By Menachem Wecker
Remembering the first political campaign he ran as a 23-year-old, former White House senior adviser and deputy chief of staff Karl Rove told the 175 people assembled at the Jack Morton Auditorium that he could not have achieved what he did if not for his experiences as a College Republican.
That was a fitting thing to say, as the event, which was billed as a Mr. Rove’s response to the midterm elections, was hosted by the GW chapter of the College Republicans.
“I had a lot of fun when I was a College Republican. First of all, I had hair, and I was a total nerd,” Mr. Rove said. “Everything that I have in life politically I have because I was a College Republican. Everything I learned about politics I began to learn as a College Republican.”
During his remarks and a question-and-answer period, Mr. Rove cited a slew of statistics and dates (four years ago “young people” made up 12 percent of the electorate compared to 11 percent today; in 1992, 43 percent of the American people identified as “moderate” compared to 48 percent in 2006 and 35 percent today). But it wasn’t all about figures, particularly not when discussing the deficit.
“Nobody really knows what a trillion dollars is – it’s not monopoly money for God’s sake,” he said. “It scares people.”
Mr. Rove also mixed humor with his sobering analysis of the state of the American political landscape, including impersonating former Vice President Al Gore and former President Bill Clinton. He also joked that Democrats must have hired Bernie Madoff as a consultant on the health care bill, which he called a “financial and fiscal disaster,” which will “absolutely crater our economy.”
He also addressed the Tea Party, which he called less important than the “Tea Party sentiment,” and the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives which he called “mind-boggling” and “a direct rebuke to the president’s policies,” but not the president himself, because “they kind of like him.”
Mr. Rove accused Democrats of double spending on health care. “Only in this crazy town can you spend a dollar twice,” he said. “Health care was a big reason why the Democrats lost.”
“The American people are becoming more conservative,” he said.
For Mr. Rove, it also got personal. Whereas the president ran a campaign of change initially, his midterm election rhetoric “vilified the opposition” and was “condescending and snarky,” Mr. Rove said. “What I sense is a response to the tone of the president,” he said of the recent Republican victories.
He also noted that President Obama had recently called him personally a “threat to democracy” in a talk at Bowie State University.
“I can’t imagine George Bush (41) or 43 or Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton trashing someone,” he said. The president, Mr. Rove added, has a “responsibility to the American people to honor the office.”
“What does this election mean?” he asked. “It means the end of the liberal Obama agenda.”
Michael Watt, a senior studying international affairs and economics, said he thought the event was “a big success.”
“Karl Rove was able to drive the event with his big personality and charisma,” he said. “The advice and insight that he was able to provide was invaluable to the politically charged atmosphere that is the GW community.”
Michele Walk, a junior double-majoring in international affairs and economics, agreed that the event was impressive.
“To have Karl Rove – one of the most brilliant political strategists of our time –
deconstructing the most pivotal midterm election in years for Republicans just days afterward was definitely an ‘only at GW’ experience,” she said.