The U.S. Chamber of Commerce throws down the gauntlet to Tea Party

American Thinker ^ | 01/09/2014 | Rick Moran

[SeekAndFind]

Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce, gave his annual "State of American Business" speech and didn't pull any punches toward the Tea Party.

Claiming he wasn't "attacking" the Tea Party, going so far as claiming that they agree with many Tea Party positions, Donohue nevertheless made it clear which side of the GOP civil war he's on.

The Hill:

"In primaries and in the general election, we will support candidates who want to work within the legislative process to solve the nation's problems and who understand that business is not the problem, business is a big part of the solution," he said during his annual State of American Business address.

The Chamber is a political juggernaut that spends millions of dollars on television ads, and its endorsements are often decisive in congressional races.

The group reported more than $32 million in independent expenditures during the 2012 election cycle, making it one of the biggest political spenders in the country, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

But while the Chamber has long been an election force, it is looking to be more aggressive in spending money in party primaries.

That's thanks to last year's government shutdown, which exasperated business groups and other traditional allies of the GOP. Now groups like the Chamber are making plans to oppose Tea Party upstarts.

[Crusher138]

To say “the local Chamber of Commerce has absolutely no affiliation with the national Chamber of Commerce” is inaccurate and false in many cases. Each local Chamber of Commerce decides whether or not it chooses to affiliate itself with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce by seeking membership and accreditation with that organization.

I should have clearer. OUR Chamber of Commerce has no affiliation with the US Chamber of Commerce. Some local Chambers do, ours does not.

[sarge83]

I would suggest that the local COC’s make it perfectly clear they do not approve of the National COC’s sellout, otherwise based on name alone they will be lumped in with the fascist at the national level.