Rove issues call for GOP boldness at local fundraiser

SEATAC — Karl Rove, the president's closest and most influential political adviser, was far from the controversy that swirls around him in Washington, D.C., Saturday night, telling King County Republicans that the party's fortunes can rise again.

Rove could have been giving himself a pep talk when he said he sensed that "Republicans are getting up off the mat and getting back into the fight."

He did not mention the firing of U.S. attorneys, or e-mails and missing e-mails that have become high-profile news stories.

But what may have been most striking about the 30-minute speech by the man whose career has been defined by the arc of George W. Bush's political fortunes is that the president merited little mention.

When Rove appeared before King County Republicans three years ago, his speech was peppered with intimate behind-the-scenes moments to build a character sketch of the president.

This time, at the Hilton Seattle Airport and Conference Center, he spoke about government spending and the war. Rove repeatedly underlined the important role Republicans can still play in Washington, even though the Democrats control Congress.

"What it requires is boldness in advocating in what we believe," Rove said. "If we're bold, one of two things is going to happen: Either we're going to convince enough Democrats to join with us and we're going to have progress for America and pass good legislation, or we're going to have one heck of an argument.

"And guess what? Over time we'll win that argument."

Nearly 500 people attended the King County Republican Party's belated Lincoln Day Dinner. The fundraising event sold out in three weeks.

"People want to see what the president's going to do in his last two years," said Kirby Wilbur, a conservative talk-show host and party activist. "Republicans lost the Senate. They lost the House. So people want to hear what the political genius says is going to happen."

There were few details of what the final years of the Bush presidency could bring. Rove did attack congressional Democrats for what he said was profligate spending and taxation.

"These Democrats are making a big mistake," he said. "They're forgetting the fact that there is a Republican president ... at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue who is going to say no to their spending and taxes."

Rove's harshest comments came in regard to the Democrats' plans for Iraq. He ridiculed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her trip to Syria, saying her party is "mandating failure" in Iraq.

"You know, the troops do not need General Pelosi trying to run the war from Capitol Hill," he said.

State Democrats could not immediately be reached for comment after Rove's speech.

A small group of protesters was outside the hotel, some wearing large papier-mâché heads of Bush, Rove and Vice President Dick Cheney.

David Postman: 360-236-8267 or dpostman@seattletimes.com