Salon.com > Steve Schmidt

GOP civil war: Limbaugh vs. the consultants

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:55:00 +0000

The last time we checked in with the post-election GOP civil war, Herman Cain was threatening to form a new party to compete with the GOP, Bill Kristol sparked a schism over tax increases, and Grover Norquist, the high priest of anti-tax dogma, was losing his grip on congressional Republicans.

This week, the Republican soul searching and polite recriminations via anonymous quote exploded into an all-out war of words between representatives of two wings of the party that have never gotten along, but largely kept quiet for the good of the conservative cause.

In one corner are the consultants, Steve Schmidt, who managed John McCain’s 2008 campaign, and Mike Murphy, who advised Mitt Romney. In the other corner is Rush Limbaugh, the embodiment of the conservative id in human form. We don’t have a dog in this fight as there’s blood on both of their hands, so just sit back and enjoy.

Post-election, politicos cash in

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 02:00:00 +0000

There are two types of money that corrupt our politics. After a national election that cost more than $2 billion, most of us know about the blatant kind that floods into politicians' campaigns, typically with quid pro quo strings attached. This is the most obvious form of legalized bribery — cash goes in, policy positions and legislative favors eventually come out.

As powerful as that money is, though, there's also a second, equally corrosive form of payoff — the kind that awaits campaign staff and outgoing government officials if and when they enter the world of influence peddling. This more secret form of influence, which will quietly shape the post-election period, tends to generate far less outrage than ho-hum rationalizations. For this reason, you almost never hear about it — that is, until the last few weeks, when a series of coincidental revelations provided a rare look at how this dark money really works.

Former McCain strategist: Voter fraud “doesn’t really exist”

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:26:00 +0000

Steve Schmidt, a senior strategist for John McCain during his 2008 presidential campaign, said on MSNBC this morning that the idea of voter fraud "doesn't really exist."

"I think that all of this stuff that has transpired over the last two years is in search of a solution to a problem, voting fraud, that doesn't really exist when you look deeply at the question," Schmidt said. "It’s part of the mythology now in the Republican Party that there’s widespread voter fraud across the country. In fact, there’s not."

Via ThinkProgress.