Free Republic

House Leadership Crashes Into Outside Hurdles On Bills GOP's Toughest Critics Are Inside The Party, Outside The Houseby Tamara KeithApril 28, 2013 5:12 AM This week, the House was set to vote on a bill modifying the president's health care law. It was a Republican bill, supported by the leadership, but it ran into trouble, and it was pulled from the floor before the scheduled vote.It's an example of the kind of obstacles Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, faces in getting legislation through the House. In a number of recent cases, his problem hasn't been the Democrats as much as members...

I had fallen out with Senator Pat Toomey in the last year when I realized his plan to balance the budget in ten years was no plan at all. I consider a balanced budget to the be the top issue and that when a politician says they have a plan to do something in ten years, they are not serious. Ted Kennedy and George W. Bush promised 100 percent proficiency in math and reading by 2014 when No Child Left Behind was made into law a decade or so ago. Now, Senator Toomey has stepped into the waters of tearing...

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) told reporters on a conference call moments ago that his compromise bill with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on gun background checks “doesn’t change in any way” his “conservative record or views.” The former Club for Growth president acknowledged he was out of his usual legislative area on the issue, but “it became clear to me a bill of some sort was very likely to reach the floor” that would be “badly flawed,” so he reached out to his friend and neighboring state senator Manchin to sit down and talk. “You’re probably used to hearing me talk...

“The Club for Growth will not oppose tomorrow’s vote on the debt ceiling,” Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said in the statement. “The Club for Growth will, on the other hand, strongly oppose any efforts during the upcoming debate over the continuing resolution and sequester that fail to arrest out-of-control spending and put sensible limits on the growth of government.” That's a major reversal for an organization whose primary mission is to force lawmakers to curb government spending. Until now, Club for Growth has demanded that any vote to increase the debt limit include a balanced budget amendment. The...

Two days after Republican infighting swirled around House Speaker John Boehner's unexpected decision to pull a Hurricane Sandy relief bill from a potential floor vote, a top conservative group is urging the House of Representatives to vote against the bill. The House is expected to vote today on the first part of the bill, a $9.7 billion flood insurance bill. Andy Roth, the Club for Growth's vice president of government affairs, said in a statement that the federal government should not be involved in providing flood insurance. Here's the group's full statement: _____________________________ The Club for Growth urges all members...

WASHINGTON - Chris Chocola likes taking on his party's establishment and beating them at their own game. That's what he does for a living and he's helped pull off some big upsets. In 2007, the former two-term Indiana congressman took the reins of the Club for Growth, a free enterprise group that supports pro-growth candidates who favor low taxes, oppose job-killing government regulations, and seek fiscal policy reforms to expand and strengthen our economy. When Chocola, who has a business background, became its president, the Club was a relatively small organization, supported by about 35,000 contributing members. Under his leadership,...

Former Reasoner David Weigel has an interesting article up that seeks to answer why there aren't any Club For Growth/FreedomWorks/Tea Party/Paulista-style primary-election challenges to the worst of the Democratic Party's status quo (like, say, the execrable Dianne Feinstein). This section in particular is unintentionally revealing: Two months ago, Progressive Insurance founder Peter Lewis left the Democracy Alliance, a lefty donor coalition. Earlier this month, billionaire George Soros made his first 2012 political donations—$1 million each to America Votes and American Bridge 21st Century. That’s $23.5 million less than he gave to liberal groups in 2004. According to David McKay, chairman...

There have been many studies out on the “tea party congress” and just how tea party it actually is. One study last year noted that 70% of candidates who went to Congress under the tea party banner were voting just like the Republican Leaders they ran against.Probably one of the best places to get a sense of this is the Club for Growth. Why? The Club ignores social votes and focuses only on fiscal votes — spending issues more than anything else. The tea party candidates went to Congress not just to repeal Obamacare, but were really motivated by out...

