Inside a Day with "The Architect"

I wasn't at the Karl Rove events, but I got the scoop from my mom last night and will try to do last Saturday justice. 

Karl Rove was awesome and the events had great turnouts despite thunderstorms in KC and a baking hot rally in Wichita. For an "objective" perspective, check out the KC Star "Prime Buzz" and KSN News stories below.

My mom said she found Karl to be sharp, warm, and funny, teasing her "mercilessly." (Don’t worry, she dished it right back and said he can take it.) Karl stayed up to speed by following news on his laptop during the trip down to Wichita.

Between events, when the media reported Moran's retort that "like Todd Tiahrt, [Rove's] been in Washington a long time," Karl asked, "when was Jerry elected again? 1996?!"

Karl laughed, "I came in 2001! He's been there longer than me!"

As a side note, Jerry Moran came to Washington just two years after my dad but he did spend a summer interning for former Rep. Keith Sebelius. So for the record, my dad has only been in Washington 1.75 years longer than Jerry. I'm not sure there's a big difference between 15 years and 13.25 years, but I digress.

Back to Rove... He braved the KC storms and stayed long after the Wichita rally to sign books in the sweltering airplane hangar at Jabara. My mom said the best part of the day was watching how relaxed my dad and Karl were together and how much Dad enjoyed having him in Kansas.

Thank you, Caleb Hays, for the photos!

Rove, "The Architect," rips Moran, calls Tiahrt the right guy for Kansas

In a blinding thunderstorm in Overland Park this morning, former White House political guru Karl Rove laid into Republican Senate candidate Jerry Moran, calling him a what's-in-it-for-me politician.

"It was all about him," Rove said in an interview with Prime Buzz."In-between him and a camera and in-between him and applause was not a great place to be."

Rove, nicknamed "The Architect" for his role in helping George W. Bush win two terms in the White House, endorsed Moran's rival in the Republican Senate primary, Todd Tiahrt.

Rove said Tiahrt of Wichita was principled and "not compliant."

"At least you know where he's coming from," Rove said. "With Moran, it's like, `What is his game?'"

Rove, who's touring the nation to promote his new book, said he's endorsed only for two Republican Senate candidates this cycle: Tiahrt and Marco Rubio of Florida who is a friend.

In a statement released Saturday, Moran spokesman Dan Conston said it was "no secret" that Rove would stump for his rival because Rove doesn't like Moran.

"Jerry stood up to him," Conston said. "Karl’s job was to line up votes to pass the President’s agenda and while Jerry agreed with much of the Bush agenda, he put his foot down against major increases in spending and government bureaucracy, like opposing No Child Left Behind.

"If you didn’t do what Karl Rove wanted you to do 100 percent of the time, you were punished for it. Well, that’s not a democracy and Jerry Moran is nobody’s lapdog. He wouldn’t be bullied."

Rove and Tiahrt spoke in a ferocious downpour outside Johnson County Republican headquarters at 126th and Metcalf. With his pants already soaked, Tiahrt joked it was the "event from hell" and said to a hearty crowd of a couple hundred, "I can tell you're not fair-weather fans."

Said Rove, "I"m from Texas, so we never curse the rain."

Rove was headed to Wichita later Saturday for a second campaign stop with Tiahrt. Polls show Moran leading in the race. The primary is Aug. 3.

Rove is the second leading Republican leader to criticize Moran. Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has repeatedly knocked Moran, saying "he was never there."

"I mean, he’d always be out there grabbing a headline," Hastert said, "but he was never there in my experience of doing the hard work to make things happen.”

In the interview, Rove was particularly harsh on Moran for how the congressman approached a 2001 bill on trade promotion authority that Rove said was aimed at knocking down trade barriers and would have helped Moran's rural western Kansas district.

Rove said Moran tried to cut a deal on the bill, offering to back it, but only if the president or Commerce Secretary Don Evans agreed to come to Kansas to help Moran raise campaign money.

Rove said the idea was ridiculous because Moran already had a big cash-on-hand total and likely wouldn't face a serious opponent. Moran was from one of the safest Republican districts in the nation.

"It was, 'What's in it for me?'" Rove said of Moran. He said Moran told him, "You've got to give the president to me in a safe Republican district or the secretary of commerce to me in a safe Republican district to do a fundraiser."

The Bush team eventually pressed a North Carolina Republican to vote for the bill, which resulted in its narrow passage. (Moran's campaign said Moran eventually voted to back the bill).

Rove also dinged Moran for being one of 12 Republicans who opposed Bush's original $726 billion tax cut.

Rove said the first vote was seen as a negotiating stance with the Senate, which was sure to knock down the total cut. Moran eventually backed a $350 billion tax cut.

"He was difficult to deal with," Rove said of Moran.

http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/22607

Karl Rove Endorses Todd Tiahrt

WICHITA, Kansas (KSN) -- Former President George W. Bush's right-hand-man has endorsed Rep. Todd Tiahrt in his bid for U.S. Senate.

"We got to know each other not just professionally but personally and then I got to see him upclose," said Rove. "He's a star inside the Republican house caucus, he's not flashy. You're not going to see him running to the cameras. You're going to see him working behind the scenes."

Rove and Tiahrt held rallies together Saturday in Wichita and Overland Park.

Tiahrt is running against Rep. Jerry Moran in the Republican primary. Moran's campaign released a statement saying: “We have great respect for Karl Rove, but Karl Rove doesn’t live in Kansas, he doesn’t know Kansas like Jerry Moran does, and like Todd Tiahrt, he’s been in Washington a long time.”

The Republican primary is set for August.

http://www.ksn.com/news/local/story/Karl-Rove-endorses-Todd-Tiahrt/TIhGpoHm9UaKPK4f4qcVkQ.cspx

...And here's a treat for those who read all the way to the end. Rough day on the trail for John, huh?!