Karl Rove offers guidance on what the early-voting surge could mean

Karl Rove, committed Republican, is true to his school in his latest Wall Street Journal column. In it , he walks through ways in which the presidential campaign could turn John McCain's way in its final days.

But Karl Rove, political craftsman, ends the piece with provocative and dispassionate words about the latest fascinating development in this continually fascinating political season -- the huge response to early-voting opportunities in several states.

Rove notes that in most cases, it's the Democrats who are "flocking" to vote. And he writes:

We don't know yet whether they're cannibalizing their Election Day turnout by getting reliable voters to cast ballots early, or creating an electoral tsunami by targeting people who wouldn't otherwise bother to turn out. If it's the former, Mr. McCain still has a (long) shot. If it's the latter, he and other Republican candidates are about to be dealt a punishing electoral blow.

Words to remember as the numbers are posted on election night.

-- Don Frederick

Comments

[Pete]

And if the GOP does lose big, this is the man to blame. His scorched earth, business is king, partisanship over the last 8 years have wrought this. It goes to show that everything has a price.

[AnotherBrickInTheWall]

Here are some words to remember:

"His name has come up repeatedly in the hearings on this subject," said Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich. "Yet he refuses to testify based on legally invalid claims of immunity privilege."

Until he's ready to explain some pertinent things to Congress, I don't want to hear his opinion. "Political craftsman", now if that isn't a euphemism.

[Effy]

I think it is the latter. I voted absentee two weeks ago. People who are voting early need to post their early voting experience.

[scootmandubious]

Now we know why McCain doesn't run on policy. He knows he is in the minority position and he knows the GOP's only option to win this thing is voter suppression.

In 1980, Paul Weyrich, co-founder of the Conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, said the following:

"Elections are not won by the majority of the people. They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now.

"As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections, quite candidly, goes up, as the voting populace goes down."

Watch the video of that quote (delivered with evangelical fervor) and share it with your friends. I have an accompanying piece on their remaining strategy of suppressing the vote.

It is up at:

http://scootmandubious.blogspot.com/2008/10/gops-remaining-strategy-voter.html

We cannot get complacent.