Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) was Senior Advisor and
Deputy Chief of Staff to former
President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the
Office of Public Liaison, and the
White House Office of Strategic Initiatives. Since leaving the
White House, Rove has worked as a political analyst and contributor for
Fox News,
Newsweek and
The Wall Street Journal.
Prior to his White House appointments, Rove was a Republican political consultant and strategist. He is credited with the successful 1994 and 1998 Texas gubernatorial victories of George W. Bush, as well as Bush's 2000 and 2004 successful presidential campaigns. In his 2004 victory speech Bush referred to Rove as "the Architect." Rove has also been credited for the successful campaigns of John Ashcroft (1994 U.S. Senate election), Bill Clements (1986 Texas gubernatorial election), Senator John Cornyn (2002 U.S. Senate election), Governor Rick Perry (1990 Texas Agriculture Commission election), and Phil Gramm (1982 U.S. House and 1984 U.S. Senate elections).
Though no allegations have been proven or sustained, Rove's name has come up in political scandals, including the Valerie Plame affair, the Bush White House e-mail controversy and the related dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy.
Early years
Family, upbringing, early education
Rove was born in
Denver, Colorado, the second of five children and was later raised in
Sparks, Nevada. His biological father left the family when Rove and his older brother were children. His mother, Reba Louise (née Wood), was a gift shop manager, and his mother's second husband, Louis Claude Rove Jr. (1928–2004), who adopted him and whom Rove knew as his father, was a
geologist whose ancestry was
Norwegian.
In 1965, his family moved to Salt Lake City, where Rove entered high school, becoming a skilled debater. Rove described his high school years as "I was the complete nerd. I had the briefcase. I had the pocket protector. I wore Hush Puppies when they were not cool. I was the thin, scrawny little guy. I was definitely uncool." Encouraged by a teacher to run for class senate, Rove won the election. As part of his campaign strategy he rode in the back of a convertible inside the school gymnasium sitting between two attractive girls before his election speech. While at Olympus High School, he was elected student council president his junior and senior years.
Entry into politics
Rove began his involvement in American politics in 1968. In a 2002
Deseret News interview, Rove explained, "I was the Olympus High chairman for (former
United States Senator)
Wallace F. Bennett's re-election campaign, where he was opposed by the dynamic, young, aggressive political science professor at the
University of Utah, J.D. Williams." Bennett was reelected to a third six-year term. Through Rove's campaign involvement, Bennett's son,
Bob Bennett — a future United States Senator from
Utah — would become a friend. Williams would later become a mentor to Rove.
In December 1969, the man Rove had known as his father left the family, and divorced Rove's mother soon afterwards. After his parents' divorce, Rove learned from his aunt and uncle that the man who had raised him was not his biological father; both he and his older brother Eric were the children of another man. Rove has expressed great love and admiration for his adoptive father and for "how selfless" his love had been. On September 11, 1981, Rove's mother committed suicide in Reno, Nevada.
College and the Dixon campaign incident
In the fall of 1969, Rove entered the
University of Utah, on a $1,000 scholarship, as a
political science major and joined the
Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Through the University's
Hinckley Institute of Politics, he got an
internship with the
Utah Republican Party. That position, and contacts from the 1968 Bennett campaign, helped him land a job in 1970 on
Ralph Tyler Smith's unsuccessful re-election campaign for
Senate from
Illinois against
Democrat Adlai E. Stevenson III.
In the fall of 1970, Rove used a false identity to enter the campaign office of Democrat Alan J. Dixon, who was running for Treasurer of Illinois. He stole 1000 sheets of paper with campaign letterhead, printed fake campaign rally fliers promising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing", and distributed them at rock concerts and homeless shelters, with the effect of disrupting Dixon's rally. (Dixon eventually won the election). Rove's role would not become publicly known until August 1973. Rove told the Dallas Morning News in 1999, "It was a youthful prank at the age of 19 and I regret it." In his memoir, Rove wrote that when he was later nominated to the Board for International Broadcasting by President George H.W. Bush, Senator Dixon did not kill his nomination. In Rove's account, "Dixon displayed more grace than I had shown and kindly excused this youthful prank."
College Republicans, Watergate, and the Bushes
In June 1971, Rove
dropped out of college to take a paid position as the Executive Director of the
College Republican National Committee. Joe Abate, who was National Chairman of the College Republicans at the time, became a mentor to Rove. On August 10, 1973, in the midst of the Watergate scandal, the
Post broke the story in article titled "GOP Party Probes Official as Teacher of Tricks." Former Nixon White House Counsel
John Dean, who was implicated in the Watergate break-in and became the star witness for the prosecution, has been quoted as saying "[B]ased on my review of the files, it appears the Watergate prosecutors were interested in Rove's activities in 1972, but because they had bigger fish to fry they did not aggressively investigate him."
