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Barbour Goes to War with the Club for Growth [joins TokyoRove]
National Review ^ | 2/12/2013 | Robert Costa

Posted on 02/12/2013 2:35:46 PM PST by Servant of the Cross

Former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour, one of the most influential players in the Republican party, is privately battling the Club for Growth.

Last week, at a closed-door retreat in northern Virginia, Barbour told a large gathering of congressional staffers, including several leadership aides, that party officials should discourage donors from funding the high-profile conservative group.

Insiders say Barbour’s comments came during a question-and-answer session at the Ripon Society’s annual symposium, which was held at Mount Vernon, the home of former president George Washington.

Sources say Barbour was asked about the group’s growing influence, and then he urged the aides and strategists to fight back. Many in the audience applauded Barbour for his remarks, according to two sources in the room.

In an interview with National Review Online on Tuesday, Barbour confirmed his appearance at the retreat, and acknowledged his growing frustration with conservative organizations that target Republicans in primaries.

“We kicked away four or five Senate seats in the last two cycles by nominating candidates who did not have the best chance to win,” he says. “We ought to talk to Republican donors now, in the off-season before the primaries, and discourage them from donating to organizations that will attack good Republicans.”

“Republican groups like the Club for Growth should stop spending money to defeat Republicans,” he adds. “Politics can’t be about purity. Unity wins in politics, purity loses.”

Barbour, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, is an adviser to American Crossroads, the Republican super PAC founded by Karl Rove. Crossroads recently started a new program, the Conservative Victory Project, which aims to protect select Republicans in contentious primary battles.

“Twice in my lifetime, Republican presidential candidates have gotten 60 percent of the vote,” Barbour says. “We should manage our coalition and keep our party diverse and large.”


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: barbour; gope; rove
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"Good Republicans". Unity vs. Purity. Barf. Um, Haley, 0bama and the Libs win with 'purity'. Just the anti-American kind.

Poor Haley. He wants to fight in 2014-2016 with strategy from the 1980s.

1 posted on 02/12/2013 2:35:51 PM PST by Servant of the Cross
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To: Servant of the Cross

What Unity when you are at war with your own base??


2 posted on 02/12/2013 2:36:48 PM PST by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: Servant of the Cross
It's time for those boys to be honest and form their own Democrat Lite party.
3 posted on 02/12/2013 2:39:27 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (TYRANNY: When the people fear the politicians. LIBERTY: When the politicians fear the people.)
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To: Servant of the Cross

The Club for Growth is anti-Christian.

If we don’t have tradtional values the money won’t save us.


4 posted on 02/12/2013 2:40:03 PM PST by donna (Pray for revival.)
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To: Servant of the Cross

My first thought was that it said Barbara (Walters) had joined Rove... lol


5 posted on 02/12/2013 2:40:31 PM PST by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: Servant of the Cross

>>We should manage our coalition and keep our party diverse and large.”<<

Translation: Amnesty.

How stupid can these people be? We lost because we didn’t run CONSERVATIVE candidates! The dims already own the “diversity” (translation: racists and takers) vote. No amount of kissing up will change that.

We need to re-brand ourselves as true Conservatives: small government, maximum freedom, Constitutionalism.

Reagan won’t come back, but we can and must find candidates who hew to these principles!


6 posted on 02/12/2013 2:40:59 PM PST by freedumb2003 (I learned everything I needed to know about racism from Colin Powell)
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To: donna

BUMP

If the fight is between those 2 groups, I don’t have a dog in it.


7 posted on 02/12/2013 2:41:42 PM PST by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: Servant of the Cross; WXRGina; duffee; onyx; DrewsMum; Tupelo; mstar; jdirt; ...

Ex Guvner Ping


8 posted on 02/12/2013 2:43:06 PM PST by WKB ( Remember "Bush Lied and People Died" Now it's "People died and Obama Lied")
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To: Servant of the Cross; WXRGina; duffee; onyx; DrewsMum; Tupelo; mstar; jdirt; ...

