During the George W. Bush years, probably the most loathed official in BushWorld outside of the former President had to be the man known as his consigliere, or simply as his brain, was Karl Rove.
There are many qualities that made Rove such an instantly unappealing character, with his arrogance perhaps being the top one. However, part of the animosity directed towards him was always because his critics realized how good he was at the world of politics, and what an advantage Bush had in having someone like him at his side.
Rove left the White House in August of 2007, when the Bush White House was all out of its political juice. He revived himself in 2009, getting gigs at the Wall Street Journal, Fox News and Newsweek (where he no longer works). He's written a book, but he made himself truly relevant in 2010 when he created two conservative political action committees – American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS – to pick up the financial load that Michael Steel was struggling with at the Republican National Committee.
The two groups raised $71 million in 2010, making them the second largest source of campaign spending other than candidates and political parties (Only big labor, represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Elections spent more).
Now as everyone looks forward to 2012, the Wall Street Journal is reporting today that Rove and his partner, former RNC head Ed Gillespie, are setting a goal of raising $120 million to knock off Barack Obama, win a GOP majority in the Senate and protect the House.
Mr. Obama raised almost $750 million in 2008 and is likely to raise large sums again for the next election. But there are signs that Crossroads and other conservative groups could outspend labor unions and pro-Democratic groups for the first time on independent efforts.
Democratic fund-raisers face several challenges. Wall Street, once a reliable source of donations to Democrats, gave most of its money to Republicans in the 2010 election, according to finance reports. Another problem: public-sector unions face financial troubles as Republicans look to cut government spending.
Major labor unions have pledged a combined $30 million this year to oppose efforts by some Republican governors to eliminate collective bargaining across the country. That leaves unions with less money for the 2012 election.
This article appears in Feb 24 – Mar 2, 2011.