On September 6, 1973, three weeks after announcing his intent to investigate the allegations against Rove, George H.W. Bush chose Rove to be chairman of the College Republicans. Bush then wrote Edgeworth a letter saying that he had concluded that Rove had fairly won the vote at the convention. Edgeworth wrote back, asking about the basis of that conclusion. Not long after that, Edgeworth stated "Bush sent me back the angriest letter I have ever received in my life. I had leaked to the Washington Post, and now I was out of the Party forever."
As National Chairman, Rove introduced Bush to Atwater, who had taken Rove's job as the College Republican's executive director, and who would become Bush's main campaign strategist in future years. Bush hired Rove as a special assistant in the Republican National Committee, a job Rove left in 1974 to become executive assistant to the co-chair of the RNC, Richard D. Obenshain.
As special assistant, Rove also performed small personal tasks for Bush. In November 1973, Bush asked Rove to take a set of car keys to his son George W. Bush, who was visiting home during a break from Harvard Business School. It was the first time the two met. "Huge amounts of charisma, swagger, cowboy boots, flight jacket, wonderful smile, just charisma - you know, wow", Rove recalled years later.
The Texas years and notable political campaigns
1977–1991
Rove's initial job in Texas was as a legislative aide for Fred Agnich, a Texas state representative, in Agnich's Dallas office. Later in 1977, Rove got a job as executive director of the Fund for Limited Government, a political action committee (PAC) in Houston headed by
James A. Baker, a Houston lawyer (later President George H.W. Bush's Secretary of State). The PAC eventually became the genesis of the Bush-for-President campaign of 1979–1980.
His work for Bill Clements during the Texas gubernatorial election of 1978 helped Clements become the first Republican Governor of Texas in over 100 years. Clements was elected to a four-year term, succeeding Democrat Dolph Briscoe. Rove was deputy director of the Governor William P. Clements Junior Committee in 1979 and 1980, and deputy executive assistant to the governor of Texas (roughly, Deputy Chief of Staff) in 1980 and 1981.
In 1981, Rove founded a direct mail consulting firm, Karl Rove & Co., in Austin. The firm's first clients included Texas Governor Bill Clements and Democratic congressman Phil Gramm, who later became a Republican congressman and United States Senator. Rove operated his consulting business until 1999, when he sold the firm to take a full-time position in George W. Bush's presidential campaign.
Between 1981 and 1999, Rove worked on hundreds of races. Most were in a supporting role, doing direct mail fundraising. A November 2004 Atlantic Monthly article estimated that he was the primary strategist for 41 statewide, congressional, and national races, and Rove's candidates won 34 races.
Rove also did work during those years for non-political clients. From 1991 to 1996, Rove advised tobacco giant Philip Morris, and ultimately earned $3,000 a month via a consulting contract. In a deposition, Rove testified that he severed the tie in 1996 because he felt awkward "about balancing that responsibility with his role as Bush's top political advisor" while Bush was governor of Texas and Texas was suing the tobacco industry.
1978 George W. Bush congressional campaign
Rove advised the younger Bush during his unsuccessful Texas congressional campaign in 1978.
1980 George H. W. Bush presidential campaign
In 1977, Rove was the first person hired by
George H. W. Bush for his unsuccessful
1980 presidential campaign, which ended with Bush as the vice-presidential nominee.
1982 William Clements, Jr. gubernatorial campaign
In 1982,
Bill Clements ran for reelection, but was defeated by Democrat
Mark White.
1982 Phil Gramm congressional campaign
In 1982,
Phil Gramm was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a conservative Texas Democrat.
1984 Phil Gramm senatorial campaign
In 1984, Rove helped Gramm, who had become a Republican in 1983, defeat Republican
Ron Paul in the primary and Democrat
Lloyd Doggett in the race for U.S. Senate.
1984 Ronald Reagan presidential campaign
Rove handled direct-mail for the
Reagan-Bush campaign.
1986 William Clements, Jr. gubernatorial campaign
In 1986, Rove helped Clements become governor a second time. In a strategy memo Rove wrote for his client prior to the race, now among Clements's papers in the
Texas A&M; University library, Rove quoted
Napoleon: "The whole art of war consists in a well-reasoned and extremely circumspect defensive, followed by rapid and audacious attack."
In 1986, just before a crucial debate in campaign, Rove claimed that his office had been bugged by Democrats. The police and FBI investigated and discovered that the bug's battery was so small that it needed to be changed every few hours, and the investigation was dropped. Critics, including other Republican operatives, suspected Rove had bugged his own office to garner sympathy votes in the close governor's race.
1988 Texas Supreme Court races
In 1988, Rove helped
Thomas R. Phillips become the first Republican elected as Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Phillips had been appointed to the position in November 1987 by Clements. Phillips was re-elected in 1990, 1996 and 2002.
