Posted on 09/15/2015 7:51:21 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Club for Growth, a conservative anti-tax organization, is launching a $1 million television campaign against Republican front-runner Donald Trump. The ads, to air in battleground state Iowa starting Thursday, will hammer Trump on his record supporting national health care, the Wall Street bailout, “eminent-domain abuse,” and “protectionist” trade policies.
The television ads will close with Club for Growth president David McIntosh’s slogan that Trump is “the worst kind of politician.”
“Donald Trump has the worst record in the entire field on economic policies,” said McIntosh. “He’ll say anything to get elected, and he’ll do just the opposite when he’s in office.”
The ad campaign, unveiled today at the National Press Club in Washington, marks the first large-scale media attack effort of the Republican primary. The launch is propelled by the Club’s belief that Trump could potentially seal the Republican nomination “if we don’t take him seriously.” Club for Growth Action, the political arm of the group, is funding it.
Mcintosh said that the Iowa campaign is the beginning of a sustained effort “to make Americans understand that Trump is not an economic conservative.”
“He can’t hide from his record,” McIntosh said. “The American people are wiser than that. They’ll get it.”
McIntosh said that the Club for Growth is the first group willing to call out Trump for his “Obama-like” economic policies. He said he imagines other conservative organizations will quickly follow suit.
#share#The announcement comes just one month after McIntosh asked Club for Growth members to dole out funds for “a series of ads in key states aimed at educating Republican primary voters about Donald Trump’s real record.”
The ad campaign is the latest in a string of public clashes between the organization and Trump. McIntosh has called Trump “a liability to the future of the nation,” saying he falls just short of Bernie Sanders as “the most liberal candidate” in the field.
Trump says that the Club for Growth is attacking him because he refused their request for a $1 million donation in June.
“The phony Club For Growth, which asked me in writing for $1,000,000 (I said no), is now wanting to do negative ads on me. Total hypocrites!” Trump wrote on Twitter on September 6.
He later posted a photo of a letter McIntosh sent to Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager. “During our meeting, Mr. Trump expressed an interest in supporting the Club for Growth,” McIntosh wrote in the letter. “Enclosed is a letter for Mr. Trump and a request for a $1,000,000 contribution.”
The Club for Growth maintains that Trump’s team requested the meeting hoping to win the group’s support, not the other way around. The letter itself does not make clear who initiated the talk.
The group has a hawkish record of attacking candidates who don’t meet its litmus test for conservatism. Earlier this year, it launched an ad attacking Mike Huckabee for raising taxes during his tenure as governor of Arkansas.
The Club for Growth Action’s largest donor of this year, Richard Uihlein, the CEO of a Wisconsin shipping company — who gave the group $500,000 — has donated $2.5 million to a super PAC supporting Scott Walker.
— Elaina Plott is a William F. Buckley Fellow in Political Journalism at the National Review Institute.
I am not a Trump hater, nor do I have blinders on with Trump. That being said, I don’t think this will work. Trump is miles above everyone understanding modern media.
I think there was a thread awhile back where Trump was holding a letter from these assholes asking him for $1million
You don’t get much for $1 million anymore. :-)
Why isn’t this getting more exposure?
The fight for the Republican presidential nomination has come down to a contest between God (Ben Carson) and Mammon (Donald Trump).
Where does the Club for Growth stand in this?
Economic growth cannot happen without free trade. If the U.S. imposes tariffs on other countries, those countries will retaliate with tariffs on the U.S. This will cause our goods to be less attractive in the global economy; our factories will have to cut back; and workers will have to be laid off.
This is the last thing a good, pro-American, God-fearing organization would want to see happen to U.S. businesses and workers.
In contrast, the Club for Growth wants to see a more prosperous America, with growing businesses and more opportunities for workers, which is why it is strongly in favor of free trade and opposes anti-free-traders like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.
If God is on the side of America, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders will not be elected president.
“handling substantive questions”
Trump’s speech in Dallas was all froth and bravado. Oh well, if it attracts voters then who am I to judge.
Trump isn't an anti-free-trader. He simply wants free trade that doesn't screw the US. He wants any deals to have BOTH sides on an equal footing. The deals our current crop of politicians have been making are way to biased on the other side.
Same with our tax policy. A primary reason a US company moves production to other countries is tax related. Until the tax code can be straightened out, other methods should be deployed to level the field.
True that.
Thank you, All. I wondered about them. Interesting, we’ve had a few “middle of the road” left republican candidates. I’ll watch them hereafter.
RE: I notice Cruz isn’t going after Trump, and vice versa.
In his speech in Dallas, Trump calls Cruz a good man and a good Senator. But he did warn that if Cruz ever criticizes him, he’d hit back. I HEARD HIM SAY IT.
I think his book, Time To Get Tough, was printed in 2011, so he’s been thinking of our country for some time.
I know some of them. "Oh, the club for growth blahblahblah..."
He has some books which pretty well state what he wants to do, should he be elected to the presidency.
In the absence of a track record in office, it is hard to be sure how much difference there is between the advertisements and the actual product. Marco Rubio the conservative candidate and commentator sounded wonderful. Senator Marco Rubio the pro-Amnesty big government liberal in the Gang of Eight was a nightmare. Ted Cruz the candidate/litigator sounded wonderful, and Senator Cruz is everything I hoped for. My concern is that we don't have any way to know where Trump will land on that spectrum.
I know he has no political record to fall back on, but he does have a huge business that he built up.
I’m one of those who does like Cruz, Lee, and a couple of others. I’m fed up with professional politicians. When it’s time for their next election, they come home, tell us what we want to hear, then go back to dc and do as they’re told by the moneyed people, and a lot of the money is from overseas. When I discovered most elected never return to their home towns when they retire, but take jobs as a lobbyist or dc law firm. I’ve lost respect for 99% of all professional politicians.
I’m ready to take a chance on someone whose written books mentioning his worries about the way our country is being sold by professional politicians.
I’m always amazed at our elected members of congress and senate and their retirement benefits. Heck our veterans don’t have anywhere near our elected benefits and some are horribly injured, while our elected ..... I’ve said enough.
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