Paper: Rove has 'mixed legacy' for GOP on Hill
 Karl Rove has a "mixed legacy" for Republicans in Congress, according to a Capitol Hill newspaper.
"Six years into President Bush’s tenure, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove has developed a mixed reputation among Republicans on Capitol Hill, many of whom view him as both the GOP’s greatest electoral tactician of the decade and, increasingly, as the mastermind behind some of the party’s major policy and political fiascos," Erin P. Billings and Susan Davis write for Roll Call.
The article continues, "Since Bush was re-elected in 2004, Rove — who Members and aides said now visits the Hill less often than he did earlier in Bush’s presidency — has been a key driver behind the president’s call to Congress to engage in a massive overhaul of the nation’s Social Security and immigration programs, two issues that have badly fractured the party and weakened its public support. At the same time, the longtime Bush loyalist — one of the last remaining senior aides from the administration’s original lineup — has found himself embedded in some of the GOP’s worst headlines in recent months, from the scandals involving the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson’s identity to the controversial firing late last year of at least eight U.S. attorneys."
The paper asked Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss) if he believes Rove "still holds the same stature among Republicans that he once enjoyed."
"Certainly not," Lott told Roll Call. "Obviously, I’m not a fan."
Excerpts from article:
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“Most of us look at him as the architect of President Bush’s election and re-election as well as the Congressional elections in 2002,” said one Republican Senator, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “He’s an animal — always looking at the future and the politics of how to shape the agenda.
“But there’ve been a few moves along the way that have left people scratching their heads and wondering how that fit with Rove’s [modus operandi],” this Senator said.
Beyond the troubles surrounding some of Bush’s policy initiatives, several Republicans also questioned a handful of Rove’s political calculations with Congress. For instance, several Senators cited Rove’s role in Bush’s failed nomination of then-White House counsel Harriet Miers for an opening on the Supreme Court and his involvement in the 2002 ouster of then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) in favor of then-Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).
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