Phillips' election in 1988 was part of an aggressive grassroots campaign called "Clean Slate '88", a conservative effort that was successful in getting five of its six candidates elected. (Ordinarily there were three justices on the ballot each year, on a nine-justice court, but, because of resignations, there were six races for the Supreme Court on the ballot in November 1988.) By 1998, Republicans held all nine seats on the Court.
1990 Texas gubernatorial campaign
In 1989, Rove encouraged George W. Bush to run for Texas governor, brought in experts to tutor him on policy, and introduced him to local reporters. Eventually, Bush decided not to run, and Rove backed another Republican for governor who lost in the primary.
Other 1990 Texas statewide races
In 1990, two other Rove candidates won:
Rick Perry, the future governor of the state, became agricultural commissioner, and
Kay Bailey Hutchison became state treasurer. The 1990 election was notable because the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), earlier that year, had investigated every Democratic officeholder in the state.
1991 Richard L. Thornburgh senatorial campaign and lawsuit
In 1991,
United States Attorney General Dick Thornburgh resigned to run for a Senate seat in
Pennsylvania, one made vacant by
John Heinz's death in a helicopter crash. Rove's company worked for the campaign, but it ended with an upset loss to Democrat
Harris Wofford. Rove subsequently sued Thornburgh alleging non-payment for services rendered. The
Republican National Committee, worried that the suit would make it hard to recruit good candidates, urged Rove to back off. When Rove refused, the RNC hired
Kenneth Starr to write an
amicus brief on Thornburgh's behalf. After a trial in Austin, Rove prevailed.
During testimony before the
CIA leak grand jury, Rove apparently confirmed his prior involvement with Novak in the 1992 campaign leak, according to
National Journal reporter
Murray Waas.
1993–2000
1993 Kay Bailey Hutchison senatorial campaign
Rove helped Hutchison win a special Senate election in June 1993. Hutchison defeated Democrat
Bob Krueger to fill the last two years of
Lloyd Bentsen's term. Bentsen resigned to become
Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton administration.
1994 Alabama Supreme Court races
In 1994, a group called the Business Council of Alabama hired Rove to help run a slate of Republican candidates for the state supreme court. No Republican had been elected to that court in more than a century. The campaign by the Republicans was unprecedented in the state, which had previously only seen low-key contests. After the election, a court battle over absentee and other ballots followed that lasted more than 11 months. It ended when a federal appeals court judge ruled that disputed absentee ballots could not be counted, and ordered the Alabama Secretary of State to certify the Republican candidate for Chief Justice, Perry Hooper, as the winner. An appeal to the Supreme Court by the Democratic candidate was turned down within a few days, making the ruling final. Hooper won by 262 votes.
Another candidate, Harold See, ran against Mark Kennedy, an incumbent Democratic justice and the son-in-law of George Wallace. The race included charges that Kennedy was mingling campaign funds with those of a non-profit children's foundation he was involved with. A former Rove staffer reported that some within the See camp initiated a whisper campaign that Kennedy was a pedophile. although many critics nonetheless identify this technique, particularly as utilized in this instance against Richards, as a hallmark of his career.
1996 Harold See's campaign for Associate Justice, Alabama Supreme Court
A former campaign worker charged that, at Rove's behest, he distributed flyers that anonymously attacked Harold See, their own client. This put the opponent's campaign in an awkward position; public denials of responsibility for the scurrilous flyers would be implausible. Rove's client was elected.
1998 George W. Bush gubernatorial campaign
Rove was an adviser for Bush's 1998 reelection campaign. From July through December 1998, Bush's reelection committee paid Rove & Co. nearly $2.5 million, and also paid the Rove-owned Praxis List Company $267,000 for use of mailing lists. Rove says his work for the Bush campaign included direct mail, voter contact, phone banks, computer services, and travel expenses. Of the $2.5 million, Rove said, "[a]bout 30 percent of that is postage". In all, Bush (primarily through Rove's efforts) raised $17.7 million, with $3.4 million unspent as of March 1999.
2000 Harold See campaign for Chief Justice
For the race to succeed Perry Hooper, who was retiring as Alabama's chief justice, Rove lined up support for See from a majority of the state's important Republicans.
George W. Bush Administration
When George W. Bush was first inaugurated in January 2001, Rove accepted an appointment as Senior Advisor. He was later given the title Deputy Chief of Staff to the President after the successful 2004 Presidential election.
In April 2006, Rove was reassigned from his policy development role to one focusing on strategic and tactical planning in anticipation of the November 2006 congressional elections.
Rove resigned from his position effective August 31, 2007. Bush hugged his old friend saying, "Karl Rove is moving on down the road... I'll be on the road behind you here in a little bit."
