As the media continues to focus on the GOP and their real and perceived limitations following last November's election (Robert Draper's story "Can the Republicans Be Saved From Obsolescence?" in today's New York Times magazine is the latest example), there's been a fun little internecine battle going on with Republicans regarding Karl Rove in the past few weeks.
That's after Rove launched his new group, the Conservative Victory Project, which aims to select GOP Senate candidates who have a legitimate chance of winning high office, unlike several of the Tea Party favorites in recent years whose ideology or character doomed their chances with mainstream voters (Sharon Angle or Christine O'Donnell, anyone? How about Todd Akin?)
If you've followed Rove's career since he led George W. Bush to the White House 13 years ago, this isn't surprising. Back then he was known for using all his heft to have more mainstream candidates run over harder right-wing types before a primary election, always cognizant that it would be better for Republicans to actually control the Senate, and not be necessarily ideological pure.
But that was before the Tea Party was officially created. And the blowback against Rove recently has been intense, particularly after there were "indications" that the Conservative Victory Project would target the very conservative Iowa Congressman Steve King if he tried to run for the state's open Senate seat in 2014.
This article appears in Feb 14-20, 2013.