Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Rove: Still Evil, Still Not Crazy

The liberal consensus on Rove's hissy fit over that Chrysler ad seems to be along the lines of what was he thinking? (see, e.g., Jonathan Chait, Mahablog, or Ta-Nehisi Coates). I'm not so sure. I would agree if I thought the American public was the audience he was trying to reach, but I don't think we are.

I think Chrysler was. Chrysler, and any other corporation not deeply committed to right-wing hegemony.

Rove's rant was a warning shot across the bow. It's a taste of what's in store for corporate heretics. The message is this: either get on our side, or stay out of the fight. And if you don't, we'll unleash the winged monkeys on you. That reference to "Chicago-style politics"? That's not about Obama; that's an implicit threat, a reminder of Rove's rules.

This is about Citizens United. Rove et al. can spend unlimited corporate cash to back right-wing candidates. Democrats can't possibly match what they can raise. But that's not enough. So now he's trying to dissuade any potentially Democratic-minded corporations from putting their money into the race, by making it clear that if they do they'll face the right-wing hate machine.

You know what Karl Rove really finds offensive? The thought of Democrats having the same weapons as Republicans.

8 comments:

c u n d gulag said...

Steve,
I hadn't thought of that.

I think you're spot-on!

Tom Hilton said...

Thanks! But I'm not Steve. ;-)

Tom Hilton said...

Not that I'm not honored to be mistaken for him, of course...

Kathy said...

You're right, Tom. Rove is always working an angle. Of course, he's also projecting in a big way in this instance.

ploeg said...

So Karl Rove is threatening a big American corporation. And if said big American corporation doesn't get in line with Karl Rove, who has no office, power, or platform apart from that which big American corporations give him, Karl Rove is going to do what to whom?

BTW, Fox News will be more than happy to run as many Clint Eastwood ads as Chrysler is willing to pay for. Just sayin'.

Bluesborn said...

Tom,can I call you Steve? Rove is a glaring example of a radical wing nut who has never had to pay a price for his offenses.In KKKarl's case the offenses are truly legion. Of course we can thank the President and his bottomless reservoir of good will and fair play for much of this.The radicals seize upon each new act of Bipartisan good faith as a fresh opportunity to impede the office of the President and the will of the people who elected him.

c u n d gulag said...

I'm sorry, Tom.
I got kind of used to this blog being a one-man show.

You're also a terrific writer.
All I can say is - Ooooops!

Tom Hilton said...

No worries, and thanks!

And if said big American corporation doesn't get in line with Karl Rove, who has no office, power, or platform apart from that which big American corporations give him, Karl Rove is going to do what to whom?

Use Fox News and the whole associated right-wing message machine to gin up a lot of Faux outrage. These tools have a lot of tools in their toolbox, ranging from threats of boycotts to calls for congressional "investigation" (there are plenty of wingnuts in Congress who are happy to oblige). And the thing is, anybody with a consumer brand really, really wants to avoid that kind of headache.

Now, I don't think the right-wing hate machine is as powerful as it used to be. And the Susan G. Komen experience suggests that maybe we've learned how to play the game. I'm not saying Rove would necessarily be successful in intimidating corps out of donating to Dem super-PACs; I'm just saying that's what he's trying to do.