Karl Rove's Consumer Fraud?

When newly minted Sen. Elizabeth Warren gets to Washington, a spectacular case of Dodd-Frank deception awaits her—-all those Super PAC millions that were guaranteed but failed to sweep Barack Obama out of the White House.

In a financial democracy, where bilking billionaires should be no more acceptable than preying on the poor, Karl Rove has a lot to answer for, starting with his Election Night outburst on Fox over Ohio vote counting.

Was he reacting as a political commentator or proprietor of Crossroads America, that murky funnel of Citizens United cash to pay for TV ads targeted at the President? With no accountability, can the likes of casino owner Marvin Adelson and the Koch brothers be sure all their money was actually spent? Is there a chance they were victimized by Double-Crossroads America?

Post-election the fat cat victims are philosophical about the estimated billion dollars they wasted in the effort to unseat Obama.

As they consoled one another Wednesday, there was pathos in their sorrow. Before they dispersed in their private jets, one offered a pitiful suggestion, “Aw, group hug?”

But the costly lessons of their failure are unclear. Is it that getting out voters is more crucial than trying to drown them in commercials? Or hopefully that most people can’t always be suckered into acting against their self-interest by slick words and images?

Unlikely as it is that Rove and his ilk will be out of our faces on Fox and the Wall Street Journal any time soon, there is the consolation that while money talks it doesn’t always have the last word.