OAK BROOK –- “When your name has become an adjective – Rovian – you know you have arrived.”

Those are the words DuPage County Republican Party Chairman Dan Cronin used to describe Karl Rove, the keynote speaker of the 49^th Annual Lincoln Day Dinner. Cronin said Rove, the former senior adviser and deputy White House chief of staff, was tapped to address the crowd during this important election cycle because of his front-row seat to some of America’s most recent tumultuous experiences, including the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Rove took time off from promoting his new book “Courage and Consequences” to stress to the party faithful how important their role as ambassadors of conservative principle and philosophy are to successful Republican campaigns in this critical election year. More important than donating to campaigns is the simple act of voters sharing their convictions and beliefs with other voters, especially independents and Democrats. He said that is one of the most important responsibilities of being an American citizen.

One piece of legislation Rove encouraged the party faithful to fight is the Obamacare bill set for a vote on Sunday. Rove said this is a bill that must fail.

During a press conference prior to his keynote address, Rove said the Democrats did not have the votes to pass it yet.

“It’s a bad bill and will dramatically drive up state budgets,” Rove told assembled reporters.

Rove spent much of his keynote speech decrying the outrageous expenditures of the first year of the administration of President Barack Obama, paying particular attention to the health care bill.  Rove said most of the bill was outsourced to Congress which caused all the special gimmicks attached to curry favor from holdout members, including the infamous “Louisiana Purchase” of $100 million. Rove criticized the cost of the bill and the style in which tax revenues are projected to pay for it.

"This bill has financial underpinnings that are worthy of Bernie Madoff," he said.

Rove said Obamacare is unnecessary and burdensome. He said many of the “46 million uninsured” the Democrats bandy about are either eligible for existing government health insurance programs or are legal and illegal immigrants. Rove said the real number of uninsured is closer to 5 million.

“I know we can come up with a good reform plan without destabilizing the American economy and existing private health care plans,” Rove said. “If Obamacare is passed millions of people will lose their existing coverage because it will become too expensive for employers to sustain.”

Rove delved into the accounting gimmicks Democrats used to earn a favorable report from the Congressional Budget Office. He said the CBO was required by law to write a report based on the information provided by the Democrats. The bill will cost far more than Democrats are claiming and will not help reduce the deficit, he said.

“The people know this and that is why they overwhelmingly oppose this plan. It is not sustainable,” Rove said.

When Rove said the people “have to kill this bill” the crowd erupted into thunderous applause.

“If we cannot kill this bill then when Republicans take control of Congress we must do everything within our power to repeal the bill,” Rove thundered.