… was the late-session mantra of one ancient lobbyist of our acquaintance down at the Lege. But for Austin’s Mark McKinnon, a George W. Bush media consultant, the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Spin Doctors got uncomfortably interesting last week. On May 8, the Austin American-Statesman reported that he and his wife had given campaign contributions totaling $14,000 dollars to the Democratic candidates for Senate, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. (Ron Kirk got $4,000, and John Sharp and Kirk Watson got $5,000 each.)
In its wide-eyed infancy, McKinnon’s Maverick Media agency had done political work only for Democrats, but when Bush the Younger came along, McKinnon told friends he “looked into [Bush’s] eyes” and decided that here was a Republican candidate he could support. (The switch presumably had nothing to do with the stiff GOP wind then blowing in Texas.) Apparently McKinnon, now part of the mega-consulting firm Public Strategies Inc., still finds plenty of romance in the peepers of Kirk, Sharp, and Watson.
McKinnon told the Statesman he wasn’t working for the Dem hopefuls, and that he had cleared the contributions with Bush adviser Karl Rove. “If there’s one thing this administration would understand, it’s personal friendship and loyalty,” McKinnon said. “This isn’t about politics; it’s about blood.”
McKinnon found out how right he was the next day, when even closer Bush confidant Rove heard about the contributions. The Washington Post reported that Rove was outraged by the news, particularly in a Senate race the White House wants very badly for the GOP. (According to Post sources, Rove had thought McKinnon was donating only for the Democratic primaries.) McKinnon told the Post, “I realize I’ve created some heartburn for the administration and for Karl. My support for these friends was not intended to send any kind of a signal. To the extent it has, I’ve apologized. As a representative of the president, I have to be more careful about my actions.”
Washington insiders said that what has become normal bipartisan poker in Texas — hedging all your bets — is still disdained in D.C., and that the campaign of Ron Kirk’s GOP opponent, John Cornyn, particularly had its nose out of joint at McKinnon’s largesse. Campaign spokesman Dave Beckwith told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “We’re satisfied that the White House made it clear to Mark that he was off message,” Beckwith said.
We are not sure whether “off message” means the same thing as “off the president’s dance card.” But in light of recent national reports about the increasing influence of Dubya’s chief consigliere, it doesn’t pay to piss off Karl Rove.
This article appears in May 17 • 2002.
