Last night on the BillO show, Rove was being interviewed about the fire he’s come under from conservatives with his new SuperPac that will be targeting Tea Party candidates in the primaries. One of the first things Rove said, in response to an audio clip of Levin saying he doesn’t remember Rove back when he was campaigning for Reagan in ’76 and ’80, was this:

For Mr. Levin, I was the director of the Texas campaign for Ronald Reagan in the fall of 1980 and was appointed by President Reagan to sit on the White House Fellows selection panel. I didn’t meet him. He didn’t meet me. But he wanted to know where the heck I was then. Well that’s where I was.

Note he said “in the fall of 1980″. That’s important, because according to Reagan Biographer Craig Shirley, there’s no evidence that Rove ever worked for Reagan as he never came across Rove’s name in connection with Reagan at all. But even more than that, Shirley reveals that Rove was a supporter Ford in ’76 and was on Texas Gov. Clement’s staff in 1980 who didn’t even back Reagan until after he won the nomination:

In 1976, as Chairman of the College Republicans, Rove was for Gerald Ford over Governor Reagan, as was all of the Republican National Committee.

The 1980 Texas campaign for Ronald Reagan was run by Ernie Angelo and the Field Director was Rick Shelby. Gary Hoitsma ran the media for Reagan in Texas in 1980.

In fact, Mr. Rove’s own bio on his website says he was on Governor Clements staff in 1980 and Clements was not on board with Reagan until after Detroit convention.

So basically, Rove didn’t support Reagan in ’76 and only supported Reagan in 1980 in the fall, after he had already won the Republican nomination. No wonder he didn’t meet Mark Levin. So for him to pretend that he was some big-time Reagan supporter seems a pretty big stretch. He was forced to support Reagan just as many of us were forced to support Romney this last go ’round.

Click over to read the entire letter from Craig Shirley and more at the Washington Examiner.




Comment Policy: Please read our new comment policy before making a comment. In short, please be respectful of others and do not engage in personal attacks. Otherwise we will revoke your comment privileges.

73 comments
Guest1776rcp
Guest1776rcp

IMO, it is an insult to Reagan. To mention Karl Rove in the same sentence.

Nightsights
Nightsights

Rove is and has always been a lier and a snake. Putting the word conservative in the name of your PAC dose not make you one. Please, Fox News, can we fire this clown !!!!

Angel
Angel

I wasn't "forced" to support Reagan or Romney. I supported both wholeheartedly. Thank you.

dlg1956
dlg1956

If Rove gets his way with the establishment GOP and wins primaries with his picks, it is time for a new party based on the constitution.

Personally, I will never vote for another Rove pick again.....

I wil never send the GOP one red cent or support GOP hacks from in whatever position they are running.

Rove makes me sick, and Hannity is his biggest cheerleader. I stopped watching Fox News a long time ago.

Jay
Jay

No, no, no. You're all missing the point. Rove believes he was working for Reagan, that's the important thing. Just like a... uh oh... liberal...

I was a Bush supporter at the time but the more retrospect I get the less I like him and his staff.

VictoriaV
VictoriaV

so he's a lying liar!!!!!! Gee what a surprise..

Optimus_Maximus
Optimus_Maximus

Rove is a putz.

I hope the Tea Party can put him out of his misery, and out to pasture very soon.

I've never understood what Rove brings to the table for conservatives. So what if they get more moderate RHINOs elected? Moderate Rhinos would do nothing to change the country's trajectory.

Political strategists like Rove are not big picture people, who want to lead the country back to conservative priciples, and back to prosperity. They just want their guys elected to continue their power, wealthy lifestyles.

Which is why conservatives and Tea Party supporters despise the GOP establishment.

They are ALL Roves in the GOP establishment.

I stand with the Tea Party conservatives who want our constitution followed, spending cut (and by that I mean we spend LESS year over year, not merely increase spending at lower rates than the Dems), the size of the federal government drastically reduced, and a sound dollar (preferrably by once again backing it with gold).

Steven Valdez
Steven Valdez

Foxnews just keeps aiding and abetting that freaking liar.

aliswell
aliswell

There is no longer any discernable difference between FOX News and the rest of the alphabet media. All one big happy propagandist machine.

sjmom
sjmom

Not surprised at this and Karl Rove is still trying to make himself the conservative he is not. He is hog tied to the establishment and for him to say otherwise is a fallacy.

PFFV
PFFV

Bottom line is Rove is No Conservative, he is a Progressive-lite, much like 95% of Republicans today. The Tea Party Revolution is coming!

Conniption Fitz
Conniption Fitz

Rove has embarrassed himself...and insulted the TEA Party as well as the intelligence of Conservatives.

blueniner
blueniner

I t will be interesting to see what Levin says today after the Turd Blossums lying interview on Hannuty.

blueniner
blueniner

Rove was just on Hannutys radio show lying and stuttering, he also bashed Iowa rep. Steven King, and said he isnt a very strong candidate. Rove is in complet defense mode, actually for once Hannuty asked him some tougher questions, but he still caled him "The Architect", instead of the "Wrecking Ball"

LibLoather
LibLoather

What a lying sack!!

Karl, isn't their a nice little condo somewhere in ARUBA you can retire to?

Ingratiating yourself with the Reagan legacy is an act of desperation, and we see right through your motive, you big jerk. Get out of our country!

pdxlady
pdxlady

Talk about rewriting history...maybe he can rewrite himself out of it.

Rocco11
Rocco11

Methinks Turdblossom done tugged on Superman's cape...

freeperjim
freeperjim

"Tokyo Rove" living up down to his namesake...

