Drake to appear with Rove at fundraiser
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Published July 7th, 2008
Rep. Thelma Drake continues to make inroads with the far-left fringe of the 2nd District by announcing that she will be welcoming Karl Rove to Virginia Beach for a fundraiser July 18.
The modestly priced ($100/plate) luncheon will be held at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse at noon.
For more information on the event visit Drake’s web site.
Heck most Republicans don’t even like Rove - this doesn’t seem like a smart move by Rep. Drake.
I am not sure I disagree with Ragnar. Rove was a good strategist for Bush, but with Bush’s policies and Rove’s tactics causing his numbers to be below the crapper, it may not be wise to host him for a fund raiser.
I do see this event raising a lot of cash but at this point events should be about sending a message, not just raising money.
In an election years where being able to work with everyone is key, hosting a polarizing figure such as Rove may be a slight misstep. This would be akin to her opponent hosting James Carville (Although, truth be told, Carville is a lot more entertaining than Rove). Not a sign of an independent thinker to host Bush’s ‘architect’.
The (failing) model for the GOP that has, by in large, been designed by Rove has caused the party to become the butt of jokes and ineffective. Time to let those like Rove sit on the sidelines… or at least in the studios of Political shows.
Drake is better than this and should reconsider this event, in my opinion.
If Thelma is seeing the interest of Karl Rove in her campaign perhaps this signals she, and the RNC, is worried once again?
Too bad the Republicans can’t nominate someone to represent Virginia’s Second that would not have to be babysat every year.
Interesting that Drake, whose chief critics state she does wheatever the president says, will be hosting Rove and then Gillespie a few days later.
However, judging by the timing (July vice October), it would appear that this is strictly being done to raise some coin and motivate the base.
Alright, maybe it was the too many firecrackers that went off near my head, but how in the world does having Karl Rove do a fundraiser for her “make inroads with the far-left fringe”? Are you being facetious, Jim?
Since when does Thelma Drake care what her liberal, left-wing critics think? She has to run her own race. She can’t live her life, represent her district or run her campaign based on the fanatical lunacy proffered by Eileen or Dennis Hartig. She’s undefeated for Congress with this approach oh by the way. Besides, Rove is an American historical figure, a Party heavy-weight and a FOXNews contributor. He is this generations Lee Atwater, has Lee lived long enough to re-elect Bush I. People will come see him for the entertainment and curiousity value. Thelma will give the press and her opponent an opportunity to whine and take their cheap shots, but who cares? She’ll put a hundred grand in the bank and her donors will appreciate the chance to hear from someone as knowledgeable as Rove. Good for her.
If I recall, she raised a boat load of money when President Bush came down (despite her non-attendance). Pundits and bloggers said, on the first hand, it was foolish to have such an unpopular president in town, and second, it was foolish for her not to attend.
If I’m not mistaken she banked all that money and suffered nothing for it. The same thing is true for the Rove event.
Do you really believe that the average voter is paying attention to this?
If you ask me, the easy answer is: have Rove down, clean up a cool $100K or more, and that’s that.
Hell, it’s still early July. Most Joes and Janes don’t even know there is an election this year.
Perhaps bloggers might think that everyone is as tuned in as they are, but I’ll betcha that’s not the case.
I say, have Rove in town, bank the money.
Chase does make a great point… The average voter starts to care about elections the week before… and then come up with an excuse as to why they missed going to the polls.
Just good fodder for bloggers.
JR, as for your comment of “Interesting that Drake, whose chief critics state she does wheatever the president says, will be hosting Rove and then Gillespie a few days later.” I am confused as to what you mean. I would think having Bush’s Politcal architect for an event makes it look like she does do whatever Bush says (Which is bumper-sticker exaqgeration by Democrats who keep losing in the 2nd).
Are you saying Rove’s appearence does not help that argument? Long weekend, so I am a bit slow today
I am saying she is doing exactly what the left accuses of her doing…by hosting Rove and Gillespie, she is portraying herself as a close ally of the president.
Not that there is anything wrong with that. It’s just that she’s feeding the stereotype.
Also, as I said above, this is totally about motivating the base and raising cash. We’ll hear about this in ads in October, but I am not sure anyone will care.
Look, I want a reason to vote for her again.
Having Rove here proves to me that she is more “DC” than “VB”.
I keep coming here looking for reasons to support her but the GI Bill vote was pretty boneheaded and Rove doesn’t impress me much.
Senator Warner, Senator Dole- someone like that but I don’t think Karl Rove speaks for moderate voters like me who have voted for both parties.
I like this site, I get info here that I don’t get from the “media”. Please help me find a reason to send her back to DC.
I’m leaning towards Nye at this point.