Rove's Worst Nightmare: Silky Pony

Having become increasingly irrelevant of late, the John Edwards team has resorted to a number of bizarre fundraising methods. The routine usually is playing up a story, real or concocted (see Coulter, Ann), from recent headlines, then sending out the Wednesday fundraising pitch in a cheesy attempt at grabbing cash.

This week is one I definitely didn't see coming, but it uses the Democrat's favorite bogeyman, Karl Rove, but not as you might expect.

Rove recently went on the Sunday talking-head shows and noted how unpopular Mrs. Clinton is, noting how she'd have difficulty in the general election due to her negative ratings.

Of course Rove was discussing Clinton because she's the overwhelming favorite to win the Democrat nomination.

Not so fast, say Team Silky, it's actually John Edwards who Rove fears most.

Seriously.

Just wash this one around.

To: Interested Parties
From: Joe Trippi
Re: Karl Rove's Worst Nightmare

You may have seen Karl Rove's recent attacks on Hillary Clinton in the news.

This is a page straight out of his tired old playbook--Rove is attacking Hillary Clinton because he doesn't want John Edwards to win the Democratic nomination.

Rove knows that Democrats will rally around whomever he attacks--so he attacks the candidate he thinks Republicans can most easily defeat.

OK, that makes perfect sense, no? Well, sure it does.

It may seem backwards, but Rove and his cronies did the same thing last time around. In 2004, they were scared of John Edwards, so they attacked John Kerry.

Don't take it from me--take it from Rove's own lieutenant on the Bush-Cheney 2004 reelection campaign, Matthew Dowd:

"Whomever we attacked was going to be emboldened in Democratic primary voters' minds. So we started attacking John Kerry a lot in the end of January because we were very worried about John Edwards." [Los Angeles Times, 8/19/07]

Well, you idiots, that was the strategy from 2004, before you lost all credibility, buried in an avalanche of hypocrisy. Now your boy is lucky to be a distant third in the race and you're left to lame fundraising pitches like this.

Rove and the Republicans want our opponents to win--because they know John will be the strongest candidate in the general election

We may not be the richest campaign--but John is the strongest candidate. This time around, the candidate with the boldest ideas for changing America--the candidate who can take on the special interests in Washington, D.C. and win--is also the most electable. We know it--and the Republicans know it, too. But they won't be able to stop us if we have the support of people like you.

Can you make a contribution today--and send Karl Rove the message that his efforts to influence the Democratic primary won't work this time?

www.johnedwards.com/roves-nightmare

It goes on with more bizarre claims.

It is no secret that John is the only Democratic candidate who can beat any of the Republican candidates hands down. Just look at the polls conducted by Rasmussen Reports--a major national polling firm--over the past few months. They show that John is the Democratic candidate who consistently beats all of the Republicans candidates in head-to-head match-ups in battleground states--and by the widest margins.

Rove and the Republicans are seeing the same numbers we are--and drawing the same conclusions. So Rove is using his sneaky, underhanded tactics to try and trick Democrats into rallying around a candidate who won't be as strong as John in the general election.

Of course, they don't cite any specific Rasmussen poll from the past "several months," so I'll do it for them.

Today's Rasmussen tracking poll has Silky languishing at 15%, well behind Clinton and Obama. And if you dig down at the link, prospective state matchups do not even include Edwards in face-to-face matches with Rudy Giuliani or Fred Thompson. In fact, he's not even considered.

Yes, Rove must be quaking in his boots.

Still, why let facts get in the way? They haven't until this point.

But with your support, we can make sure that Rove's plan doesn't work this time. We are building a strong grassroots organization in the key early states and across the country. John has the best and boldest ideas for bringing big change to America, he can take on the special interests and win, and of all the Democratic candidates he will be the strongest in the general election?in other words, John Edwards is Karl Rove's worst nightmare.

All we need is your support to drive right past Karl Rove's see-through tactics--and keep our campaign on the road to victory.

www.johnedwards.com/roves-nightmare

Thank you for all you do to support this campaign.

Sincerely,

-Joe Trippi
Senior Advisor, John Edwards for President
August 22, 2007

UPDATE: Allahpundit links, and notes this Rasmussen page where Edwards indeed does match up favorably when pitted against Republicans; though I'm still unclear when that is from. The above link I provided doesn't include Edwards in hypotheticals.