Before Republicans ultimately gave in to President Obama’s demands in the shutdown/debt ceiling debate, GOP strategist Karl Rove said Tuesday the Republican Party should quit while it is not as far behind as it could be.
Rove appeared on Fox News Channel’s On the Record where he criticized those Republicans who fought for concessions on ObamaCare and entitlements, saying they are weakening the GOP position the longer they hold out.
“At some point you have to focus on, as Ronald Reagan said, getting as much of the pie as you possibly can get,” Rove said.
He added that the GOP would not even be able to get 80 percent of what they want now because they have grown weak over the last two months due to fighting something they could never have obtained: defunding ObamaCare.
“And the longer this goes on, the less leverage they have,” Rove said.
Rove explained that Republicans’ insistence on continued fighting is one reason Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid “threw the ball to them” and stopped Senate discussions. He knew the GOP would not get together on a bill, and wanted to weaken them further.
Reid hoped “they wouldn’t be able to coalesce behind a plan like Boehner laid out… with the leadership–and they haven’t,” Rove said.