Club For Growth 3 C f G

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enforcer? polarization? rino hunting, but go after TP with singlE digit lcv scores?!  did they keep going after rotations as promised?

FDN $ TO AAF AM ACCT POW

no merri

not sure i cracked it; how important?  a couple funder from koch aspen network

CAVE TO TRUMP?!2 24 }:

MATT ROSENDALE 0% MIKE LEE HAWLEY CRUZ BLACKBURN

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CAVE TO TRUMP?!

alternet-2 24 no lnx

in 2023, the conservative Club for Growth spent millions of dollars on ads attacking former President Donald Trump's economic record. The group was clearly hoping that someone other than Trump would be the Republican Party's 2024 GOP presidential nominee.}:

But with Trump moving closer and closer to the nomination, Trump and Club for Growth President David McIntosh, according to Politico's Alex Isenstadt, "appear to have made peace."

"After being at war with each other for the past year," Isenstadt reports in an article published on February 12, "Trump and Club for Growth President David McIntosh met for dinner Wednesday evening, (February 7), at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, according to two people with knowledge of the sit-down. McIntosh is also flying with Trump on Saturday to South Carolina, where the former president is campaigning ahead of the state's February 24 Republican primary."

READ MORE:'Club for No Growth': Trump blasts conservative advocacy group for supporting DeSantis

Isenstadt adds, "The rapprochement represents the latest turn in the ongoing, hot-cold relationship between Trump and the conservative organization. Tensions had been especially high between the two sides over the past year, when a Club for Growth-affiliated outside group waged an unsuccessful multi-million-dollar TV ad campaign aimed at sinking Trump in early primary states."

The Politico reporter describes what appears to be a Trump/Club for Growth truce as "another indication of how the GOP is consolidating around Trump as he establishes a stranglehold on the party's nomination."

"Early (in 2023)," Isenstadt notes, "McIntosh told reporters that Republicans should be open to another candidate besides Trump in the 2024 election. Shortly after, the Club for Growth did not extend an invitation to Trump to a donor retreat it was hosting, though it did invite other Republican presidential candidates. After the Club for Growth launched its anti-Trump affiliate in July 2023, Trump blasted the group, calling it the 'Club for No Growth.'"

READ MORE: 'Silly': Elise Stefanik called out for bogus Trump 'election interference' claim

Read Politico's full report at this link.

==

an 8 23

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Machine gun-maker violates federal election law with illegal super PAC donation

Mark Alesia

andRaw Story

August 13, 2023

An Ohio maker of firearms and warfare weaponry, which says its “notable customers” include the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy, has violated federal election law.

Ohio Ordnance Works of Chadron, Ohio, whose fully automatic machine guns are “currently deployed by U.S. and international forces” and “ready for battle right out of the box,” will pay a $19,000 fine, according to an agreement with the Federal Election Commission.

The company admitted making money from the U.S. government as a contractor and, later, making a $100,000 donation to a right-wing super PAC, said the conciliation agreement with the FEC, a bipartisan regulatory agency.

That’s against federal election law, which bars “contributions to political committees by any person who enters into a contract with the United States or its departments … if payment on such contract is to be made in whole or in part from funds appropriated by Congress.”

ALSO READ: Oops, I did it again: This Democratic congresswoman violated a federal law for a second time

A complaint to the FEC said Ohio Ordnance Works made the donation in 2022 to the Club for Growth Action, which lists as a priority “defeating big-government Democrats in red seats and swing districts and replacing them with pro-growth conservatives.”

Club for Growth Action refunded the $100,000 contribution in May of this year, and the FEC did not penalize thesuper PAC.

As a super PAC, Club for Growth Action may raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to advocate for and against political candidates, and it frequently does so in support of conservative politicians.During the 2021-2022 election cycle alone, it spent nearly $70 millionto back or attack federal-level candidates, according to nonpartisan research organization OpenSecrets.

Ohio Ordnance Works had argued that while it did have a “master contract” with the Defense Logistics Agency, an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense, it wasn’t a federal contractor because there were no active purchase orders when it made the donation to Club for Growth Action.

ALSO READ: Federal regulator’s verdict: ‘Judge’ Jeanine Pirro committee is breaking the law

But the FEC’s legal office disagreed, and the agency’s six commissioners — three Republicans, three Democrats — unanimously voted to approve the $19,000 fine.

