Rover Reminders

Josh asks: Why are Rove and Bush seemingly confident about this fall's elections? Many have answered, "Diebold." For you skeptics out there, let me remind you of just who it is we're talking about:

KARL ROVE--THE EARLY YEARS
Examples of Rove's Dirty Tricks

Rove Printed Phony Party Invites On Stationary Stolen From Opponents.

"In one early campaign in 1970, Rove broke into the offices of Democratic opponent Alan Dixon. Rove stole some of Dixon's campaign stationary and printed phony invitations promising "free beer, free food, girls, and a good time." The invitations were then distributed in places such as homeless shelters. [Moore and Slater, "Bush's Brain," 2003, p. 131]

Rove Viciously and Anonymously Attacked Alabama Judges Family.

"In a 1996 Alabama judicial campaign, "According to someone who worked for him, Rove, dissatisfied with the campaign's progress, had flyers printed up "absent any trace of who was behind them" viciously attacking See and his family. 'We were trying to craft a message to reach some of the blue-collar, lower-middle-class people,' the staffer says. 'You'd roll it up, put a rubber band around it, and paperboy it at houses late at night. I was told, 'Do not hand it to anybody, do not tell anybody who you're with, and if you can, borrow a car that doesn't have your tags.' So I borrowed a buddy's car [and drove] down the middle of the street == I had Hefty bags stuffed full of these rolled-up pamphlets, and I'd cruise the designated neighborhoods, throwing these things out with both hands and literally driving with my knees." [Green, Atlantic Monthly, November 2004]

Rove Was Fired From 1992 Republican State Victory Committee For Alleged Leak.

During the 1992 presidential race, Rove was fired from the Republican State Victory Committee after he allegedly leaked a negative story about top-level GOPer Bob Mosbacher. Rove denied being the source of the leak, which was later confirmed by the writer, Robert Novak. [New Yorker, 5/12/2003]

Rove Allegedly Bugged His Own Campaign Office To Distract From A Debate.

"During the 1982 Clement campaign, Rove discovered an electronic listening device in his campaign office. While an FBI investigation was inconclusive, rumors later swirled that Rove in fact had planted the bug himself in order to distract from an impending debate. The local DA concluded that “Rove had hired a company to debug his office, and that the same company had planted the bug," according to one unnamed DA's office source. [The Nation, 3/5/2001, New Yorker, 5/12/2003, Washington Post, 10/7/1986]

Rove Ordered Whisper Campaign Calling Alabama Children's Advocate a Pedophile.

"Kennedy had spent years on the bench as a juvenile and family-court judge, during which time he had developed a strong interest in aiding abused children. In the early 1980s he had helped to start the Children's Trust Fund of Alabama, and he later established the Corporate Foundation for Children, a private, nonprofit organization. At the time of the race he had just served a term as president of the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect. One of Rove's signature tactics is to attack an opponent on the very front that seems unassailable. Kennedy was no exception. Some of Kennedy's campaign commercials touted his volunteer work, including one that showed him holding hands with children. 'We were trying to counter the positives from that ad,' a former Rove staffer told me, explaining that some within the See camp initiated a whisper campaign that Kennedy was a pedophile." [Green, Atlantic Monthly, November 2004]

Rove Sent Out Phony Newspaper Article During 1982 Campaign

At the end of Clement's 1982 campaign, Rove mailed out, according to "Boy Genius," "what appeared to be a newspaper to voters in certain parts of [Texas]. It included an account of Mark White's arrest for driving while intoxicated" years earlier, when he was in college." [Dubose, Reed and Cannon, "Boy Genius," 2003, p. 35; Dallas Morning News, 12/2/1999]

Never forget, and never think you can be too cynical with these fuques. From here.