Karl Rove served in the Bush administration for six years, engineered GOP gains in Congress in 2002 and 2004, and has raised $24 million for conservative candidates this election cycle. None of this has stopped the likes of Sarah Palin (who told Rove to "buck up" after he voiced doubts about Christine O'Donnell's electability) and Rush Limbaugh (who said of Rove's criticism, "I've never heard Karl so animated against a Democrat as he was against Christine O'Donnell") from basically calling Rove a terrible establishment Republican who only wants to get railroad barons elected. This weekend, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee become the latest conservative to take aim at Rove. He even used the 'e' word. Huckabee made the comments in an interview with radio host Aaron Klein:

I was very disappointed in some, particularly Karl and others, who were so dismissive of Christine O'Donnell. I've been on the receiving end of some of that when I ran for president, a lot of the establishment types were very contemptuous towards me...Unfortunately, there is an elitism within the Republican establishment. And it's one of the reasons the Republicans have not been able to solidify--not only the tea party movement--but solidify conservatives across America. Because a lot of people know it's not so much about the principles of really controlling government and having responsible people in office, it's about making sure the right people get into the game to play.

We're guessing the recipients of the $24 million might feel differently.

(H/T to Ben Smith of Politico)

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Ray Gustini