Ohio Ordnance Works says it has “grown into a world class manufacturer of light, medium, and heavy machine guns able to compete globally with much larger manufacturers.”

The company’s website features the OOW249 Squad Automatic Weapon (S.A.W.), which “provides infantry fire teams with the heavy volume of fire of a machine gun combined with light weight and accuracy. It fires the NATO standard 5.56mm cartridge from a belt or magazine, and is capable of engaging targets out to 800 meters.”

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https://www.alternet.org/2022/07/billionaires-gop-congress/

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Just 27 billionaires have spent $90 million to buy GOP congress: report

[ brk windows london? ]

Rupert Murdoch receiving the 2015 Global Leadership Award, Wikimedia Commons

Kenny Stancil and Common Dreams July 19, 2022

A few dozen billionaires are spending tens of millions of dollars on the 2022 midterm elections—mostly to support Republican candidates, including many who have parroted the dangerous lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen—in a bid to ensure that Congress is full of lawmakers willing "to make their wealthy benefactors even richer," according to a fresh analysis.

Titled Billionaires Buying Elections, the report from Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) details how "billionaires are increasingly using their personal fortunes and the profits of connected corporations to drown out regular voters' voices and elect hand-picked candidates who further rig the nation's economy—especially the tax system."

A pair of super PACs tasked with securing Republican majorities in the House and Senate—the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) and the [cnp?] Senate Leadership Fund (SLF)—raised a combined $188.3 million through the first 16 months of the 2022 campaign cycle, according to ATF. Nearly half—$89.4 million, or 48%—came from just 27 billionaires. A whopping 86% of the GOP's billionaire money came from "Wall Street tycoons" who are arguably the biggest beneficiaries of glaring loopholes in the tax code.

The Democratic counterparts of those two super PACs—the House Majority PAC and the Senate Majority PAC—raised a combined $154 million over the same time period. A smaller share—$25.8 million, or 17%—came from 19 billionaires. A majority of billionaire contributions to Democratic candidates also came from the finance and investment sector (35%), but other industries were also well-represented, including cryptocurrency (26%), and tech (18%).

"Unlike candidates and party committees, super PACs can raise unlimited donations from individuals and corporations," ATF explained. "In return they are not supposed to coordinate activities with the campaigns they support but instead act independently, though that rule is often flouted."

Top billionaire donors to congressional super PACs include hedge fund magnate Ken Griffin, who has given more than $28.5 million to CLF and SLF, and private equity mogul Stephen Schwarzman, who has pumped $20 million into the GOP's two super PACs.

"Anti-democratic vote-buying," ATF wrote, "has been facilitated by—and is facilitating—the accelerating wealth growth of the billionaire class and the record profits of the corporations they own."

The combined net worth of the nation's roughly 750 billionaires surged by $2 trillion, or 70%, during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. The collective wealth of the 27 billionaires bankrolling the GOP's super PACs alone soared by $82.4 billion over that time period, meaning that the $89.4 million they have donated to CLF and SLF constitutes less than 0.1% of their overall pandemic-era gains.

Meanwhile, the return on that modest investment could amount to billions of dollars if Republicans take back Congress in November and preserve their 2017 tax cuts or further slash taxes on superrich people and the corporations they own.

Over a recent nine-year period, the 400 wealthiest people in the U.S. paid an average effective federal income tax rate of just 8.2% when the increased value of their stock holdings is included in their income. That is a lower rate than the nationwide average of 13.3% in 2019.

As ATF explained, focusing on contributions to congressional super PACs fails "to capture the full political influence of billionaires, who in addition to personal donations also steer money to favored candidates from related corporations and organizations."

Billionaires are among the ultrawealthy Americans who control corporations through their extensive stock holdings. Many corporate giants have been distorting the upcoming midterms, ATF pointed out, by spending tens of millions to help GOP candidates who have vowed to defend special tax breaks for the top 1% get elected, including 144 far-right members of Congress who voted to overturn President Joe Biden's electoral victory.

According to the report, seven powerful corporations—AT&T,Chevron, ExxonMobil,FedEx, GM, Merck, and UPS—have collectively given nearly $1.5 million to dozens of election deniers and various Republican PACs and election committees this campaign cycle.The companies' demonstrated lack of concern for democracy, ATF noted, likely stems from their desire to keep dodging taxes. In 2021, these firms paid an average federal income tax rate of just 2.7% on a combined $78.4 billion in profits.