The Tea Party has lost a number of its top election targets this year, leaving Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) to emerge as public enemy No. 1 for national conservative groups — and poll numbers suggest they could get their man. Groups including the fiscally conservative Club for Growth, Tea Party-affiliated FreedomWorks and the National Rifle Association have increasingly prioritized defeating Lugar, and social-conservative groups like Gary Bauer’s Campaign for Working Families and the Eagle Forum have endorsed Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R), Lugar’s primary opponent. Mourdock remains largely unknown to voters, but in a recent poll he trailed Lugar...

Yesterday, the Club for Growth released a statement saying that the Ryan budget was “on balance, a disappointment to fiscal conservatives.” We applauded the strong pro-growth reforms in the bill, but the reasons for our opposition were twofold: First, the budget doesn’t balance within 10 years, or for that matter, even 20 years. Our country is currently enduring unsustainable trillion-dollar deficits. We cannot wait until 2040 — the year the Ryan budget balances (page 84) — in order to arrest our ever-growing national debt. Second, we are opposed to how the budget dismantles the annual sequestration spending cuts enacted into...

The conservative Club for Growth on Wednesday came out against the new House Republican budget proposal authored by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.). The Club faulted the Ryan plan for not balancing the budget quickly enough and for turning off the automatic spending cuts triggered by the failure of last year’s supercommittee. Ryan and House GOP leaders are facing continued unrest among Tea Party-backed conservatives in the House over the details of the Ryan plan, which does not balance the budget until 2040. The Club for Growth statement could embolden a floor rebellion against the 2013 budget. “Despite containing...

The National Rifle Association is supporting tea-party favorite Richard Mourdock in his GOP primary race against veteran U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar. National NRA lobbyist Chris Cox is scheduled Wednesday to announce his group's support for Mourdock, the Indiana state treasurer running against Lugar in the May primary. The Mourdock campaign confirmed the endorsement Tuesday. A handful of high-profile conservative groups have lined up behind Mourdock in his bid to oust Lugar. The anti-tax Club for Growth threw its support behind Mourdock last month. Lugar's supporters have opened a pair of Super PACs recently to raise unlimited funds to support his...

An Irmo financial advisor and political activist has died after a rock climbing accident in North Carolina. William “Bill” McAfee, 40, died Monday afternoon after falling about 30 feet off a rock face, said Detective Ricky McKinney of the Rutherford County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Department. McAfee was in an area popular with rock climbers near Rumbling Bald, which is north of Lake Lure, McKinney said. McAfee had climbed too high past his last anchor in the rock face and had too much slack in his rope when he lost his footing, McKinney said. “He fell right next to the person belaying...

<p>Conservatives, frustrated by the Republican leadership’s role in Tuesday’s Pennsylvania Senate primary victory of liberal Sen. Arlen Specter, publicly are directing their anger on one of their own — Sen. Rick Santorum. “The person our members are most infuriated at is Rick Santorum,” said Stephen Moore, president of the Club for Growth, which helped lead a conservative crusade in support of Rep. Patrick J. Toomey’s Senate primary bid against Mr. Specter. In one of the most fiercely contested Republican Senate primaries in recent memory, Mr. Specter eked out a 51 percent to 49 percent victory on Tuesday. “Santorum undermined fellow conservatives in a really ignoble way, telling people a conservative can’t win. Our members won’t forget that for a long time,” said Mr. Moore, whose national organization contributed $1 million to the Toomey campaign and spent another $1 million in television ads on the candidate’s behalf.</p>

2012 Presidential White Paper #7 Congresswoman Michele Bachmann snip Congresswoman Bachmann received a 100% score in the Club for Growth’s 2010 scorecard and has a lifetime score of 94%. The average house Republican score from 2007-2010 was 78%. snip She co wrote an op-ed in 2009 stating that as part of health care reform “real tort reform would cut down on the costs of defensive medicine and frivolous malpractice suits.” snip Congresswoman Bachmann was the first Republican member of Congress, and the first of any major 2012 Republican Presidential candidate, to publically endorse pro-growth conservative Doug Hoffman over RINO Dede...

