." [Newsday, 8/14/07, http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vprove145331447aug14,0,6420213.story]

San Jose Mercury News: Machiavellian tactician Rove won't be missed. "Rove departs with the presidency he helped to build in shambles and his vision of Republican supremacy in tatters." [San Jose Mercury News, 8/15/07, http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_6626982]

Philadelphia Inquirer: Rove Steps Down: A threadbare legacy. "So deeply does he believe that America is undergoing a once-in-a-century political 'realignment,' he ignored the need for persuasion and compromise. Bush became a 'war president' in part because of the absence of any agenda at home capable of winning popular support. Consequently, the war is all Bush has left for a legacy. For too much of Bush's presidency, Rove failed him as an adviser of what works here at home. And the Republican Party that Rove sought to strengthen is weaker for it." [Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/14/07, http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20070814_Editorial___Rove_Steps_Down.html]

Denver Post: Rove's departure testifies to a weak administration. "Rove initially announced his exit in an interview published in the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal - controlling the message as always, and placing it in friendly hands. In the interview, published Monday, Rove predicted that Bush's 30 percent approval rating would climb, that Iraq 'will be in a better place' and the GOP would prevail in budget battles in Congress and the 2008 presidential election. One look at the results from the 2006 mid-term elections, in which Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress, makes Rove's comments seem like wishful thinking from a wily political strategist trying to spin the message one more time as he heads out the door." [Denver Post, 8/15/07, http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_6622261]

The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky): Karl Rove's exit. "But Mr. Rove used to speak confidently of a 'permanent Republican majority,' and that is not what he leaves behind. The President's popular support is near record low levels. The Republicans lost their congressional majorities last fall and face an uphill struggle in next year's elections. Efforts by Messrs. Bush and Rove to achieve second-term legislative triumphs, in Social Security and immigration reform, ended in resounding failure....Thus was born the reprehensible Republican theme that political opposition was disloyal, unpatriotic and a sign of weakness. The result has been sour for Mr. Rove and his client. As Iraq went bad, for instance, it became 'Bush's war' and a GOP liability." [The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), 8/14/07, http://www.courier- journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070814/OPINION01/708140354/1016/OPINION]

Source: DNC