Notably, Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal who is worth about $5 billion and openly opposed to democracy, has been spending big on his preferred Republican candidates but not through the GOP's congressional super PACs.

Thiel "has so far spent almost $30 million through super PACs supporting the 2022 senatorial bids of two former employees who share his anti-democratic and anti-tax beliefs," ATF found. "J.D. Vance won the Ohio Republican U.S. Senate primary thanks in part to Thiel's $15 million in spending. Blake Masters has a fighting chance in Arizona's GOP U.S. Senate primary in August due to Thiel's $13.5 million in contributions."

Another source of "billionaire dominance of campaign financing, especially on the Republican side," wrote ATF, are so-called "dark money" groups, which are not required to disclose the identity of their donors. Some dark money groups—including Club for Growth, which has received $32 million from billionaire Wall Street trader Jeffrey Yass over the years—are "notorious for having bankrolled insurrectionist members of Congress" like Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), ATF noted.

According to the report:

Politically active billionaire Charles Koch has not personally donated to either GOP super PAC this cycle, but his corporation—Koch Industries—has so far given them a total of $1.75 million.

Two of the biggest "dark money" groups, which do not disclose their donors, are essentially sister groups to thetwo congressional GOP super PACs. American Action Networkgave at least $26 million to CLF in the 2020 cycle and $18.7 million so far this cycle.One Nation donated $77.5 million to SLF last cycle and has given $16.5 million so far this cycle.

The ability of the nation's wealthiest individuals to translate their disproportionate economic power into political clout has increased exponentially since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision eliminated effective limits on campaign contributions.

According to the report:

Billionaires pumped $1.2 billion into the 2020 elections, almost 40 times more than the $31 million they donated in 2010, when the Citizens United rules were first in effect. In the 2020 election cycle, billionaires contributed nearly $1 out of every $10, while making up just 0.01% of all donors contributing more than $200.

Billionaires donated almost $240 million to the combined campaign efforts of Donald Trump's two runs for president. Over half came from just one billionaire household, that of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson (who has since died).

"Billionaires, who are used to buying whatever they want, have increasingly dedicated their almost unlimited resources to buying American elections," Frank Clemente, executive director of ATF, said in a statement.

"The problem is what's good for billionaires—including cutting taxes on the rich and corporations—is bad for working families," said Clemente. "We need to rein in billionaire political and economic power through campaign finance reforms and tax reforms such as a billionaires income tax."

Several legislative proposals have emerged to tax the increased value of assets owned by the nation's wealthiest households each year regardless of whether they sell or keep them, which would ensure that income derived from wealth is taxed more like income earned from work.

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Biden's plan would raise an estimated $360 billion over 10 years, while Sen. Ron Wyden's (D-Ore.) plan would raise an estimated $550 billion over a decade, and Rep. Jamaal Bowman's (D-N.Y.) proposal possibly even more.

:{:{}:

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Billionaire-backed Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), however, has joined Senate Republicans in opposing such a measure.

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https://yyy.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/15/trump-republicans-election-defeat-club-for-growth

sedit caucus

121 guk

...n 2018, Club for Growth spent nearly $3m attacking the Democratic senator Claire McCaskill in Missouri, a race that was ultimately won by Hawley, the 41-year-old Yale law graduate with presidential ambitions who has amplified Donald Trump’s baseless lies about election fraud.

That year, it also spent $1.2m to attack the Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who challenged – and then narrowly lost – against Cruz.

Other legislators supported by Club for Growth include Matt Rosendale, who this week called for the resignation of fellow Republican Liz Cheney after she said she would support impeachment of the president, and Lance Gooden, who accused Pelosi of being just as responsible for last week’s riot as Trump.

Dozens of the Republicans supported by Club for Growth voted to challenge the election results even after insurrectionist stormed the Capitol, which led to five deaths, including the murder of a police officer....

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https://www.prwatch.org/news/2020/02/13545/wealthy-donors-and-fossil-fuel-interests-pump-millions-super-pacs-2020-elections

independent political spending groups are readying their arsenals to flood the airwaves with 2020 election ads praising their preferred candidates or attacking those they don’t like. Right-wing millionaires and billionaires and fossil fuel corporations are helping them do so.

