Why don’t you directly challenge the Club for Growth rating in this case? They are reasonable people, and you seem to have a reasonable argument.
It was a couple years ago now... the damage was already done. But it does serve as a lesson. Anytime I see the XYZ Organization giving our congressmembers a “rating” I always go look to see what it is they are using as a basis for the rating. ACU ratings are not exactly what most people would expect, either, if they looked under the covers.