It wasn't long ago that the conservative, free-market Club for Growth was viewed by a swath of Republicans as a furtive, well-heeled enemy whose efforts to purge moderates from the GOP had to be thwarted. The club and its agenda are "not representative of the Republican Party," the director of the Republican Main Street Partnership, a group of moderate GOP congressional members, once said, adding: "We raise money on a daily basis to defeat them." When asked this week about the Republican animus the group faced in the recent past, Club for Growth executive director David Keating replied: "That sounds...

The influential Club for Growth on Tuesday released its latest rundown of the Republican field of presidential contenders, announcing that the fiscally conservative organization has "serious concerns" with the governing philosophy of GOP front-runner Mitt Romney. "After a career in business, quickly finding a 'solution' to every problem is his goal, even if it means more government intrusion as a means to an end," said Chris Chocola, the group's president, of the former Massachusetts governor. The Club for Growth has proven a highly effective player in past Republican primary contests, both through its financial resources and its ability to attract...

For Immediate Release: June 6, 2011 Contact: Deb Jordahl (877) 707-5571 Sun Prairie, WI ---The Wisconsin Club for Growth has asked the Wisconsin Judicial Commission to investigate possible misconduct on the part of Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi. Sumi is at the center of a controversial ruling blocking publication of new law to reform the collective bargaining privileges of government employees in Wisconsin. The complaint says Sumi acted inappropriately and demonstrated bias against the State when she filed a brief with the Wisconsin Supreme Court last month. • On May 18, 2011, Judge Sumi, through her attorneys, filed...

Washington, DC - The Club for Growth assailed potential presidential candidate Donald Trump today as a tax-hiking liberal whose open flirtation with single-payer health care and warm embrace of protectionism disqualifies him from consideration by conservatives...

The Club for Growth, an influential anti-spending group, is warning its followers that potential presidential candidate Donald Trump is a wolf in sheep's clothing - calling him just another "tax-hiking liberal" and a "king of protectionism" who doesn't deserve conservative support in the next election. Mr. Trump has flirted with a presidential bid for several weeks, leveling stiff criticism of the Obama administration and riding doubts about the president's birth certificate, reviving the so-called "birther" controversy that many have considered a dead issue.

Since Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) is apparently going to explore the possibility of running for president in 2008, I thought I'd dig up some of his roll call votes. Like most Republicans, he's strong on tax cuts, but he's been part of the big government spending spree of the last 6 years. He also has a protectionist streak in him. Here are some of the more troubling votes: NO on NAFTA YES on No Child Left Behind YES on Sarbanes-Oxley YES on the 2003 Medicare Drug Benefit NO on CAFTA YES on 2005 Highway Bill YES on the 527 bill...

It's called "Left, Right and Center," which claims to be a "civilized yet provocative antidote to the screaming talking heads that dominate political debate." But there's not a whole lot of truth in advertising for KCRW Santa Monica's radio program, which is also podcasted on the Internet. The show normally features Robert Scheer, editor of the left-wing investigative Web site Truthdig.com and a former Los Angeles Times columnist, representing the left. Matt Miller, a former Clintonista and senior fellow at the left-wing Center for American Progress represents the so-called center. And former Washington Times editorial page editor and visiting senior...

Club For Growth Endorses Sharron Angle In Nevada Senate Race 5/19/2010 3:43 PM ET (RTTNews) -  The fiscally conservative Club for Growth announced Wednesday that it is backing former Republican state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle in Nevada's U.S. Senate race. Club President Chris Chocola said, "Sharron Angle is everything a pro-growth, limited-government, economic conservative could ask for, and everything Washington and the country need right now." "She was the undisputed fiscal conservative leader in the Nevada State Assembly, and she has the courage and skill to step into the same role in the U.S. Senate," he added. "Sharron Angle is the true economic...