Leading the pack are Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, the midwestern executives of shipping supply giant Uline, having donated a total of $19.4 million to seven super PACs from January 2019 through January 2020.

Oil and materials conglomerate Koch Industries has donated the most of any corporation so far, giving nearly $5.3 million to three super PACs, including $4 million to AFP Action, which is the sister group of Charles Koch's flagship political nonprofit, Americans for Prosperity. Also funding AFP Action is the group's predecessor, Freedom Partners Action Fund, which gave nearly $6.5 million.

Conservative super PACs owe thanks not just to Koch Industries but to a number of other fossil fuel companies, a trade group, fossil fuel executives and their spouses, and heirs to fossil fuel fortunes. Fossil fuel interests donated nearly $18.8 million to conservative super PACs and hybrid PACs--committees that operate both a super PAC and a traditional PAC--from January 2019 through January 2020.

Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Valero all gave over $1 million to GOP super PACs. Executives such as Western Refining Chairman Paul Foster, Midland Energy CEO S. Javaid Anwar, and coal producer Alliance Resource Partners CEO Joe Craft gave six- or seven-figure sums.

The Megadonors

Richard Uihlein has emerged as a key Republican megadonor in the last several years. In 2010, he was 36th on the list of top donors to outside political spending groups at the federal level. Over that decade, he inched up the ladder until he vastly increased his spending in 2018, giving nearly $38 million to outside groups.

In the current election, Uihlein's giving appears to be continuing this upward trend. Since last year, Richard and his wife, Elizabeth Uihlein, have given the most money--$12.5 million--of any donor to Club for Growth Action. But they also gave large amounts to the pro-Trump America First Action ($1.5 million), Americas PAC ($1.5 million), House Freedom Action ($1 million), Kentucky Tomorrow ($250,000), Restoration PAC ($2.5 million), and Senate Conservatives Action ($125,000). In total, the couple has delivered $19.4 million to conservative super PACs.

In May 2016, Elizabeth Uihlein landed on the Trump Victory Committee, which raised money for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, after considerable political spending.

The Uihleins have also spent heavily in state elections, boosting the 2014 campaign of Republican Bruce Rauner, who became governor of Illinois. Richard Uihlein has expressed anti-gay and anti-transgender views and has backed extremist candidates such as Alabama's Roy Moore, a right-wing evangelical accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women.

Timothy Mellon, the majority owner of transportation holding company Pan Am Systems and an heir to the Mellon steel fortune, donated $10 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, which spends money to boost Republican House candidates, for the second election cycle in a row. In addition, Mellon gave $2.5 million to Senate Republicans' main super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund.

Mellon is a big Republican Party donor who donated $1.5 million in 2010 to Arizona's legal defense fund as it fought lawsuits over its harsh anti-immigrant law SB 1070. In 2014, he put $30,000 into the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee and donated the maximum allowed amount to Carson's presidential campaign the following year. In the current election cycle, Mellon has donated mostly to GOP candidates, but gave the maximum allowed amount of $2,800 to Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's (D-HI) campaign.

Mellon is related to the Scaife family, which, through the Scaife family foundations, is one of the biggest bankrollers of the right-wing movement, including several hate groups.

Other top donors who have given multiple millions of dollars to GOP super PACs include:

Jeff Yass, managing director of investment firm Susquehanna International Group: $4.1 million. Club for Growth Action ($2 million) and Protect Freedom PAC ($2.1 million).

Warren A. Stephens, CEO of investment bank Stephens, Inc.: $3.6 million. 1820 PAC ($250,000), America First Action ($500,000), Congressional Leadership Fund ($750,000), Security is Strength PAC ($50,000), Senate Leadership Fund ($1.5 million), Waiting for Women Action Fund ($500,000).

Paul E. Singer, president of hedge fund company Elliott Management Group: $3.5 million. Congressional Leadership Fund ($1 million), Senate Leadership Fund ($2 million), Waiting for Women Action Fund ($500,000).

Stephen A. Schwarzman, CEO of private equity firm Blackstone: $3 million. 1820 PAC ($500,000), Congressional Leadership Fund ($2.5 million).

In total, 24 individuals and couples have given $1 million or more to conservative super PACs since 2019.

Some big donors contributed individually and through their companies. Mountaire Farms CEO Ronald Camerondonated $2.8 million of his own money, including $1 million to AFP Action, while his company donated $500,000 to both the Congressional and Senate Leadership Funds.

