Some of Rove's heirs have become lightning rods, just like their
mentor. Scott Howell, who is running ad campaigns in such hot spots as
Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia this fall, has drawn
Democratic fire for his Rovean tactics. Last week the Webb campaign in
Virginia named Howell as one of the "nastiest, most renowned negative
campaigners in the business." Howell got his start at the RNC, where
he worked with Rove under legendary attack artist Lee Atwater; he
later joined Rove's direct-mail business in Austin. (The criticism
isn't confined to Democrats. Some GOP operatives say Howell is simply
riding Rove's coattails, and question the quality of his work for the
Bush campaign in 2004. Howell suggests the sniping is the result of
his success.) But it's not all bare-knuckled offense; Howell leavens
his attack ads with soft-focus spots featuring his candidates'
families. One ad for Mike Bouchard, running for the Senate in
Michigan, features the candidate wedged between his teenage daughter
and her date. "Isn't this fun?" the candidate deadpans to the hapless
boyfriend.
.
In Rove's Footsteps
They learned from the master, and are applying the lessons in the
hottest races ahead.
Meet the architect's protégés.
By Richard Wolffe
Newsweek
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14975867/site/newsweek/
Oct. 2, 2006 issue - In a darkened edit room in downtown Dallas, admaker
Scott Howell is tinkering with his latest political firebomb. The ad
starts with illegal immigrants running across the border. It then cuts
to images of Osama bin Laden and Zacarias Moussaoui. Finally comes the
real target of Howell's attack: Harold Ford Jr., the Democrat locked in
a close race for the Senate seat in Tennessee. Over an edgy hip-hop
soundtrack, the ad castigates Ford for voting against border security
and the Patriot Act. "No wonder Harold Ford has been rated the most
liberal congressman from Tennessee," the narrator intones. The ad ends
with the word "liberal" pulsing on the screen as a shadowy figure walks
down a long hallway.
If that ad sounds familiar, it's not surprising—it's a classic in the
Karl Rove genre. Howell is one of a group of admakers, strategists and
direct-mailers who learned the craft from the architect of George W.
Bush's White House—and are now shaping some of the hottest races of
2006. Some are in Texas, making money as consultants; some are in
Washington, toiling inside the administration or the party. Most of them
will be in contact with Rove as Election Day draws near. None can match
their mentor's talent; armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of electoral
history, Rove combines a strategic vision for his party with a ruthless
will to win. But as his time in the West Wing draws to a close, Rove
leaves a legacy well beyond the White House—in the next generation that
he's nurtured, and the campaigning style they share.
Todd Olsen is one of Rove's prized pupils. He learned the direct-mail
business working at Rove's firm in Austin, Texas, then bought the
company—and its invaluable mailing lists—with a partner when Rove
switched full time to the Bush campaign in 1999. Today Olsen is refining
Rove's microtargeting techniques for candidates across the country.
Among them, two of the highest-profile African-Americans running as
Republicans: Michael Steele in Maryland and Lynn Swann in Pennsylvania.
(A key component of Rove's vision: bringing more African-Americans into
the party.) Olsen still uses Rove's old spreadsheets, printing up a
giant financial summary on Fridays to analyze how much his mailings have
raised from each segment of every list.
Terry Nelson first worked closely with Rove as political director of the
Bush '04 campaign. He was struck by Rove's street-level management of
the details. "Karl has a great focus on trying to figure out what works
in a quantifiable way, not only in terms of message discipline but the
discipline of building the organization," says Nelson. "I learned a lot
more about spreadsheets under Karl than I ever knew before." Nelson is
now senior adviser to Sen. John McCain's political-action committee
(widely thought to be the precursor to a 2008 presidential run),
managing McCain's extensive campaigning for GOP candidates this fall.
Running the Rove playbook in Washington are Ken Mehlman, chairman of the
Republican National Committee, and Sara Taylor, White House political
director. Together, they've implemented a strategy that has worked
wonders through the last two election cycles. But facing the tides of
history and a war-weary electorate, they will need all of Rove's tricks
to keep the party in power. Mehlman first started working with Rove in
the embryonic Bush campaign in 1999 and later managed Bush's re-election
in 2004. "We've learned a lot from each other—from what we've done right
and what we've done wrong," he says. "One is that there's no place in
America we can't go and unfold our Republican banner. Another is the
importance of a strong grass-roots effort—the Amway-like model."
Some of Rove's heirs have become lightning rods, just like their mentor.
Scott Howell, who is running ad campaigns in such hot spots as Missouri,
Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia this fall, has drawn Democratic fire
for his Rovean tactics. Last week the Webb campaign in Virginia named
Howell as one of the "nastiest, most renowned negative campaigners in
the business." Howell got his start at the RNC, where he worked with
Rove under legendary attack artist Lee Atwater; he later joined Rove's
direct-mail business in Austin. (The criticism isn't confined to
Democrats. Some GOP operatives say Howell is simply riding Rove's
coattails, and question the quality of his work for the Bush campaign in
2004. Howell suggests the sniping is the result of his success.) But
it's not all bare-knuckled offense; Howell leavens his attack ads with
soft-focus spots featuring his candidates' families. One ad for Mike
Bouchard, running for the Senate in Michigan, features the candidate
wedged between his teenage daughter and her date. "Isn't this fun?" the
candidate deadpans to the hapless boyfriend.
Rove will be watching his protégés closely, as he struggles to retain
the GOP's control of Congress. One of his biggest concerns is that some
congressional campaigns aren't recruiting as many volunteers as they did
last time around. "You have to constantly replenish people. In some
instances it has been done very successfully by some candidates," he
told NEWSWEEK. "In other instances, it's not been done so well."
Anybody who has worked for Rove knows what that means—he'll be on their
backs from now until November. In the early days in Austin, his
employees used to stage mock "mutinies," walking out of his office to
drink Margaritas whenever the boss drove them too hard. In one of the
most important elections of their careers, Rove's heirs won't be walking
out. But after Karl is done with them, they might need a drink.
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