A Brownback-Rove 2008 Alliance?



(image via epochtimes)

The political alliance between Karl Rove and Senator Frist may already be in the process of a slow, drawn-out disintegration; a casualty of this summer's stem-cell debate. Maybe. At least, that's what we are led to think from the new Radar "Fresh Intelligence." We won't entertain here Lawrence O'Donnell's provocative prediction that Rove's lawyer will be indicted, which -- despite O'Donnell's solid record on hazarding such guesses -- in the absense of hard evidence, is essentially McLaughlin-style "predicting."

What is it about Senate Majority Leaders and Presidents that -- even when they are of the same party -- alliances erode? Is it the tense proxitimity to "The Ultimate Prize," namely: the Oval Office, that makes alliances between a President and a Senate Majority Leader -- always -- antagonistic? (The Corsair observes the vermillion sunset then sips, wanly, from a glass of whiskey-mash) ... Perhaps.

Who, then, is the new apple of "The Rover's" eye? Surely, Karl Rove still has his eye on the prize -- namely, the enacting of a Republican majority in all three branches of government for the ages.

Would you believe, then, that squeaky-clean and affable Kansas Senator Sam Brownback is his new "apprentice"? Curiously, Brownback falls in line with the Bush Administration on the Miers vote. Most curious, indeed.

Brownback, whom we cannot fail to note, has been shuttling betwewen New Hampshire and Iowa so often of late ... that it would be almost economical at this point to just purchase some real estate in both places. It feels like he's running; it tastes like he's running. But what about Rove's earlier, behind-the-scenes alliance with Bill Frist that, essentially, got him the Majority Leader position after Trent Lott done fucked the whole shit up? Well, according to Radar Online:

"Conspiracy-minded Capitol Hill insiders are saying the probe of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist smells of political retribution�from the right.

"Frist�s suspiciously timed decision to unload shares in his family�s company, Hospital Corporation of America, only days before the firm announced it would not meet projected earnings last July did raise eyebrows. But the fact that the investigation was spearheaded by Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, Bush�s legal crony, and SEC Chairman (and former Republican congressman) Chris Cox, has observers on both sides of the aisle wondering if it�s an effort to kneecap the senator before he can announce his 2008 presidential bid. (Cox has since recused himself).

"Frist, after all, was once a loyal enforcer of the Bush agenda�famously sacrificing his own medical cred to give Terri Schiavo a clean bill of health�but has recently incurred the ire of his former hard-line comrades by embracing stem cell research and calling for an independent look into the federal bungling of Katrina. Which, in Rove-speak, one Hill insider says, means its open season on Frist."

And if it was Frist's sudden defection (independence?) on stem-cell research that made him -- allegedly -- politically radioactive to Rove, Brownback, in contrast, was on the right side of the issue from the point of view of conservatism. More Radar:

�'We were hearing murmurings of this happening weeks ago, but everyone was so involved in Katrina and no one believed it,' a Republican Senate staffer tells us. 'Why would the Bush administration investigate their own senate leader? It just seems preposterous until you look at Frist�s behavior of late and Rove�s new allegiance to [Kansas Senator Sam] Brownback.'"

We're not vouching for any of this, as it sounds intensely conspiratorial and somewhat suspect. However, the new Rove alliance with Sam Brownback, who is definitely running for President, raises some red-flags as to how stable the alliance is with Frist, who, also, is all-but-certain to run for the Oval Office. McCain, of course, is at present cleaning Bill Frist's clock (The center of power in the Senate has shifted, post-Katrina, from the Republican leadership to the "Gang of 14"; the "90-9" McCain anti-torture vote victory this week; what's to say McCain won't do the same in a Republican primary. Brownback-Rove sounds more organic -- more electable. And you know what Napoleon Bonaparte, whose adages Rove admires, once said about friendship: "friendship is but a name."

Anyway: If Brownback is Rove's new candidate, then that is news indeed.

The full story here.