Six members of the family of Education Sec. Betsy DeVos, including her husband, Dick DeVos, combined to donate a total of $2.3 million to super PACs: America First Action ($400,000), Better Future MI Fund ($700,000), the Congressional Leadership Fund ($450,000), and the Senate Leadership Fund ($750,000).

Koch Industries Leads Corporate Contributions

CMD tracked $23.5 million in direct corporate donations to conservative super PACs since 2019, much of which came from fossil fuel companies—most prominently, Koch Industries.

In addition to donating $4 million to AFP Action, Koch Industries gave $500,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund and $750,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund. The company gave nearly $5.3 million to super PACs from 2019 through January 2020.

Real estate conglomerate Hillwood Development Co. gave close to $3.1 million to GOP PACs, including $1.1 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, $1 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, and $1 million to Engage Texas, a super PAC funded by Texas-based companies and business executives that launched in June 2019 "with the goal of registering hundreds of thousands of new voters and convincing them to help keep the state red in November."

Hillwood Development founder Ross Perot, Jr. gave $10,000 to Texans for a Conservative Majority, a super PAC that was founded in 2013 by a corporate lobbyist to help reelect Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and came out of hibernation last year to help the senator keep his seat again.

Oil giant Chevron added $1 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, $750,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund, and $15,000 to Maverick PAC. ConocoPhillips ANS Marketing Company, a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips, donated $1 million to the Senate Leadership Fund and $250,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund. Oil and gas pipeline company Energy Transfer donated $1 million to Engage Texas and $100,000 to Texans for a Conservative Majority.

Thirty-seven companies and one trade group gave more than $100,000 to conservative super PACs from 2019 through January 2020.

Fossil fuel companies accounted for nearly $11.9 million in conservative super PAC donations, or more than 50 percent of the amount that corporations gave to such PACs. None of these companies made donations to liberal super PACs. In all, fossil fuel companies, executives, or heirs gave more than $18.8 million to conservative super PACs from 2019 through January 2020.

Jan Duncan, the widow of Dan Duncan, the late co-founder of oil and gas pipeline company Enterprise Products, gave $1 million each to Engage Texas and Women Speak Out PAC, an affiliate of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List.

The trade group American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers gave $100,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund and $10,000 to the West Virginia-based Black Bear PAC.

Campaign FinanceCorporationsDemocracyEnvironmentKoch ExposedPoliticsRight WingU.S. Government

page 99

Democratic Humility: Reinhold Niebuhr, Neuroscience, and ...books.google.com › books

Christopher Beem - 2015 - ?Political Science

nate silver 102 swing  races, only 35 close , congress hyper-partisan, so only real risk in flanked/primary

==

Club for Growth Action Launches PrimaryMyCongressman.Comwww.clubforgrowth.org › club-for-growth-action-launches-primarym...

Feb 27, 2013 - Club for Growth President Chris Chocola: “PrimaryMyCongressman.com will serve as a tool to hold opponents of economic freedom and ...

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/01/club-for-growth-action-5/

1/20

political leanings:Conservative

2018 total spending: $19.6 million

Club for Growth Action, the super PAC of the conservative Club for Growth, was launched in August 2010. On its website, the organization declares its mission is to “take on any Member of Congress on policy who fails to uphold basic economic conservative principles … regardless of party.”

The PAC targets some Republican incumbents in primary elections in order to replace them with “pro-growth, limited government conservatives.” Club for Growth Action states on its website that it has been “instrumental” in helping to elect conservatives such as Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Sen. Marco Rubioof Florida andSen.Tim Scott of South Carolina.

As of Dec. 31, 2019, the group had raised $7.7 million in the 2020 election cycle.

Its independent expenditures — spending for or against identified candidates, without coordination with candidates or parties —totaled about $2.5 million as of Feb. 10. Club for Growth Action spent more than $550,000 against Democrat Dan McCready in North Carolina. McCready lost to Republican Dan Bishop in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District special election in 2019. In the Democratic presidential primaries, the group has so far spent almost $67,000 against former Vice President Joe Biden, $59,000 against Sen. Bernie Sanders and a little more than$34,000 against former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas. O’Rourke dropped out of the Democratic race on Nov. 1.

