PoliticsKarl RoveAmerican CrossroadsPolitics

Rep. Trey Radel: Karl Rove Acts Like He's 'God's Gift To The Republican Party'

Tea Party Favorite: Karl Rove Acts Like He's 'God's Gift To The Republican Party'
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TODAY -- Pictured: Karl Rove appears on NBC News' 'Today' show (Photo by Peter Kramer/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) added his name Wednesday to the growing list of conservatives who are disavowing Karl Rove and his involvement in the 2012 elections, according to Naples Daily News.

Speaking to a group of Florida Republicans on Marco Island, Fla., Radel singled out Rove as part of his party's problems, saying that the GOP operative "constantly makes appearances like he’s God’s gift to the Republican Party." He added that Rove's nonprofit, Crossroads GPS, took "donors' money and threw it away" during the last election.

Rove faced a significant amount of heat from Republicans after the 2012 elections for investing heavily in candidates who ultimately lost. Recently, conservatives have blasted Rove's newest project, which hopes to ward off far-right candidates.

Radel, who in January suggested President Barack Obama could be impeached over his executive actions on gun violence, also criticized fellow conservative lawmakers who appear only on conservative media outlets, saying that Republicans need to "get out of the echo chamber" and "can't just talk to Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck." He offered himself as an example of someone who is taking his message to other outlets, telling the audience, "I'm the guy going on MSNBC and CNN."

He praised Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as a star of the GOP, arguing that he "embodies everything Ronald Reagan stood for."

The tea party favorite also praised Democrats, however, saying they are "five years ahead of us on technology" and noted that the last time the country had a balanced budget, a Democrat -- Bill Clinton -- was in the White House.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Crossroads GPS as a super PAC. It is a 501(c)(4) social welfare nonprofit.

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Before You Go

Karl Rove Through The Years
If It's Sunday, It's Meet The Press(01 of21)
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Feb. 27, 2000: George W. Bush strategist Karl Rove discusses the 2000 Election on NBC's "Meet the Press" (Photo by Michael Smith) (credit:Getty )
The Butterfly Ballot(02 of21)
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Nov. 9, 2000: Karl Rove (L), Chief strategist for Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush, holds up a copy of a Cook County, Illinois, election butterfly ballot. Rove questioned statements from the campaign of Democratic candidate Al Gore that criticized the use of the same-style ballot in Palm Beach county, Florida. (PAUL RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Sworn In (03 of21)
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Jan. 22, 2001: Senior George W. Bush staff members, Counselor to the President Karen Hughes (L), Senior Political Advisor to the President Karl Rove (2nd L), National Security Advisor to the President Condoleezza Rice (2nd R), and Presidential Spokesman Ari Fleischer (R) hold their right hands up during a swearing-in ceremony of dozens of staff members in the East Room of the White House. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty )
Side By Side(04 of21)
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Sept. 27, 2001: U.S. President George W. Bush (L) walks with his chief political adviser Karl Rove after returning to the White House in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty )
Salute(05 of21)
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Oct. 5, 2001: U.S. President George W. Bush's senior adviser Karl Rove makes a signal to a White House media member as he stands in the wings of the Rose Garden in Washington, D.C. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Bundle Up(06 of21)
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Feb. 20, 2003: White House Senior Advisor Karl Rove (R) and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice walk toward the Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Making A Point(07 of21)
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May 7, 2003: Bush political advisor Karl Rove speaks at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics on the campus of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. (Photo by Michael Springer/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Can I Have Your Egg Autograph? (08 of21)
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May 7, 2003: Bush political advisor Karl Rove is asked to autograph eggs at a 'Politics & Eggs' luncheon at the Bedford Inn in Bedford, New Hampshire. (Photo by Michael Springer/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Congratulations, Graduates(09 of21)
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May 8, 2004: Karl Rove, chief political advisor to President Bush, speaks to graduates of the Rev. Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. (Photo by Eric Brady/Getty Images) (credit:Getty )
Shield The Security Advisor(10 of21)
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Dec. 3, 2004: Presidential advisor Karl Rove(L) jokingly shields National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice from the press in Washington, D.C. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Do You See What I See? (11 of21)
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July 14, 2005: U.S. President George W. Bush and Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove walk from the Oval Office across the South Lawn of the White House toward Marine One in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (credit:Getty )
Traffic Jam(12 of21)
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Oct. 25, 2005: President Bush's senior advisor Karl Rove drives his car out of his driveway in Washington D.C. Rove is a key figure in the CIA leak investigation headed by Federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Mirror, Mirror On The Car(13 of21)
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Oct. 27, 2005: President Bush's senior advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove looks through his sideview mirror as he arrives at the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC. Rove was a key figure in the CIA leak investigation headed by Federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Listen Up(14 of21)
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Feb. 27, 2006: White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card (L) whispers in the ear of Senior White House Advisor Karl Rove as US President George W. Bush (not pictured) addresses a meeting of the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C. (JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty )
Reading List (15 of21)
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May 15, 2006: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove holds up a copy of 'Kings of the Hill,' by Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne Cheney, while delivering remarks on economic policy at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
We're Thirsty(16 of21)
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Jan. 25, 2007: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove (L), Communications Director Kevin Sullivan (C) and Spokesperson Tony Snow jokingly drink water at the same time before U.S. President George W. Bush participated a round table event at Saint Luke's East Hospital in Lee's Summit, Missouri. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Look, Obama's In The Paper(17 of21)
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Jan. 17, 2007: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove points to today's edition of USA Today with U.S. Senator Barack Obama, D-IL, on the front page as he awaits U.S. President George W. Bush's arrival at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. (JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Wiping His Forehead(18 of21)
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March 28, 2007: Karl Rove, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, wipes his forehead before rapping with 'Who's Line is it Anyway?' stars Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood during the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, D.C. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty )
Hug It Out(19 of21)
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Aug. 13, 2007: U.S. President George W. Bush embraces Karl Rove, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor, after a statement by Rove at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Intensity(20 of21)
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Oct. 21, 2008: Karl Rove, former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to U.S. President George W. Bush, speaks during a panel discussion at the 2008 Mortgage Bankers Association Conference and Expo in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Hold The Phone(21 of21)
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Aug. 28, 2012: Karl Rove, former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor to U.S. President George W. Bush, walks on the floor before the start of the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
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