When a three term incumbent senator of any affiliation is knocked off, a shiver runs through the club. "Am I next?" appears to hang in the air, precariously wafting through the ornate halls. And in a rare moment of candor, I got a glimpse of this. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-UT, invited me to join him on the underground subway that connects the outer office buildings to the Capitol, as we chatted. It's about a four minute ride, but boy did I want it to be longer today. Sitting across from us - Sen. Arlen Specter, D-PA, who is in the...

Utah Sen. Robert F. Bennett , who was first elected to the Senate in 1992, will not be the Republican nominee this fall after he failed to finish in the top two at the state’s GOP nominating convention on Saturday. Bennett finished third in the second round of balloting behind attorney Mike Lee and businessman Tim Bridgewater. The only electoral path left the for the Senator after his defeat Saturday would be a longshot write-in campaign. A spokeswoman for the Senator said Bennett has made “no commitment” about whether he would take that route. Bennett’s loss will not endanger Republicans...

Now that Charlie Crist has left the Republican Party to mount an independent run for Senate, Texas Sen. John Cornyn wants a refund of all the money his political action committee donated to the Florida governor. Cornyn, who runs the GOP campaign operation for the Senate, expects a number of Republicans to demand money back from Crist because they don't want his independent bid to be financed with party funds, The Wall Street Journal reported. "People have already asked for their money back and I expect that to continue," Cornyn said Thursday. "I certainly will request the money I donated...

CITIZEN PLEDGE "I hereby pledge that if any federal health care takeover is passed in 2010, I will support - with my time, money, and vote - only candidates who pledge to support its repeal and replacement with real reforms that lower health care costs without growing government."

Supposedly the smart play for Republicans this election year is to keep their heads down and let sagging economic indicators and incompetent Democratic governance do their campaign work for them. This strategy, though not terribly inspiring, would still probably yield substantial gains for the GOP in the November midterms and splash cold water on President Barack Obama's ideological ambitions. But is it really the smart play? A buyers' remorse referendum on Obama's first two years might conceivably hand Republicans control of at least one house of Congress. But such a victory would leave them without any kind of mandate or...

Welcome to Repeal It!: the pledge to rescue America from government-run health care. We know it’s not enough just to fight ObamaCare – it could still pass. So our pledge is to Repeal It! Join the cause, click the button, and take the pledge today! CITIZEN PLEDGE "I hereby pledge that if any federal health care takeover is passed in 2010, I will support - with my time, money, and vote - only candidates who pledge to support its repeal and replacement with real reforms that lower health care costs without growing government." CANDIDATE PLEDGE “I hereby pledge to the...

CFG is putting their money where their mouths are. Bennett's is a safe GOP seat. Regardless of who wins the fight on the right, the Dem won't have a chance. Overall, Bennett is a reasonably conservative (it is Utah after all), but CFG has turned its guns on him for him for proposing a health plan with an individual mandate, supporting Bush's amnesty for illegals in 2007, and voting for the TARP bailout. Of course the NRSC is pledging to back Bennett. And suddenly we have a Rubio-Crist-goes-to-Utah event on our hands.

The Club for Growth today hailed President Obama’s announcement in Copenhagen of a “meaningful accord” with China, India, and South Africa about climate change and green house emissions. Club President Chris Chocola made the following statement after the accord’s announcement: "Like most Americans, I feared President Obama went to Copenhagen to sign a binding, job-killing, economic suicide pact. “I am greatly relieved that the last-minute agreement President Obama negotiated is being widely described as ‘meaningful.’ When politicians call something ‘meaningful,’ that means it isn’t. “Without even reading the accord, pro-growth, limited government conservatives today can celebrate the word, ‘meaningful.’ Today...

