Bush’s Brain on Why GOP Lost in 2006

From those who attended private sessions in January, the Washington Post’s “Capitol Briefing” has obtained Karl Rove’s inside view of what went wrong for Republicans last November.

Rove believes Republicans lost their majority mostly because of corruption- tinged Republicans in Congress. One page of the presentation is headlined: "Corruption" Voters' Top Issue. It then highlights, according to exit polls, 41 percent of voters who considered corruption an "extremely important" issue. Another chart indicates the number of "corrupt" lawmakers and "complacent incumbents" ousted from their seats.

Rove won’t blame losses on the Iraq war. Another chart, Dems Won Corruption, Econ., Iraq Voters, spreads the blame among those 3 issues, highlighting the percentage margin Democrats won in November from the electorate on each issue—21% on Iraq, but 20% on corruption and the economy, a small difference between Iraq and the domestic issues.

Rove contends that the Democratic gains in Congress came because middle-of-the-road independents fled the Republican Party. The presentation also notes Republicans suffered a 31-point drop in Latino voters, a net loss of 8 points among suburban voters, and a 14-point drop among self-identified moderates.

According to exit polls in still another Rove chart, the percent of the electorate identifying itself as Democrats stayed roughly the same over four elections from 2000 to 2006, 39 percent in 2000 and 38 percent in 2006, while the liberal percentage was 20 percent in 2000 and 20 percent in 2006.