The replacement of Karl Rove as chief political adviser to George W. Bush is Ed Gillespie, a veteran Republican operative and a high-profile lobbyist.
Gillespie will determine “where and how often Bush appears and what he says”. He will “handle political strategy and message management”.
Texas Governor Bush tapped Gillespie. To help steer the the Bush nomination, Gillespie coordinated the 2000 Republican Convention. He operated in GOP policy during the Florida vote and chad-counting. He moved to Austin, Texas to join with Karl Rove as Bush readied for Washington. Gillespie then helped set up the White House commerce policy.
Canada’s online newspaper The Tyee provides a consolidated report on his background.
Gillespie is the architect of the ‘Contract with America’ [wiki] which became the Republican Party’s signature stump with Dick Armey and Newt Gingrich at the helm.
The Tyee reminds us that the Contract with America promised lower taxes and smaller government and propelled Republican control of both houses of Congress for the first time in four decades.
Ed Gillespie has been an influential strategist in the private sector too. His recent clients have made him rich as he lobbies votes from members of Congress to benefit a long list of the corporate needy. Verizon. Viacom. Cisco. SBC. Hughes. PriceWaterhouse. American Hospital. Health Insurance of America. Canada’s softwood lumber exporters. Steel and uranium groups. Microsoft. General Electric. Sony. Bristol-Myers Squibb. Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Atlantic Richfield. Bank of America. Recording Industry Association. Enron.
From a previous post:
If we had known Karl Rove would direct America’s leadership, would we have voted his client into the White House?
The Village Voice says we should learn about the people that take over our government.
The people we elect bring their very own ‘Candidate Whisperer’.