More and more people are noticing that the great Republican wave of 2014 is not going to happen . With candidates like Ed Gillespie (who could be the worst candidate of all time) and the Rove-bought empty suit Thom Tillis , how could it be otherwise?

Dave Weigel, hardly a hard-right conservative, wonders

If Tillis loses #NCSen and Roberts loses #KSSen, how will GOP establishment types blame the Tea Party? — daveweigel (@daveweigel) September 16, 2014

Well, Karl Rove has an answer.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Rove notes that even though Obama's "job approval numbers are lousy, no Democrat in a competitive Senate race polls regularly above 50%, GOP enthusiasm is high, and independents are trending Republican... each passing day provides evidence as to why a GOP Senate majority is still in doubt." After declaring war on conservatives and the Tea Party last year, Rove now realizes that the very voters the establishment trashed are not donating to more moderate and establishment Senate candidates in states like North Carolina and Colorado. Rove says that "Republican candidates and groups must step up" to reduce the fundraising gap with Democrats. He said "Republicans must reach a certain sufficiency of advertising in the next six weeks" to "tip the needle in the GOP's direction." Rove said "that will only happen if Republicans open their wallets to candidates whom they may have never met, and, if they live in a battleground state, they clear their calendars to volunteer to identify and get out the vote." [After Declaring War on Tea Party, Karl Rove Frets GOP Estab Candidates Not Getting Enough Donations, by Tony Lee, Bretbart, September 19, 2014]

Of course, more money for "advertising," really means more money for consultants . You know, like Rove.

To deploy a Rage Against the Machine lyric I am fond of quoting, "There is no other pill to take, so swallow the one that made you ill."