Rove: Still Evil, Still Not Crazy

The liberal consensus on Rove's hissy fit over that Chrysler ad seems to be along the lines of what was he thinking? (see, e.g., Jonathan Chait, Mahablog, or Ta-Nehisi Coates). I'm not so sure. I would agree if I thought the American public was the audience he was trying to reach, but I don't think we are.

I think Chrysler was. Chrysler, and any other corporation not deeply committed to right-wing hegemony.

Rove's rant was a warning shot across the bow. It's a taste of what's in store for corporate heretics. The message is this: either get on our side, or stay out of the fight. And if you don't, we'll unleash the winged monkeys on you. That reference to "Chicago-style politics"? That's not about Obama; that's an implicit threat, a reminder of Rove's rules.

This is about Citizens United. Rove et al. can spend unlimited corporate cash to back right-wing candidates. Democrats can't possibly match what they can raise. But that's not enough. So now he's trying to dissuade any potentially Democratic-minded corporations from putting their money into the race, by making it clear that if they do they'll face the right-wing hate machine.

You know what Karl Rove really finds offensive? The thought of Democrats having the same weapons as Republicans.