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.
So they’re doing Walker’s dirty work.
Proof that the Club For Growth is more about the Cheap Labor Express and being Chamber of Commerce Cheerleaders, than an anti-tax group.
RE: What is Club for Growth’s beef with Trump?
Knowing Stephen Moore ( as I read his columns at the Wall Street Journal ), he is DEFINITELY against:
1) Trump’s restrictive immigration plan.
2) Trump’s Trade policy. The Club for Growth is against huge tariffs on imported goods.
*
That money would be SO much better spent on congressional races.
So the Club for Growth must be supporting Dr. Carson, as he’s the close competitor. Dr. Carson backed off from criticizing Trump, so they’re doing it for him? It does seem as if Dr. Carson is in there as an “attractive distractor” for the bad guys.
What is this GOPe problem with immigration, dammit?
Why can't The Club for Growth and the Chamber of Commerce discuss with us what they need for growth, why they cannot find what the need from the native population and we go from there?
Interesting pre Trump article, “Club for Growth plots role as 2016 kingmaker... Or they could just run attack ads against the people they don’t like.”
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/club-for-growth-2016-candidate-115633
I am with the Club for Growth” in a sense. I have no clue what Trump will do on most issues. However, I am certain that he will enforce immigration laws without Amnesty, and that is among the most important issues of our generation. I suspect he will kill Obamacare, another existential threat to America. I suspect he will oppose new gun restrictions, which is the third of three absolutes in my voting decision.
I’ll take Cruz over Trump, and probably Walker, but otherwise no candidate comes close to Trump’s (admittedly limited) trustworthiness on key issues. The insiders just don’t get it: this is supposed to be a government of, by, and for the people, not just for their cronies.
The Koch's, other super rich business owners, who depend on cheap labor and selling their products to illegals using EBT cards funded by us.
Last but not least, the so called main street merchants. The last conservative owners for that group disappeared during the Clintoon Regime.
Regulatory and increased overhead on labor (Obamacare, etc.) without ready access to credit (remember that a few years ago?) made the biz community go, “FINE! We’ll import H-1B labor! We’ll outsource! We’ll offshore operations! We’ll lay people off!”
The tariff stuff is a very hard sell without complete elimination of income and corporate taxes. Small businesses design products and have them manufactured overseas too. I’m totally simplifying this example, but they can’t afford union labor or starting up a factory to make $5 iPhone cases. So a huge corporation wouldn’t have a problem absorbing the costs while the little guy panics at the mention of tariffs.
The Club for Communism is just pissed off for being outed in their attempt to extort a million bucks from Trump in exchange for their “endorsement.” I guess they, like most of the so-callled “conservative groups,” are just a pack of whores. All Trump needs to do is rebroadcast the extortion letter he received from McIntosh.
YUP!
IMO, it takes a certain ego to even want to run for an elective office—and probably 90% of these people I wouldn’t want to go to lunch with.
I like it!
but then it makes too much sense for the political class to get it…….
““I have been a big fan of what Charles and David [Koch] have created as a great influence on the Republican Party and, frankly, I think they can take the fair amount of credit for getting the Republican majorities,” said David McIntosh, president of the Club for Growth.”
So we now find out who the Koch’s really are too. Pi$$ on the both of them! We don’t need their blood money.
I am too.
When it happens, 'cuz this ain't it if the article is accurate.
Isn’t this the same Club for Growth that is pushing amnesty? Isn’t this the same Club for Growth that inflicted Pat Toomey on us and he has done nothing?
I'd like to know who some of the other 'donors' are... Seems elites have the long knives out for Trump...
” In August 2015, the Club for Growth PAC announced it would formally support presidential candidates for the first time, saying the group would bundle donations for Cruz, Rubio, Walker, Bush, and Paul.
“Club for Growth president David McIntosh said “Five candidates are at the forefront of the Republican presidential field on issues of economic freedom, and the Club for Growth PAC is standing with them to help them stand out from the rest.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_for_Growth
good post. Instead of running against Obambi and HRC they take on Trump what fools.
Stephen Moore? The one who couldn’t even get a mortgage?
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.