Rove and GOP

Reading a recent post from Andrew Sullivan, got me athinkin' and I'm athinkin' that Mr Sullivan has it wrong. The general idea behind the post is that Rove may have set the GOP back with the tactics he used to get W the...well, W. Maybe so, at least judging by a recent Pew Research Poll, as the GOP is hemorrhaging voters (I don't see the poll as the be all end all, things could shift dramatically if Iraq swings around. I actually hope the poll signals the end of the "I'm a Dem/GOP until I die" mentality). Anyway, why is Mr Sullivan wrong?

Well, who said Rove was ever trying to create anything for the GOP? His job, his goal, his life was based on getting W into the White House and keeping him there. Yes, Bush is a Republican, but the job wasn't to get the GOP to upmost power and then slide W in, the goal was to get W elected now. Much like when the Colts win the Super Bowl. Colts GM Bill Polian's goal wasn't also to establish the AFC as the dominant power, he was only looking for Colts victory. Given that Rove would do just about anything, screw anyone over, lie, manipulate, whatever, I think it makes sense that he would do the same to get other Republican's to look the other way at W's transgressions, subvert their own political philosophies (small government anyone?), and generally accept the rod in order to create this notion of "Its good for the GOP" which really meant, "It's good for Bush." By using the concept of a permanent GOP majority to keep everyone in line, he kept W in the White House, which was his job.

Like a GM that does whatever it takes to win now, Rove did whatever it took, future be damned. That's his job and he did it well. Losing the second term for the greater good of the GOP was expressly not his job. Congressional Republicans took the bait and they were the ones who paid the price. Furthermore, if the trend continues they will be the ones who continue to pay the price. W is out, Rove is out, and they don't really care. If a Republican feels that Rove oversold, misold, or sold out, well, they shouldn't be shocked. Look at what the guy did to his "rivals," why should anyone think he'd be any different to his "allies." Bottom line, a wins a win, and he won.