Club PAC Endorses Rubio in FL-Sen Press Release Club for Growth PAC Endorses Marco Rubio for U.S. SenateFormer Florida House Speaker 'the Real Deal,' Crist the 'Wrong Direction' WASHINGTON - Club for Growth PAC today endorsed Marco Rubio in the 2010 U.S. Senate race in Florida. "Marco Rubio is the real deal, one of the brightest young stars in American politics today, and a proven champion of economic liberty," said Club President Chris Chocola. "He is a dynamic spokesman for the principles of limited government and economic freedom, and he will make a fantastic Senator." Rubio served in the Florida...

The RINO hunt continues. As many of us recall, Gov. Charlie Crist (R-Fla.) warmly embraced Obama's stimulus plan. Well, yesterday on CNN, apparently after examining the election results, Crist began the walkback. Too late Charlie, we've got your number.

After pumping more than $1 million into an upstate New York House race to elect the Conservative Party’s Doug Hoffman, the Club for Growth is on the hunt again. Chris Chocola, president of the conservative political action committee, made it clear the PAC is looking for more GOP targets who don’t embrace the Club’s limited-government approach. Priority No. 1 is likely to be the Senate contest in Florida, where Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who embraced President Barack Obama’s stimulus package, is being challenged by former State House Speaker Marco Rubio. . . . . . Beyond Florida, other establishment Republicans...

Lots of people want credit for Dede Scozzafava dropping out today. I feel like I have had a view from the inside. Lots of people are trying to give me credit for rallying the base since last July for Hoffman, but from my vantage point, there are four that are being overshadowed by Pataki, Pawlenty, and Palin, but who genuinely and truly deserve a hell of a lot more credit than most. Please though, remember these four: 1. Susan B. Anthony List. First in and last out, they have been under the radar for months. Before the tea party activists....

I’m hearing that the NRCC is pulling out of NY-23. It’s coming from a credible source familiar with the operation inside of the beltway Committee. That being said I just reached out to Matthew Burns, Spokesman for the Scozzafava campaign, who denied this claim. He said it was “False.” Protecting the candidate or categorically true – we’ll let this flesh itself out in the public. I’ll also avoid giving you the analysis of what this could mean for now. Look for links in the comments. UPDATE: I’m on the ground and I have personal confirmation from an additional, credible source...

Pretty good ad.I think just about any voter will understand THIS.LOL! The name "Scozzafava" (RINO), is not even brought up!!

Club for Growth and Club for Growth PAC will launch a $300,000 television ad campaign tomorrow in the special election for New York's 23rd Congressional District. The campaign follows the Club for Growth PAC's Sept. 28 endorsement of Doug Hoffman, a Republican running on the Conservative ticket, over liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava and Democrat Bill Owens. (See the video of their ad after the jump.)

Washington - Club for Growth PAC today endorsed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in the special election for New York's 23rd Congressional District. Hoffman, a Republican, decided to run after local GOP leaders hand-picked liberal Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava as their nominee. “After months of runaway spending, bailouts, and record deficits, the last thing we need in Congress is another rubber stamp for Nancy Pelosi and the liberal Democrats,” said Club President Chris Chocola. “Doug Hoffman is the only candidate in this race who will stand up for taxpayers and fight to protect our freedoms in Washington.” Hoffman, a certified public...

Washington - The Federal Election Commission voted today to allow the Club for Growth to contact thousands of contributors to Senator Arlen Specter's campaign about his policy of providing refunds to those who supported his reelection before he switched parties from Republican to Democrat in April. "The Commission's decision is good news for thousands of Americans who contributed to Specter's campaign to elect a Republican, not to strengthen Harry Reid's Democratic majority," said Club Executive Director David Keating. "We look forward to helping Senator Specter make good on his commitment."

The Club’s Comrade of the Month Award is given to the politician or public figure who best embodies big-government policies and restrictions on economic growth.

The Club for Growth announced their finalists for the June 2009 Comrade of the Month Award. Every month, the Club gives out the "Comrade of the Month" award to the person who best lives up to the policies of big-government redistribution and restrictions on economic freedom. Throughout each month, they encourage anyone to send us a nominee. You can do so here. Who qualifies as a nominee? Mostly public officials, but frankly, it can be anybody who supports and enables the kind of anti-growth policies that would cripple our economy and send us reeling into poverty.

