The Rove v Tea Party match just keeps getting more interesting.
Media Matters just posted an article highlighting the cozy relationship that has been brewing between Karl Rove and Marco Rubio.
Earlier this week on Fox News' Special Report, Rove suggested that if anyone is going to unite the GOP on immigration, it will be Rubio because "he's the best communicator since Ronald Reagan." In a separate appearance on The O'Reilly Factor, Rove lauded Rubio for laying out "an excellent set of principles" on immigration, and said "Republicans ought to give it a very clear, strong look."
Rove's support of Rubio extends beyond comparisons to Ronald Reagan on national television; his American Crossroads political groups were some of Rubio's earliest financial backers, dumping nearly $3 million (by Rove's accounting) into his 2010 Florida Senate race.
Rubio has been happy to return the favor.
According to a report by Bloomberg Businessweek, during a fundraising breakfast at the 2012 Republican National Convention, Rubio spoke along with Rove in front of "70 of the Republican Party's most influential donors." Helping Crossroads make their sales pitch, Rubio said it was "big news" when "Karl Rove sent me a check" during his Senate race. Rubio specifically praised Crossroads GPS for running ads to support him and told donors that giving to groups like Rove's was "a patriotic endeavor".
The article linked to a
post Rove just put up on his blog, singing Rubio's praises on immigration reform yet again.
The framework of the proposed reforms highlights the persuasive powers of Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), who reportedly helped convince Senate Democrats that "border-security first" and a difficult, lengthy but attainable path to citizenship are essential to making reform both possible and durable.
For anyone unfamiliar with the rise of Marco Rubio, it's important to note that he has been showcased as a major Tea Party
success story. As recently as last year, he was selected by the
Tea Party as being their number one choice for Vice President. I always suspected that he had just hitched his wagon to their star in a moment of seized opportunity and would abandon them the minute he could. It has come to pass.
I stuck my finger in the wind over at Redstate and Freerepublic. They haven't caught the scent of this most recent betrayal quite yet. They are still braying about him giving the GOP State of the Union response in Spanglish.
You can be certain that when the full measure of Rubio's duplicity is finally discovered, all hell is going to break loose. Expect the full flacid Tea Party fury to come barreling down on Rubio very soon.
Here, have another bowl of popcorn.
Update: Imagine the disappointment of the Tampa Bay Times when they have to explain their February 4th article to their teabagging readers.
Karl Rove's new project seeking to counter tea party influence in GOP primaries is stirring controversy from the right. FreedomWorks, the group that has helped organize the tea party, blasted the Conservative Victory Project in a statement today:
“Imagine a Republican Party without the leadership, energy and principled ideas coming from Senators like Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Pat Toomey and Mike Lee, because that is what you would get from a lack of real primary race competition now being proposed by Karl Rove. The choice is simple: should voters choose who represents them in Washington, DC, or should political insiders make the decision behind closed doors?”
I'm imagining it now.