Rove went on to quote the great classical free-market thinker Ludwig von Mises, who said that "capitalism has raised the standard of living among the masses to a level which our ancestors could not have imagined." Rove also said that because of Ronald Reagan, the debate over the merits of capitalism versus a command-and-control economy has been settled, that the free market has won in a rout, and that economic growth and prosperity have followed in its path.
This is weighty stuff for someone generally thought of simply as a political organizer.
In a hard-hitting speech to the New York Conservative Party a few months back, Rove told the audience that "conservatives believe in lower taxes; liberals believe in higher taxes. We want few regulations; they want more. We believe in curbing the size of government; they believe in expanding the size of government."
That same night, he emphasized the conservative reform agenda where ownership replaces entitlement, welfare reform supersedes government dependence and Social Security reform benefits ordinary working people by tapping into the markets. He added that conservatives must always and everywhere oppose job-killing tax hikes.
In the hurly burly of Washington politics and punditry, Rove's supply-side investor-class approach to economic policy is nearly always overlooked. While media mavens are constantly searching for "gotcha" political points, they seldom take the time to read the words that truly reveal the underlying philosophies and policies of our major figures. Anyone who takes the time to comb through Rove's work will discover a deep policy thinker who has consistently given the president sound advice based on an optimistic worldview of growth and prosperity.
Indeed, Rove is the rare political advisor who understands that good pro-growth policies lead to successful politics. There's no question that Rove is, in fact, a brilliant political strategist, but he is also an uncommon thinker who understands the economic underpinning of winning elections.
I don't think there's anything to the case against Rove, but that must be left to the special prosecutor and the grand jury. My point is the economic content in this controversy. Let's hope we don't lose the strong pro-growth advocate we have in Karl Rove.