Activities since leaving the White House
Shortly after leaving the White House, Rove was hired to write about the
2008 Presidential Election for
Newsweek. He was also later hired as a contributor for the
Wall Street Journal and a political analyst for
Fox News. Rove was an informal advisor to 2008 Republican Presidential candidate
John McCain, and donated $2,300 to his campaign. His memoir, titled
Courage and Consequence, was published March, 2010. One advance reviewer,
Dana Milbank of
The Washington Post, said of the book that Rove "revives claims discredited long ago." The controversial book has inspired a
grassroots rock and roll compilation of a similar name
Courage and Consequence that was released a week before the memoir.
Rove has also spent significant time on the road giving speeches to schools and other groups. Rove was scheduled to give the commencement address at Choate Rosemary Hall, a New England boarding school, but canceled after protests from students and faculty. He instead made a private appearance at the school on February 11, 2008.
On March 9, 2008, Rove appeared at the University of Iowa as a paid speaker to a crowd of approximately 1,000. He was met with hostility and two students were removed by police after attempting a citizen's arrest for alleged crimes committed during his time with the Bush administration. Near the end of the speech, a member of the audience asked, "Can we have our $40,000 back?" Rove replied, "No, you can't."
On May 22, 2008, Rove was subpoenaed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers to testify on the politicization of the Department of Justice. However, on July 10, Rove refused to acknowledge his congressional subpoena citing executive privilege as his reason.
On June 24, 2008, Rove said of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, "Even if you never met him, you know this guy. He's the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone."
Rove agreed to debate one-time presidential candidate and former Senator John Edwards on September 26, 2008 at the University at Buffalo. However Edwards later dropped out and was replaced with General Wesley Clark.
Rove, who was hired by Fox News to provide analysis for the network's election coverage, defended his role on the news team to the Television Critics Association.
On November 3, 2008, Rove spoke on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis on the eve of Election Day.
On February 23, 2009 Karl Rove was again required by Congressional subpoena to testify before the House Judiciary Committee concerning his knowledge of the US Attorney firings and the alleged political prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman but did not appear on this date. He and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers have since agreed to testify under oath before Congress about these matters.
On July 7, 2009, and July 30, 2009, Karl Rove testified before the House Judiciary Committee regarding questions about the dismissal of seven U.S. Attorneys under the Bush Administration. Rove was also questioned regarding the federal prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegleman who was convicted of fraud. The Committee concluded that Rove had played a significant role in the attorney firings. No conclusions were made public regarding Siegleman’s prosecution. Siegleman’s supporters have claimed that Rove was behind Siegleman’s prosecution, although Siegleman’s defense made no such claim either at his original trial, nor at his appeal before the 11th Circuit Court which upheld his conviction on the bribery and fraud counts, but dismissed two counts of mail fraud. The 11th Circuit handed down its decision March 6, 2009.
Rove was the guest host of The Rush Limbaugh Show on Monday, August 9, 2010., marking his first time hosting a radio talk show.
Personal life
Rove married
Houston socialite
Valerie Mather Wainwright, on July 10, 1976. He moved to
Texas in January 1977. His sister and father still remembered "the wedding [that] was so extravagant that [we] ... still recall it with awe."
Rove and Wainwright were divorced in early 1980; she was 26 and he 29. He attended the
University of Texas at Austin in 1977; he still lacked a degree. In July 1999 he told
The Washington Post that he did not have a degree because "I lack at this point one math class, which I can take by exam, and my foreign language requirement."
In January 1986, Rove married Darby Tara Hickson. She is a breast cancer survivor, a graphic designer, and former employee of Karl Rove & Co. Their son, Andrew Madison Rove (b. 1989), is an undergraduate at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
On December 29, 2009, it was reported that Rove and Hickson had been granted a divorce in Texas after 24 years of marriage. Dana Perino, Rove's spokesperson, said: “Karl Rove and his wife, Darby, were granted a divorce last week. The couple came to the decision mutually and amicably, and they maintain a close relationship and a strong friendship. There will be no further comment and the family requests that its privacy be respected.”
Rove left Texas after Bush was elected President in late 2000. He currently resides in Washington, D.C.
References
External links
Karl Rove -- The Architect, Frontline documentary on PBS
Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
Category:American adoptees
Category:American Episcopalians
Category:American political consultants
Category:American political pundits
Category:American political writers
Category:College Republican National Committee chairs
Category:Dismissal of United States Attorneys controversy
Category:George W. Bush Administration personnel
Category:People from Denver, Colorado
Category:People from Sparks, Nevada
Category:People from Salt Lake City, Utah
Category:Plame affair figures
Category:United States presidential advisors
Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni
Category:University of Utah alumni
Category:Texas Republicans
Category:Nixon CRP alumni
Category:1950 births
Category:Living people
Category:Fox News Channel people
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