Posted on 09/27/2006 9:18:33 AM PDT by Kieri
U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz's campaign is calling on the Federal Elections Commission to shut down the conservative lobby Club for Growth after filing a sweeping campaign finance complaint this week.
"They should be barred from politics," said Chief of Staff Matt Marsden, who wrote the grievance. "There is such a scope to their violations. They have to understand the rules; they have to play by them."
Schwarz was defeated in the 7th District Republican primary in August by Tim Walberg. Club for Growth helped raise more than $1 million for Walberg, who dismissed the club or any outside organization as having an impact on his victory.
"I always thought voters were smarter than to follow a vague, unnamed organization out there," he said.
Marsden called the Washington-based Club for Growth a "rogue" group and compared its fundraising tactics to former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's political organization. The FEC in July shuttered DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority for repeated campaign finance violations.
The complaint alleges Club for Growth illegally raised more than $400,000 by failing to register its activities as a political action organization. Marsden also contends the organization broke the law by sharing information with campaigns by sharing pollsters and media consultants in four 2006 federal primaries.
Walberg's campaign is named in the nine-point document. Other candidates implicated are Bill Sali of Idaho (U.S. House), Sharron Angle of Nevada (U.S. House) and Steve Laffey of Rhode Island (U.S. Senate). Only Sali won his primary.
"My belief is that a number of office holders fear Club for Growth and that it will start a campaign in opposition to them," Schwarz said. "Its actions are illegal. It's time to put a stop to them."
Club for Growth officials denied any wrongdoing.
"It's a complete waste of money by Schwarz and the Federal Election Commission," responded David Keating, Club for Growth's executive director.
Keating contended Schwarz was the one who broke the law by failing to have the proper disclaimer in his ads along with Republican Main Street Partnership PAC. Walberg's campaign filed an FEC complaint before the Aug. 8 primary.
Club for Growth has raised $6.3 million in 2005-06 -- primarily for Republicans -- and has endorsed 39 of 535 current members of Congress, or about 7 percent.
The group is the fifth-largest fundraiser of so-called soft money, or unlimited contributions, the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics reports.
Advocating lower taxes and free trade, the organization has federal tax-exempt status.
Such groups, known as 527s for their tax-exemption code, are big business, raising $210 million this election cycle, the center reports.
"They helped pioneer this area of election activity," said Steve Weissman, associate policy director for the Washington-based Campaign Finance Institute.
"Club for Growth is very, very up-front about trying to influence elections. Other groups are more about educating people on the issues."
The group is at odds with the FEC, which is suing Club for Growth for its fundraising practices under the 527 tax-exemption. The case awaits a judge's ruling. FEC officials declined comment on how many complaints have been filed against Club for Growth.
It is the only 527 the FEC has hauled into court, Weissman noted.
Marsden's complaint alleges Walberg's campaign and Club for Growth illegally coordinated activities by both hiring New Jersey-based polling firm National Research Inc. The Schwarz campaign filed a similar FEC grievance in July. However, FEC officials say this allegation is difficult to prove.
Under campaign finance laws, 527 groups can't work with candidate committees.
These political groups can raise unlimited money to advocate for issues -- but not candidates.
The complaint goes further, contending Club for Growth helped engineer three other federal primary campaigns. Marsden writes that the group shared three media consultant and polling outfits with candidates: Arizona-based Blue Point Consulting; and Red Sea and its subsidiary Basswood Research, both of Washington.
"Money, of course, is an important way to influence the outcome of elections," said Schwarz attorney John Pirich of Lansing-based Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn. "It gives you a distinct advantage in distorting information in a campaign."
Loser.
Absolutely wonderful - God bless Pat Toomey and the CFG for ridding us of this horrible RINO.
Club For Growth is effective and thus dangerous to the status quo.
Hey Joe...Consume Feces!
Typical Rockefeller Republican BS
If Club for Growth got rid of this RINO maybe I should give them a 2nd look.
Club for Growth, and other "Conservative" organizations ARe what the Republican Party should be...thank God, and the American public they exist to stand against RINOS!! I think more conservatives should be active in Republican Primaries..that's why incumbents hate them: They are effective, and Ideological ;)..!!
My thoughts exactly.
Club for Growth - They get my contributions. Not the GOP. In fact I get no calls from the GOP. I believe they got their earfulls over illegal immigration.
I live in the 3rd district, but we got ads for the 7th on TV all the time. I feel compelled to ad that the ads run by the League of Conservation Voters against Walberg were... well, they were just bad. I remember thinking that those ads would hurt Schwarz more then Walberg.
Of course, if Schwarz had won, do you think that the national media would have contributed it to the League of Conservation Voter's hatchet job on Walberg? (answer: NO)
MGY
Wow, scratch a liberal pol or HACK of either party and find a fascist.
No doubt about that.
Definitely worth a second look.
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