Posted on 03/26/2014 12:20:30 PM PDT by cotton1706
The conservative group Club for Growth has changed gears and is supporting establishment GOP candidates in primaries.
Launched a decade before the tea party made life difficult for moderate Republicans, the club quickly rose to the political forefront while supporting challengers to incumbent Republicans who it felt were not conservative enough, according to the National Journal.
In 2012, the fiscally conservative organization backed tea party candidate Richard Mourdock’s challenge to Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar and vilified veteran Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch for his voting record. The group also targeted 10 moderate House Republicans.
But the political action committee has suddenly pulled back for the upcoming elections and has begun endorsing GOP candidates favored by party leaders, while newer, ultra-conservative groups have gone on the attack against them.
Earlier this month, the club backed Alaska Senate candidate Dan Sullivan over Joe Miller, whom the group endorsed in 2010.
In another surprising move, it refused to support tea party candidate Matt Bevin in the Kentucky race against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell while also praising the vulnerable six-term incumbent for his record.
The Journal reported that the club is helping to fund the Arkansas campaign of Rep. Tom Cotton, the leading choice of the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC).
Also, the group is supporting just three challengers to incumbent Republicans in the midterm primaries, far fewer than conservative rivals such as the Madison Project, the Heritage Action Fund, and the Senate Conservatives Fund.
The club’s shift in gears is reverberating around Washington. "The club has been the slightly more the grownup in the room this cycle in terms of how they approach races," Brian Walsh, a former NRSC spokesman who has previously attacked the organization told the Journal.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
I guess we’re now the party of tax and spend?? (face palm)
I thought CfG were always open border hacks. If so, this doesn’t surprise me.
They gave us Toomey. How’s THAT working out?
“I thought CfG were always open border hacks. If so, this doesn’t surprise me.”
I hadn’t heard that, though I think they have usually eschewed “social issues” for mostly economic ones. However they are supporting Cotton, as the article points out, and though I am concerned Cotton may be a McCain style interventionist, Cotton has been good on immigration issues.
The nominally conservative actually liberal group Club for Growth
OK. I’ll keep an eye on Cotton to see if he changes his votes or views. Thanks!
They probably think they need to be to get big donors.
Heritage is the only group that scores immigration in the scorecard.
They rated the different votes in the senate on the gang bill.
In the house they rated the vote defunding Obama’s executive amnesty in the DHS funding.
Also I think some groups want to boast about their success rate. Really they should endorse in all races even if they only win 5 or 10% of them. Taking out certain individuals is way more important than succes rates.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.