“‘What you’re seeing is the first shot in the war against Sarah Palin,’ said Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips. ‘Karl Rove is a very shrewd political operative. Getting himself into trouble is not what’s going on,’ added Phillips, who earlier this year organized the Tea Party convention, where Palin was the headline speaker.

“‘Karl Rove–bless his heart–has been wrong all summer long when it comes to having any idea of what conservative Americans want,’ said Levi Russell, spokesperson for the Tea Party Express by email. ‘The difference is that Rove is a D.C. analyst, and Sarah Palin is a leader.’ Russell described Palin as ‘unquestionably the most electrifying figure in politics today,’ while Rove ‘strikes me as a guy who would cross his arms and scowl at the thought of some Hollywood actor named Reagan running for Governor of California.'”

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