TAMPA - The Club for Growth, a conservative political committee known for spending big bucks in Republican primaries, is still interested in Marco Rubio's challenge to Charlie Crist but wary of his lack of fundraising success so far, its director said. "It's less than what we'd been hearing would be announced," executive director David Keating said. He said the group will still be watching the Republican primary race for the U.S. Senate and considering whether to intervene to support Rubio.

The Club for Growth, a conservative anti-tax group, is considering running ads in the Republican Party's Senate primary race against Florida Gov. Charlie Crist for supporting higher state taxes and President Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus spending package. Mr. Crist's opponent for the Republican Party's nomination next year is former state Speaker of the House Marco Rubio, a young conservative running on cutting government spending and taxes who recently met here with the Club for Growth, which has a strong reputation for defeating liberal and moderate Republicans in party primaries with its aggressive ad campaigns. "We recently interviewed Marco Rubio...

When Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter switched parties two months ago, he said he would issue contribution refunds "upon request." Now the Club for Growth, the conservative political group that is a longtime Specter foe, wants to help any disgruntled Republican donors take now-Democrat Specter up on his offer. The Club is asking the Federal Election Commission (FEC) if it can send a letter or make a telephone call to Specter's donors informing them that they can ask his campaign for a contribution refund. The Club would use the donor lists that Specter's campaign has filed with the FEC. Those documents...

The Club interviewed Rubio on Monday, and Executive Director David Keating said it was "impressed." Donors have to be skeptical of Rubio's chances, and a Club endorsement would provide him both money and legitimacy. "We are very concerned about the two major tax increases Charlie Crist recently signed and believe there's no excuse for his active support of the Obama big-government 'stimulus' spending bill," Keating said. "We are actively considering the race, but have made no decision yet." The organization, which makes a habit of challenge the GOP establishment in primaries, is dancing around the issue for now. While it...

WASHINGTON — Although Chris Chocola isn't in Congress anymore, he's here in the fight for a Republican Congress — his brand of Republican. Chocola, the Elkhart County Republican who represented Indiana's 2nd Congressional District for two terms before losing to Democrat Joe Donnelly in 2006, now is president of the Club for Growth, a conservative group that targets Republicans it regards as too wishy-washy moderate on taxation and government expansion. He is in the fight for the soul of the GOP. "I never thought I'd be doing the weekly commute again, raising funds again," Chocola says during an interview in...

Pennsylvania Democrats are likely to mistrust Sen. Arlen Specter because he changed parties and "broke his word," Republican Pat Toomey said today. "Sen. Specter has introduced a huge question about whether he can be trusted," said Toomey, the leading Republican candidate for Specter's Senate seat. Specter jumped to the Democratic Party last month. "He crisscrossed the commonwealth repeatedly insisting he would not leave the (Republican) Party and that he would stay in the party to the end, and it was vitally important to retain 41 (GOP) votes to provide a check on otherwise unlimited Democratic control," Toomey told reporters after...

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's switch to the Democratic Party underscores the clout of Club For Growth, a conservative group that targets Republicans it brands insufficiently committed to low taxes and small government. The move also has inflamed a debate within the party: Are the group's tactics good or bad for Republicans? [welcome to the club] Mr. Specter fingered Club For Growth as the key factor behind his decision, saying he would have lost the Republican primary to a Club-backed rival. His decision has prompted some Republicans to turn on the organization, saying it backs those who are so conservative that...

Jack Kemp didn't come up with the name for our group, but indirectly he did. He played a crucial role in the late 70s and early 80s in educating the public about the importance of economic growth and supply-side economics. He was generous with his time in support of the goals and work of the Club for Growth, for which we are forever grateful. Jack Kemp was unique and will be greatly missed by the pro-growth cause. Here is a special supplement to the Daily News on some of the best articles written about, or by, Jack Kemp.