(CNN) – Newly-minted Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell is picking her latest battle with Karl Rove, the former top Bush aide who said O'Donnell's surprise victory in the Delaware primary Tuesday does "little good" for the party.
"It's a shame. He is the same so-called political guru that predicted I wasn't going to win," said O'Donnell to ABC in response to Rove. "And we won, and we won big. So I think he is eating some humble pie and trying to restore his reputation.
Speaking on Fox News Tuesday night after O'Donnell's victory was clear, Rove said the political newcomer does not "evince the characteristics of rectitude and sincerity and character that the voters are looking for," adding "there's just a lot of nutty things she's been saying."
"Why did she mislead voters about her college education, how come it took her nearly two decades to pay her college bills so she could get her college degree, how does she make a living, why did she sue a well known and well thought of think tank?" he continued.
Responding directly to those comments, O'Donnell told ABC that "everything that he is saying is unfactual."
O'Donnell has repeatedly denied claims – many leveled by the Delaware GOP who was vehemently opposed to her candidacy – that she did not receive a college diploma because of unpaid debts, owed back taxes, and let her home fall into foreclosure.
Meanwhile, Kristin Murray, O'Donnell's former campaign manager in 2008, alleged O'Donnell of "living on campaign donations" and said the candidate "just wanted to make a buck" and "is no conservative."
The O'Donnell campaign has characterized all the charges as sour grapes.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, O'Donnell led Republican Rep. Mike Castle, the establishment choice, 53.2 percent to 46.8 percent, according to the Delaware Secretary of State.
From CNN Politics
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She's right. Both partys are the same in expecting everyone to accept the thought of the party leaders and blindly follow, like lemmings. That's one of the reasons I'm a registered independant. I'm free to vote my own thoughts. People are so politically polarized the lawmakers are too busy working for the wants of their party (either one) to have time to represent we the people as per the desigh of a republic. The politicians are deciding what our taxes will be without representing the tax payer. That's taxation without representation. Sound familiar? No wonder the Tea Party movement.
Oh yes, getting your PRIMARY win wrong totally damages Roves' reputation. None of the other stuff, just your win. Enjoy it while you can. You won't win the election, Tracy Flick.
Actually, what has happened is that the Tea Party and its various victories have revealed Karl Rove, Michael Steele and other Republican Party leaders as political dinosaurs, e.g. they are now, officially, yesterday's news.
The tail (the Tea Party) is now wagging the dog (the Republican Party).
both parties are in for a rude awakening..........
These tea party candidates may fire up the base, but they tend to turn off regular conservatives and other moderate types. I don't want sarah palin or sarah palin-approved people in government. Some dems and fence-sitters may make a special trip to the polls to defeat these tea party types in november.
And the Mad Hatter's Tea Pary moves closer to taking all of us down the Rabbit Hole. Palin is the Queen of Hearts. We will have to find out how Alice is, if we plan on getting back to planet Earth.
Rove, the president you advised said and did a lot of "nutty things"....Bush-still worst president ever.
tea party can win from a fired up base, but once elections are general, the lack or real ideas or even real understanding will become amazingly clear.
And the Mad Hatter's Tea Party moves closer to taking all of us down the Rabbit Hole. Palin is the Queen of Hearts. We will have to find out how Alice is, if we plan on getting back to planet Earth.
O'Donnell may have won the Republican nomination, but she hasn't won the race. She'd better watch who she ticks off!!!
I agree with both of them!!!!
Never thought I'd agree w/ anything that came from the mouth of Karl Rove, but Ms. O'Donnell appears to be a Palin clone & does little good for the Republican party.
"Never say never" is appropriate here.
The right wing loons are taking over the country with their non-existant ideas and racism.
This country is really going to be in big trouble if these whackos get control of policy.
Karl Rove, it's too bad he wasn't arrested along with Bush, Cheney and others for their role in lying to the American people about the war in Iraq. John R.
Apparently O'Donnell went to the same school as Palin, where smiling and cutey looks are taught instead of brains and intelligence.
O'Donnell is a dream come true for Democrats. After November 2 she can go home and play with herself – like the hypocrite she is. She will be in the Senate when I have a snowball fight with Satan.
Well Rove, what do you expect? She's endorsed by the Queen Nut Sarah Palin and Crew.
O'Donnell is a complete nutcase. Her views are so extreme that I will NEVER vote for her. I rather see it go to a democrat than her.
"unfactual" oh man, does the English language need to be butchered by ANOTHER politician with dubious merits?
"And we won, we won big" – I'm sorry, but 53% to 47% is not a "big" win, it's a "you barely got the majority" win. If it was a poll, it would have been within the margin of error.
On the one hand, I'm glad Democrats are going to keep this seat next year. But on the other I'm disappointed that one of the few moderate GOP voices in the House has been lost. Farewell Mike Castle, you will be missed.
Rove is yet another "GOP EXPERT", quotes intended, that just doesn't get that we the people aren't voting "party" anymore. We're voting principle...and if the anointed candidate has no principles...well guess what? Today in Delaware, the people loudly and CLEARLY took the guessing out of THAT equation.
I despise Karl Rove BUT this time he is correct. She is a NUT JOB and along with the even more wacko Carl Palladino in NY, this shows the true colors of not only the Tea Party BUT the GOP as a whole. Bring it on, if this is what you are running then maybe the Dems won't lose as many seats as projected.
For Tea Party candidates, the truth is always a shame.
So are the allegations true or not? Reporting isn't just repeating what each side says.
Karl Rove is such a fine example of rectitude and sincerity himself. Orwellian doublespeak lives.