We learned over the weekend the Karl Rove's attack operation, American Crossroads, is launching a project called the Conservative Victory Project, intended to help discourage the Republican Party's right-wing from nominating unelectable loons who lose general-election races.
In particular, Crossroads president Steven Law noted his concerns about Iowa's 2014 Senate race. "We're concerned about Steve King's Todd Akin problem," Law said. "This is an example of candidate discipline and how it would play in a general election. All of the things he's said are going to be hung around his neck."
Compare that to what Law told MSNBC's Chuck Todd yesterday.
For those who can't watch clips online, Todd noted that Steve King managed to win re-election against a credible Democrat in 2012. "Sure," Law said, after noting the money Crossroads has already invested in Tea Party candidates. "And we put $400,000 into that race, actually, in support of him this last go around."
Jed Lewison picked up on the shift: "A few days ago, Law was basically calling Steve King an unelectable nut job, saying that he was "concerned" about King because of 'King's Todd Akin problem' and the fact that 'all of the things he's said are going to be hung around his neck.' And now Law defends himself to conservatives by saying that his group actually spent $400,000 to try to elect King and refuses to repeat any of his pointed criticisms of King, instead saying he was trying to make a generic argument about how things a candidate has said or might say ought to be a factor in deciding who to support."
Quite right. Over the course of a few days, American Crossroads has gone from arguing that King is exactly the kind of candidate they're worried about to effectively saying, "Who us? We love Steve King! We gave him $400,000!"
The structural integrity of the Conservative Victory Project appears to be crumbling after less than a week.
Complicating matters, Jillian Rayfield reports that Conservative Victory Project is inspiring copy-cat organizations that will push in the opposite direction.
Former Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Ill., announced Tuesday that he is forming a super PAC "to support freedom-loving conservative alternatives" and to fight back against a Karl Rove initiative to keep unelectable Tea Partyers from winning primaries. [...]
He wrote on his Facebook page that "if we had listened to Karl Rove in 2010, there would be no [Florida] Sen. Marco Rubio. Rove backed Charlie Crist, who was last seen raving about President Obama at the Democrat National Convention last year." Walsh also referenced Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas, whose opponents were also backed by Rove.
"In fact, if we had listened to Karl Rove in 2010, there never would have been a congressman Joe Walsh. Rove thought openly Tea Party candidates like Walsh couldn't win," wrote Walsh, who lost his seat in 2012 to Democrat Tammy Duckworth.
To be sure, it's unlikely Walsh's super PAC will become a powerhouse to rival Rove's operation. The former one-term congressman is generally seen as an over-caffeinated nut, and he will probably struggle to raise considerable amounts of money for a national operation.
But Walsh's ire for Rove and the Conservative Victory Project is the tip of a right-wing iceberg -- the apoplexy among conservative activists and organizations has been fierce -- and helps explain why Steven Law was far more circumspect yesterday than he was over the weekend.
This probably wasn't the start the Conservative Victory Project was hoping for.
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Excellent, Smithers. Obama's evil plan to destroy the GOP is working.
Let them have their guns, the only people they shoot is themselves - in the foot.
I love a good republicant cat fight; meow! They will implode as a party if they continue to rip themselves to shreds. Hint for republicants: the republicant registration in Cali is down to 28 percent, and tanking. We need to take the senate to 60, and take back the house in 14, then Hils for President in 16. Wipe out!
Crossroads loves King as a congressional candidate in a safely red district. Not so much as a senatorial candidate. It's all about electability. After all, if they keep supporting losers, people might stop giving them so much money. But now they can double dip, collecting funds to elect the most electable nominee for a race, then collecting more for the general.
I agree King is safe as long as he stays a congressmen, just like Bachmann she couldn't win an senate seat either.
but guess the un-electable loons still have some control over the bin.
