Reidblog [The Reid Report blog]

Rove counting heads on the Senate Judiciary Committee

The White House has been twisting arms to ensure that no Republican member votes against President Bush in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation of the administration's unauthorized wiretapping.

Congressional sources said Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove has threatened to blacklist any Republican who votes against the president. The sources said the blacklist would mean a halt in any White House political or financial support of senators running for re-election in November.

"It's hardball all the way," a senior GOP congressional aide said.

The sources said the administration has been alarmed over the damage that could result from the Senate hearings, which began on Monday, Feb. 6. They said the defection of even a handful of Republican committee members could result in a determination that the president violated the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Such a determination could lead to impeachment proceedings. [emphasis added]

Over the last few weeks, Mr. Rove has been calling in virtually every Republican on the Senate committee as well as the leadership in Congress. The sources said Mr. Rove's message has been that a vote against Mr. Bush would destroy GOP prospects in congressional elections.

"He's [Rove] lining them up one by one," another congressional source said.

Mr. Rove is leading the White House campaign to help the GOP in November’s congressional elections. The sources said the White House has offered to help loyalists with money and free publicity, such as appearances and photo-ops with the president.

Those deemed disloyal to Mr. Rove would appear on his blacklist. The sources said dozens of GOP members in the House and Senate are on that list.

So far, only a handful of GOP senators have questioned Mr. Rove's tactics.

Some have raised doubts about Mr. Rove's strategy of painting the Democrats, who have opposed unwarranted surveillance, as being dismissive of the threat posed by al Qaeda terrorists.

"Well, I didn't like what Mr. Rove said, because it frames terrorism and the issue of terrorism and everything that goes with it, whether it's the renewal of the Patriot Act or the NSA wiretapping in a political context," said Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican.

Well I guess Bush's two court jesters, Orrin Hatch and Jeff Sessions, have nothing to worry about... (how do you say "yes my liege," in Utahian and Alabamian...?) And we know that Hagel, who isn't on the committee, is probably name number one on Karl's enemies list. So on a scale of one to 10 (one meaning "yeah, yeah, Karl, call me from the slammer when Fitzgerald is done with you," and 10 meaning "golly Karl, do you think you could maybe ask Mr. Cheney to release my mom? Or at least give me a "proof of life" so I have some hope?"...) let's see which of the eight other Republican Judiciary Committee members might have to rent a copy of "Good Night and Good Luck" before the hearings get too far gone:

• Arlen Specter (PA) - Has shown independence in calling for the hearings at all, and in repeatedly blasting the president's domestic spying program as an unjustified FISA get-around. Tacked back toward the Bushies by protecting Alberto Gonzales from having to tell the truth to the committee under oath. He's not even up for reelection, so he'll be spending November mostly snickering behind Rick Santorum's back. Karl Rove Intimidation Factor: 1.
  
• Mike DeWine (OH) - Ohio is a critical state for the GOP, obviously, and Mike DeWine has a lot on the line. He thoroughly pissed off the FReeperati by getting down with the gang of 14 on the nuclear option, and he was surprisingly un-robot-like during day one of the spy hearings, which won't make the AJ Strata crowd happy. Plus, he's facing a contested primary, possibly Paul Hackett on the other side, and a butt-load of GOP in-state scandals. Hell, he may not want Bush campaigning for him at this point and he is raising money just fine, thank you. But if the Bushies bail on him, Ken Blackwell will drop him like he's hot -- not that that necessarily matters, either. DeWine is a tough case for the Bushies. They may not want to help him if he doesn't go their way, but they desperately need to hang onto the Senate to keep possible impeachment at bay. I wouldn't look for DeWine to change his questions in the next hearing to the more Orrin Hatchlike "Mr. Gonzales, the president is practically a God ... right?" but the GOP could get serious about backing his primary opponent and even help themselves with the base ... Karl Rove Intimidation Factor: 7
  
• Chuck Grassley (IO) - Grassley doesn't face re-election until 2010, by which time he'll be about 130 years old. As Bush's main man on tax cuts and that horrid Medicare monstrosity, he could probably afford to say whatever he wants to, but probably won't bother. Karl Rove Intimidation Factor: 1
  
• John Cornyn (TX) - Kay Bailey Hutchinson is still alive? Wow. Anyway, he's not the one up for reelection (Hutchinson is), but don't hold your breath looking for a sudden outburst of independence from Bush's Texas homey Cornyn, since he was one of six GOP Senators, including three on the Judiciary Committee (Sessions and Kyl are the other two) who issued a statement supporting the NSA program even before the hearings had begun. Karl needn't bother. Karl Rove Intimidation Factor: 0
  
• John Kyl (AZ) - Kyl's Democratic opponent is self-financed (politics-ese for really, really rich) but despite some ill-placed Democratic optimism (a quirky Rasmussen poll in December that showed him ONLY UP BY 20 POINTS!!!...) his seat is considered relatively safe. As one of the gang of three who've made up their minds on the spy program, Kyl has no Rovian worries. Karl Rove Intimidation Factor: 0
  
• Lindsey Graham (SC) - One of the bigger surprises on the GOP side, really for several months. He has been skeptical of the NSA program and asked pointed questions in round one with Alberto Gonzales. And he's a Gang of 14er... no matter though! He's not up for reelection, sucka! Karl Rove Intimidation Factor: 1
  
• Sam Brownback (KS) - Brownback has begun to position himself with Specter and other GOP members and opposite the president on the domestic spy program. He also is considered a 2008 presidential aspirant, which puts him well within Rove's crosshairs then (as he is with the FReepers now). For now, he's not up for re-election, so he has room to maneuver, including in a way that could make him the Bush alternative Republican brand in '08 (that and his fellow Senator from Kansas, Mr. Roberts, is a complete Bush toady...) But since he's a potential presidential candidate, there could be some mysteriously leaked stories about him and a goat coming to a blog near you... Karl Rove Intimidation Factor: 4
  
• Tom Coburn (OK) - Apparently he's not really the most annoying person in the Senate. And he's not up for reelection, although I couldn't tell you what this guy thinks about the program. I can't remember him even speaking during the first hearing... Karl Rove Intimidation Factor: 0

So what have we learned? Karl Rove can try and take down Mike DeWine this year and maybe go at Brownback in 2008. ... Oh, and Hatch is up for reelection this year, which I suppose explains his hardcore sucking up (Sessions has no excuse. He appears to be a monarchist.) But truthfully, I don't see much intimidation potential for Rove to exploit. And what's he really going to do to DeWine, help get Hackett or another Dem elected? I think not. Ohio is teetering on the brink of GOP depression according to polls, and assuming DeWine wins the primary, the White House would be foolish not to help him, in all the ways an administration with below pitiful approval ratings can... Karl Rove cumulative intimidation factor: pretty damned weak.

Meanwhile, here's a story you might have missed: allegations that the NSA has been going after whistleblowers...

Tags: politics, News, Bush, national security, NSA, government, spying, president, hearings, impeachment