Ex Guvner Ping


9 posted on 02/12/2013 2:43:53 PM PST by WKB ( Remember "Bush Lied and People Died" Now it's "People died and Obama Lied")
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To: donna

Yes, the Club for Growth is suspect because the head guy is a Muslim lover. We need to get the boss out of there, or find a new outfit that will take its economic position without shilling for the Arabs.

But it must be said that that’s not the reason why Barbour is speaking out against it. He is first and foremost a political operative, and he hates real conservatives.


10 posted on 02/12/2013 2:45:59 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Servant of the Cross

Just goes to show you, ya can’t trust any politician......Fire them all (and their staffers) frequently. Government needs a constant supply of new officials....ones with the common sence of the everyday man.


11 posted on 02/12/2013 2:51:06 PM PST by Forty-Niner (The barely bare berry bear formerly known as Ursus Arctos Horribilis.)
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To: Servant of the Cross

“Good Republicans” = “Shut-up-and-do-as-you’re-told” Republicans.


12 posted on 02/12/2013 2:51:21 PM PST by Timber Rattler (Just say NO! to RINOS and the GOP-E)
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To: Servant of the Cross
Conservative Victory Project Poster Boy!

'I Don’t Expect to Be Cheering House Republicans Anytime Soon'

13 posted on 02/12/2013 2:53:59 PM PST by TexasCajun
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To: Cicero

Message to Haley: Winning means nothing unless followed by a conservative voting record. I’m done with the likes of Karl, Haley, and Sean. They’re all too establishment and liberal for me.


14 posted on 02/12/2013 2:55:06 PM PST by wewereright
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To: Servant of the Cross

What happened to him? I used to be a fan of his. Another RINO. Pity.


15 posted on 02/12/2013 2:55:11 PM PST by Indy Pendance
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To: freedumb2003

Conservatives can lose elections also. We need candidates who are conservatives AND politically savvy. Otherwise we end up with losses in elections:

Richard Mourdock
Sharron Angle
Christine O’Donnell
George Allen
Joe Miller
Ken Buck
Alan West
Doug Hoffman
JD Hayworth

All of them very good & solid conservatives. I love them
all without exception. But they are now sitting on the ash
heap of history. Hopefully some of them can make a comeback.


16 posted on 02/12/2013 2:59:40 PM PST by entropy12 (The republic is doomed when people figure out they can get free stuff by voting democrats)
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To: Servant of the Cross

If I’m not mistaken, the Club for Growth has always been soft on illegal immigration. They’re one of those groups who repackages their own special agenda as conservative orthodoxy. Good for Barbour for standing up to them.


17 posted on 02/12/2013 3:03:49 PM PST by x
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To: entropy12

Weird list. George Allen was the choice of the party guys. Allen West won as a conservative and got redistricted out by our own party bosses.


18 posted on 02/12/2013 3:05:43 PM PST by ilgipper (Obama supporters are comprised of the uninformed & the ill-informed)
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To: x
Good for Barbour for standing up to them.

Yea, some other posters don't like CFG either. However, Haley (and Rove) are casting a broad brush here. It's not just CFG they are going to war with.

“We ought to talk to Republican donors now, in the off-season before the primaries, and discourage them from donating to organizations that will attack good(?!) Republicans (i.e. he means the likes of Crist, Lugar, Castle ...).

This is pure GOPe. He and Rove have a big problem with any non-GOPe conservative group.

19 posted on 02/12/2013 3:14:14 PM PST by Servant of the Cross (the Truth will set you free)
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To: Timber Rattler

BUMP!

___________

” - - - Unity wins in politics, purity loses.” - - - “

It is called the Zombie RINO Lemming Dance.

After all, we don’t need no stinkin’ Principles, Constitution, or Values! We just need to WIN!

Yesss, indeedy! The Democrats have the winning idea: stand for the worst of human nature, and lie, lie, lie!

Just follow ol’ “Turd Blossom” Rove who is so smart that he KNOWS which Candidate will win, form a united front, and do the Zombie RINO Lemming Dance!

BTW, ain’t this great? No need to think or stand for anything! Wow!


20 posted on 02/12/2013 3:16:48 PM PST by Graewoulf ((Traitor John Roberts' Commune Obama"care" violates Anti-Trust Law s, AND the U.S. Constitution.))
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