Karl Rove Makes Joke About Killing Todd Akin

Karl Rove, who was a central strategist in the Bush administration, was known for his ability to clean up big messes through any means necessary — and by all interpretations, the remarks made on television by Missouri Rep. Todd Akin regarding “legitimate rape” are a fairly large PR catastrophe for Republicans to handle.

Karl Rove is known for his ability to finesse situations, even if his methods weren’t always necessarily considered the most ethical. In fact, so adept was Rove at glossing over bad things that George W. Bush affectionately called him “turd blossom,” for his ability to … well you get the picture.

But were Rove tasked with a political cleanup today, smoothing over the Todd Akin fallout would certainly be a job. While the Republican Party has responded by either engaging in complex verbal gymnastics to justify Akin’s remarks or spoken out of both sides of their mouths to insist that his platform was silly while still trying to dial back access to abortion in cases of rape, no one has yet managed to really undo the damage done to the GOP when it comes to women’s rights after the Akin debacle.

But could Karl Rove do it? In remarks Rove made about Akin, one might believe that the job is too big even for Turd Blossom. Rove said:

“We should sink Todd Akin … If he’s found mysteriously murdered, don’t look for my whereabouts.”

A rep for Akin shot back immediately, saying:

“Given the current FBI investigation of threats against congressman Akin and call for acts of violence and rape against his family and staff, joking as to the potential murder of congressman Akin is deeply disturbing.”