Karl Rove’s trouble identifying GOP winners

>>> with white board in hand, karl rove has been shaking the money tree for quote, true republican candidates. even rove is having trouble figuring out who the winners are these days. here he is with fox's bill o 'reilly on thursday.

>> look, we gave more money, spent more money on behalf of the tea party candidates than any other group in america, any group. i love the groups criticizing us saying they are fake conservatives. we spent $30 million for tea party candidates. there's no group that comes close to what cross roads has done in terms of financial support for tea party candidates.

>> we believe you.

>> it's not the question of tea party or not, it's a question of whether or not they are bad candidates.

>> whatever is going on with the gop, they are down with white boards these days. if you are talking to a republican, they whip out a white board . you didn't bring one?

>> no, sorry.

>> on one hand, i think we have overestimated the demise of the republican party . i think republicans have a deeper bench than democrats going into 2016 . obviously the control of the governor's mansions and the redistricting that happened in 2010 that allows them to stay in for a very long time. on the other hand, there's something going on that seems to be identity crisis particularly with the question of what's going to happen with the tea party and social issue that is are problematic.

>> it's important for currently elected republicans in the senate and the congress to feel like someone has their back. i would like to see karl rove , instead of his group going out and doing their current messages, protect someone in office for saying the right thing and venturing to govern. that's what people want to do. they want to see their elected officials getting something done. when you say i support this idea whether immigration or fiscal policy , we can compromise on reducing the debt or however you want to look at it or i agree to raise taxes over $450,000. maybe it's not something i want to do, but we need to govern. we need to have people backing those elected.

>> that's an interesting point.

>> i think you are right that they are adept to holding on to the mechanisms. whether it's the jergerrymandering or what, you are going to see on a state level a lot of success. they have not been able to put together a national package. that's where you have the suicide wing of the republican party to talk to a majority of americans and whether they are going to snap out of it and do that is a big question.

>> susan suggests what causes you to snap out of it isn't an e pifmy, you decide. you put financial support between those. you make compromise not a dirty word , but support those doing governoring. it's rejiggering of the idea.

>> so many have been able to get reelected. that's what i'm saying. perfecting the mechanisms.

>> it's a difference in the republicans that deal with the congressional races. they are worried about being primaried from the right. no one is worried about from the left.

>> no.

>> so if you want to see republicans, i think, being able to do better governance, support them when they are trying to do it instead of attacking them and going to the extreme.

>> talk about the chris christie moment. you have chris christie whose policies of labor, union, destruction, all those things are clearly very in the right, on the right hand. then he did this political theater with hugging the president and with critiquing the republican party for its failure to pass the sandy legislation, right?

>> i'll give you one more to go on that. he also did something else significant in that time period . he came up with a teachers deal, a teacher contract for newark, new jersey. he had to negotiate with randy. it's not an easy thing to do. neither one of us had to give up on principals, but we had to compromise. that's the type of leadership.

>> the embeddedness and the reality is what made that chris christie moment important. he was dealing as governor with the reality of sandy. it will be interesting to see what happens to his policies. as long as he embeds his decision making in reality of the requirements of governing, you are right.

>> he's in a democratic state .

>> they wouldn't be --

>> he managed to keep himself in new jersey from having a viable democrat run against him. the number one job of an incumbent is to keep yourself from having a real challenger. whatever else happened, he did that. right?

>> let's not forget regional differences. a two- party system . i want to get to your point about compromise. the pugh institute did a study.

>> oh, i know. i want to hear it. we have to go to commercial. unfortunately, we have to have commercials to pay for this. thank you to richard and susan. coming up, a new chance for republicans to get on board. this time with the violence against women act . 20 minutes after the family american leave act. why too many parents still struggle. more at the top of the hour.