“Karl Rove” on The Daily Caller

The Internal Revenue Service on Thursday abandoned its effort to force five big-ticket donors to pay gift taxes on contributions they made to nonprofit advocacy groups that are playing an increasing role in American politics. (more)

Let the 2012 money game begin. (more)

American Crossroads, the conservative outside spending group founded by Karl Rove, has announced a $20 million ad campaign focused on President Obama’s handling of the economy. (more)

Wow! I must be causing some people quite a concern as a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. The establishment skeptics are still stuck in the traditional campaign paradigm of immediate name ID, lots of money, and having held a worthy elective office before. The critics are pounding on what they perceive as my weaknesses. And the Democratic National Committee now has me on its radar and is sharpening its blades for a Cain attack. (more)

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Following the first GOP presidential debate in South Carolina earlier this month, a Frank Luntz focus group gave former Godfathers Pizza CEO and Atlanta, Ga. talk show host Herman Cain high marks. Although that was a singular event, some suggested that Cain could build momentum and become a viable candidate for the Republican nomination, especially as big names, like  former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, decide against a White House run. (more)

This week’s gubernatorial primary election in Kentucky produced all of the excitement of a three-hour Joe Biden dissertation on nuclear non-proliferation. And, while there may be some comic value to hearing Biden speak for any length of time, yesterday’s poll results in the Commonwealth should be no laughing matter for Tea Party faithful. (more)

UPDATE 8:50 p.m.: In a CNN appearance, Former CIA director Michael Hayden said the detainees the administration said provided information on Osama bin Laden’s couriers were at one of the CIA’s locations that allowed enhanced interrogation techniques, not at Guantanamo Bay. (more)

An aide described as Donald Trump’s “Karl Rove” declined to discuss details of the real estate mogul’s ongoing investigation in Hawaii into President Obama, saying it would be “completely counterproductive” to tip Trump’s hand, allowing Obama to then shield himself from the investigation. (more)

Through his Crossroads GPS organization, former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove rolled out a new document-sharing website similar to Wikileaks on Wednesday called Wikicountability. Crossroads spokesman Jonathan Collegio told The Daily Caller the website’s goal is to provide a one-stop place for access to Obama administration documents, both ones that are already public and those received through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. (more)

The Republican-aligned group Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies (better known as Crossroads GPS) is launching a nationwide TV ad criticizing unions in light of Wisconsin’s fight over collective bargaining. (more)

Rarely do down-ticket races determine the outcome at the top of the ticket. The 2012 elections could turn this axiom on its head. (more)

I applaud Sarah Palin’s passion, her adroit sense of humor, and her you-go-girl! gumption. But the more I learn about Sarah Palin, the more I become perplexed by her over-heated gender-bending rhetoric. (more)

On Wednesday, Meghan McCain leveled an attack against Rep. Michele Bachmann on MSNBC, calling her a “poor man’s Sarah Palin.” One night later on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham fired back. (more)

When all 63 new Republican House members arrived in Washington last week, they brought with them varying degrees of expertise in policy and politics. (more)

It was with great fanfare and a measure of controversy that ABC News named Christiane Amanpour to anchor its Sunday morning show “This Week” after George Stephanopoulos moved on to host “Good Morning America.” (more)

Talk about a holiday party pooper. (more)

Crossroads GPS, a Republican-friendly advocacy group with ties to Karl Rove, announced its first major post-election expenditure Tuesday — a $400,000 radio ad campaign in 12 districts across the country, urging the House Democrats to call for a vote on the tax-cut package. (more)

Political junkies on the left and the right require their daily fix. No sooner do they awake each morning than they turn on their computers, iPads, and smart phones and inject their favorite political narcotic directly into their brain through their eyeballs. When their brains have absorbed all they can tolerate, they go about their daily routines, returning to their source throughout the day and evening for just enough dope to maintain their high. Immediately before and after elections, however, they are prone to overdose on the bad along with the good. Beware, political junkies, there’s a lot of bad stuff out there! (more)

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, fighting to salvage his reputation and possibly another term, is arguing that he saved the GOP from a schism by reaching out to the Tea Party over the last two years. (more)