Conservatives Proclaim Rove's Gotta Go

Conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly is the latest in a growing gathering of A-list conservative leaders who are calling on GOP strategist Karl Rove to disassociate himself from Republican party politics in response to his crude insinuation that he wanted someone to murder Congressman Todd Akin.

Saying that Rove is "an embarrassment" who "has made himself toxic to Republicans," Schlafly called on him to "resign" from Republican politics for his "embarrassing, malicious, and downright stupid remark."

Schlafly also warned that any "candidate or network who hires Rove will now be tarnished with this most malicious remark ever made in Republican politics" and went further to say that the Republican faithful "don’t want any more of his advice in secret briefings or publicly on Fox News." Schlafly joins a list of other notables, including WND publisher Joseph Farah, who said that Rove has become “a major liability to the Republican effort.” Farah called on both presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Fox News to show Rove the door: “Just out of sheer decency standards, Fox News should drop him as a contributor. Sean Hannity should stop pumping up this mean-spirited political operative as ‘the architect.’ Mitt Romney should denounce his remark and ask Rove to step aside in this campaign.” Farah added: “Here’s a guy who went ballistic over an innocent slip of the tongue – demanding that the GOP candidate for Senate in Missouri quit the race over it. Now it’s time for Rove to follow his own advice.” These latest calls for Rove to step aside come on the heels of Rove's tasteless insinuation that he wants to murder Akin, which was simply Rove's latest faux-pas in what has become an obvious and clumsy campaign to send grassroots conservatives a message, using Akin as a surrogate, that they are no longer welcome in the Republican party. Rove, who recently told the press, “we don’t care who the nominee is, other than get Akin out," recently "joked" to an assembled gathering of large dollar donors at a Republican National Committee (RNC) fundraiser breakfast at the Tampa Club in Florida: “We should sink Todd Akin. If he’s found mysteriously murdered, don’t look for my whereabouts.

Rove eventually apologized and attempted to dismiss his comment as a joke. However, Congressman Akin and his staff have apparently been receiving credible death threats. Prior to Rove's apology, Steve Taylor, Akin’s district director, noted: “My staffers are living under threat. There’s an FBI investigation into threats against the congressman. There have been threats against his family and staff. I am disappointed by that type of statement given what’s going on and the rhetoric and the current investigation.” William Murphy of Government Is Not God PAC, who has also called on Rove to follow his own advice and step aside, said: "Jokes about murder are not jokes when it comes to politicians where the risks of assassination are real.” Apologies aside and in spite of the fact that recent polls have shown that Akin is surging and is now either ahead of or tied with Senator Clair McCaskill, Rove, along with other GOP elites, is still trying to sell the tall-tale that Akin has no chance of winning. Rove recently told reporters that there are at least "five people who are interested” in replacing Akin, and Rove and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, who also stands accussed of having a vendetta against Akin, are still withholding funds from the conservative candidate; thereby increasing the chances that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Democrats will maintain control of the Senate.