I find it interesting that North Dakota Republicans are excited that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove is coming to North Dakota. While he can easily raise the GOP a few dollars, he most certainly won't score any points with North Dakota voters.
North Dakotans value their clean campaigns. They like an honest debate on what's best for their state.
Rove is well known for his dirty political antics. It has been widely reported that one of his first political jobs was to tour the country giving young Republicans "dirty tricks" training. Is this what the North Dakota GOP wants to bring to our state?
Most recently, Rove was sly enough to reveal the name of an undercover CIA operative, which caused Attorney General Gonzales to appoint a special prosecutor and put Rove under federal investigation. While the Bush administration boasts about the war on terror, their actions of revealing the name of a covert operative simply because her husband spoke out against the administration's war policy is poor payback. No matter what Republicans would say, this is not a man that represents North Dakota values or has our best interests in mind.
Rove's official job is to serve the people of the United States as a senior domestic policy adviser to President Bush. Why is he coming to our state to pressure Gov. John Hoeven to run for the Senate against Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., instead of heading to Louisiana to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina? Certainly his time could be better spent aiding the relief efforts in the Gulf instead of making a purely political trip.
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Speaking of Hoeven, why is he associating himself with a man known for dirty, cutthroat and below-the-belt politics? As the old adage goes, if you sleep with a dog that has fleas, you'll get fleas yourself.
Before the North Dakota GOP goes around cooing about how they've landed a top-notch draw to their party function, they should look at the slimy nature of Rove, a man who they are openly associating themselves with. As party leader for the North Dakota GOP, I'd think Gov. Hoeven would distance himself from such a notoriously manipulative person and stand up for the best interests of North Dakota.
Governor, please keep Rove out of our state and show all North Dakotans how you will not embrace the gutter politics he wants to bring to North Dakota.
Rob Blaufuss
Fargo
