Rove: ‘My Posterior Was Shredded’ Over Election

Republican political strategist Karl Rove says donors to his American Crossroads super PAC have treated him roughly after the GOP’s disappointing results in the elections last year.

“My posterior was shredded a little bit by donors wondering why we are writing checks for people who then turn around and run such lousy campaigns,” Rove said at a speech Wednesday in Dallas, according to The Dallas Morning News.

He said the problem wasn’t with Republicans’ conservative policies, but with the candidates who espoused them. “It’s not a question of ideology. The quality of candidates matters.”

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Rove has previously criticized two losing Senate candidates, Richard Mourdock of Indiana and Todd Akin of Missouri, both of whom lost after making controversial comments about abortion.

“[It was a] tactical victory where people said, ‘I can’t bring myself to vote for the other guy,’” Rove said. “We’ve given away at least five seats in the last two election cycles, maybe more, because of poor candidates. Our donors said, ‘We’re happy to write big checks, but we’re sick and tired of writing checks for [campaigns] that can’t win.’”

But Rove is optimistic about the future outlook for Republican candidates. “American politics is up for grabs,” he said.

Rove has started Conservative Victory Project, a super PAC that will fight against Republican primary candidates it views as unelectable.