Constitution Lover(underconsta
Constitution Lover(underconsta

WHAT? A politician lying? well I never........ ;x

c4pfan
c4pfan

Has he been elected to anything?

Constitution Lover(underconsta
Constitution Lover(underconsta

haha I think he's only had his nose in it (of course the "experience" is questionable it appears) :)

POLITICIAN

1: a person experienced in the art or science of government; especially : one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government

2 a : a person engaged in party politics as a profession

b : a person primarily interested in political office for selfish or other narrow usually short-sighted reasons

chatterbox365
chatterbox365

I saw the interview on O'Reilly and it was pathetic. Bill didn't even press Rove on anything...he just allowed Dough Boy to rant from his soap box as if he (Rove) has been some crusader for the Republican party.

I can't wait to hear Levin's response on this one.

korn8131
korn8131

For what it's worth; What Karl Rove says don't mean SNOT. "Don't mean SNOT" doesn't that sound familiar?

johnos2112
johnos2112

Tea Party folks need to take over the RNC. The only way to do that is to get multiple donors to come along for the ride!

deTocqueville1
deTocqueville1

Rove is a mendacious dissembler, period! He is the antithesis of Reagan and the conservative movement. His objective is to thwart conservatives and tea party activists at every turn and to maintain the control of the GOP exercised by the Bush family which is merely the continuation of the old Rockefeller establishment wing of the Party.

He should not be trusted. On the contrary war has been declared against these hacks and it will be won by 'We The People'!

sDee
sDee

"mendacious dissembler" Finely phrased.

TruthSociety
TruthSociety

Carl Rove has never been challenged before. He has been doing the rope a dope for far too long. I am so glad he started this conservative debate. Because he is not a conservative at all. Now the Tea Party can expose him for who he is. Fox is going to lose me every time his sorry face and that idiot chalk board appears.

sDee
sDee

Less and less each day, it seems, reasons tune to Fox.

Booker T.(D-Apparatchik Alley)
Booker T.(D-Apparatchik Alley)

Why don't you just leave us alone Rove? Who is paying you? What the heck is wrong with this guy? Jeez. He acts like its his duty to choose our candidates. Get off the stage, you pilly srick!!!

911Infidel
911Infidel

Mr win-at-any-cost Establishment weasel. And hey Karl how many of those so-called "electable" candidates that you supported last year got elected? I count none. Tea Party, I count 3. Lemme see Tea Party 3 Rove 0. Bye Rove. Take your money and your electability ideas and go back to Texas.

Brad Rebers
Brad Rebers

i highly doubt Texas wants Rove either,after all they elected Cruz.Rove is a loser without a party.

Philo Beddoe
Philo Beddoe

Isn't it getting old for people still jumping the Reagen bandwagon after 32 years?

clockwindingdown
clockwindingdown

No, it shows how effective Reagan was, that they are trying to get under his umbrella.

Fact is Reagan was an American, he understood America and right from wrong.

Reagan had morals, he saw what the world could be when righteous people bestow virtues. Reagan knew the world would thrive when allowed to be free, and he proved it.

The left recognize Reagan's success, are trying very hard to co-op it. Notice they are not trying to co-op carter's well known failings, yet they prescribe to carter's line of thought without fault or question.

What this shows is that the left knows people will, when given the truth, go to the right/conservative values, if given a chance.

Sober_Thinking
Sober_Thinking

How funny... Rove on O'Reilly. Bill doesn't dig below the surface at all... so, this is a softball interview essentially.

Karl Rove has really come out of the establishment closet lately and now that he's been "outed", you can't put the fat man back in the bottle.

I've thrown Karl's book away... same with Dick Morris. I no longer like or trust these guys.

sDee
sDee

It strikes me that O'Reilly, is quite ignorant of facts, cannot use a search engine, or is so spoon feed by his staff that he cannot even pick out breakfast cereal.

Gabriella Tuttle-Berling
Gabriella Tuttle-Berling

Yeah, he is a moderate as well. That's why they all liked Romney. The Rhinos on Fox all dissed and smeared everybody else. Don't get me wrong, Romney would have been better than Obama but Romney had the money to destroy all the other candidates with his smear campaigns till there was nobody left but him. The next GOP candidate better be a ultra conservative or we will lose again. Nobody knew Romney well. The low-information voters did not know much about him. He needed to buy TV time on all the major networks just like Ross Perot did and explain to the people "this is where we are and this is where we are headed". Buy 30 minute TV slots and use a flip chart and start explaining so people will get it. Most people do not even know what our debt is. What the GOP and Romney and his advisors did not realize is that demographics have shifted; we have more people on welfare and food stamps now and door to door campaigning is not effective any more. You need to reach the masses and the GOP needs to fight back and not be cowards when they get attacked by the left.

JRD1
JRD1

Tokyo Rove was a student leader in the College Republicans and had been accused of teaching "dirty tricks" to students around the country in January 1973 when GHW Bush took over the helm of the RNC. Bush took a liking to him and hired him as an assistant.

He was rotten to the core from the very beginning. GHW Bush ended up being Reagan's VP but he never liked the man. Rove's loyalty was always to the broccoli hater.

See "The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty" by Peter Schweizer.

PhillyCon
PhillyCon

Actually, Levin has said this quite often. I highly doubt Levin would be touting it, if it wasn't true.

Rocco11
Rocco11

Rove is finished, kick back and enjoy the implosion folks...

Gabriella Tuttle-Berling
Gabriella Tuttle-Berling

Yeah, were was Rove for the past months since his major miscalculations? Who actually still believes that guy?

PhillyCon
PhillyCon

Let's hope. He was supposed to be done after the congressional losses (06) and the Obama ascendancy. He's like a fungus ...