It's called "dancing with the one that brung ya to the dance"; as the GOP courted and woo'ed the crazy/religuluous zealots - it's not as though the GOP can dismiss them NOW that the tea-baggers have shown how looney they really are. It's up to rationally thinking American people to decide whether or not to vote for these crazies or not.
The fact that he's in a "safely red district" is where the justification that King won against a reasonable Democratic candidate falls apart. There are some Congressional districts where no Democrat is going to win, no matter who the Republican candidate is. That doesn't work on a state level, because state boundaries aren't Gerrymandered to entirely disenfranchise one of the two parties. (That's also the distinction between the Electoral College as-is, and allocating electoral votes by congressional district.)
Quite right about difference between a safe congressional seat and state wide office as any chimp could tell the teapubs. But by all means, please proceed Iowa GOP.
Sounds like Walsh needs a new source of income, I'd keep a watch on what percentage of his PAC money goes for overhead.
Hey Steve,
What happened to the 'time stamp' at the top of the articles, next to your name? I use that to gauge when I should check your blog again, for new articles/blogs.
King won't run for the Senate seat, he may be nuts but he aint stupid. Self-preservation is a very strong component. As it stands right now, King is a celebrity.
Oh wow, now that Walsh has jumped into the ring, this is going to get seriously hilarious. I almost feel like donating to all of these news PACs just to keep the catfight going as long as possible.
And the first ad out of the box? ATTACK ASHLEY JUDD! Yeah way to GO!
Your Monster is loose Ms. Rove. Better not trip whilst running away from it, or break a heal!
Demise couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of "humans"!
Starting with the "Southern Strategy" the Republicans went where they shouldn't have.
Now they either cut the nut jobs loose, and acquire some sanity (and some integrity) for dealing with the money guys, or they will end up in the trash bin.
And the repub civil war intensifies. I think we are seeing a historic moment, where a major American political party tears itself apart, and the future of its members is at stake. I'm enjoying it, on one hand, but on the other hand, it makes governing that much more difficult. As we saw earlier this year, having a party in the midst of a civil war means you have no idea who to negotiate with. Which nut job can actually deliver votes?
Add the backpedaling Rove was doing on Hannity and you have to ask yourself - were they soooo naive and foolish to think the teabagger would not respond in such a voracious manner? That the TP would see this as a direct challenge to their primary stranglehold on the party?
Walsh once convinced a majority of suckers he represented their values. Now that they've rejected him, the solution is obvious, find a different group of suckers. He doesn't need to make a ton of dough, just to keep a roof over his head and his ex wife's lawyers off his back.
I'm all for Joe Walsh getting as much TV time as possible. Hey, Faux News: here's one of your replacements for Sarah Palin and Dick Morris.
Being a big fish in a little pond (congressional district) is very different from trying to be a big fish in the big pond. (the entire state). If the tea party want to think it's the same thing, then let them please find out the hard way. Yes it worked in a few Senatorial seats in 2010 but honestly that was before they started trying to govern (or not govern as the case may be) now we Know how they work, they are going to have a much bigger problem in 2014. We must remember to ask the questions we didn't always ask the questions in 2010 in 2012 we did and every one of the tea party fanatics put their size 9's right into their mouths. Iowa independents and democrats if King wins the primary please keep asking him the right questions about women's health etc.
American Crossroads and Rove are trying to do what can only be done the hard way. The radical right thinks the majority of voters support their agenda. This irrational belief allows the Tea Party to attack the establishment Republicans for trying to control the party and candidates. The only way the radical right is going to learn a lesson is for them to nominate the presidential candidate of their choice. When that candidate and most like down ticket candidates loose in a landslide, the Tea Party will fade away while their leaders run from the responsibility for the losses. I would note that the religious right will likely fade as a national force and be confined to state parties. Then the establishment Republicans will be able to pick up the pieces and return to being a center right national party. Crossroads and Rove are merely delaying the inevitable because the radical right will not give up until they get their candidate and a national referendum on their agenda.
Heh, Steve Benen used the word "integrity" in reference to a Republican operation!