The bulk of Club for Growth Action’s money thus far in the 2020 cycle has come from three donors. Richard Uihlein, the chief executive officer of Uline, a shipping, packaging and industrial supplies company, gave the PAC $2.5 million in May. The two other major donors are Jeff Yass, cofounder of the financial firm Susquehanna International, and Virginia James, a conservative investor and former spouse of Club for Growth co-founder and stockbroker Richard Gilder. They have donated $2 million and $1 million to the PAC, respectively.

In the 2018 cycle, Club for Growth Action spent $19.6 million. The PAC spent $1.2 million in the Texas senatorial race against O’Rourke, who lost in his bid to unseat Cruz. The group also spent more than$1.1 million to defeat Republican candidate Russell “Russ” Fagg in the Montana Senate Republican primary.

The PAC also focused onspecial House elections in Georgia and Pennsylvania. During the last election cycle,the group found itself at odds in the Georgia House race with a pro-Trump group called 45Committee.Club for Growth Action endorsed RepublicanBob Gray — one of 18 candidates, including 11 Republicans, running in what was known as a “jungle primary.”

45Committee ran TV ads opposing Gray, claiming voters could not “trust him” because he “stands with the Club for Growth.” Gray did not survive the primary.Karen Handel, a Republican, won the special election in a runoff against Democrat Jon Ossoff.

A large chunk of the PAC’s money in the 2018 election cycle came from Uihlein, who has donated to Club for Growth Action since2010. Uihlein gave the PAC $6.7 million. Jeff Yass, co-founder of global trading firm Susquehanna International Group, gave the PAC a little over$3.8 million. Yass also serves on the board of directors at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

In the 2016 cycle, Club for Growth Action spent a little over $20 million. On the presidential election alone, the group spent nearly $8 million — including more than$7 million against Donald Trump during the Republican primary. The group, for example, accused Trumpin TV adsof supporting higher taxes. Once in office, Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which reduced individual and corporate income tax rates, among other things. (See our story, “A Guide to the Tax Changes.”)

FactCheck.org Undergraduate Fellow Isabella Fertel contributed to this article. 

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==

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_for_Growth_Action

Club for Growth Action is an independent-expenditure only committee or Super PAC with a stated mission of "defeating big-government politicians and replacing them with pro-growth, limited government conservatives."^[1] Club for Growth Action spends money running political advertising campaigns in congressional races throughout the country.^[2]

Founded in August 2010, Club for Growth Action is an arm of the Club for Growth.^[2][3]

• :{1:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Political action:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
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Political action[

Club for Growth Action states that it is “dedicated to a single mission: beating big government politicians” of both parties. The group targets mostly Republicans in primaries and Democrats in the general election.^[2]

In February 2013, Club for Growth Action launched a website called “PrimaryMyCongressman.com." Club for Growth president Chris Chocola said the website would "serve as a tool to hold opponents of economic freedom and limited government accountable for their actions.” According to Club for Growth Action, the website will "rotate liberal Republicans through the website to highlight their failed records on limiting government." The first nine targets were Republicans Mike Simpson, Adam Kinzinger, Rick Crawford, Frank Lucas, Steven Palazzo, Martha Roby, Larry Bucshon, Renee Ellmers, and Aaron Schock.^[4][5]

Expenditures[

Club for Growth Action has spent millions of dollars on independent expenditures in support of candidates endorsed by the Club for Growth PAC. Those candidates include Ted Cruz, Pat Toomey, Jeff Flake, Tom Cotton, Chris McDaniel, Dan Sullivan, and Ben Sasse.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]}

In 2015, after Mike Huckabee announced he was running for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Club for Growth Action announced a $100,000 ad buy critical of Huckabee's tax record.^[12][13]

Club for Growth Action was critical of Donald Trump's candidacy, announcing a $1 million advertising buy against his campaign in September 2015. In March 2016, the Club for Growth aired $1.5 million worth of anti-Trump advertisements in Florida.^[14] The Club for Growth Action also ran anti-Trump advertisements in Illinois and Wisconsin.^[15] In April 2016, Club for Growth Action announced a $1.5 million anti-Trump advertising buy in Indiana in advance of that state's presidential primary.^[16] The group's advertisements highlighted Trump's support for liberal policies, such as a single-payer health insurance system and tax increases.^{[17][18][19][20]}

Funding[

Club for Growth Action used to receive in-kind contributions from the Club for Growth, but now it receives all of its funding from individual donors.^[2] The Center for Public Integrity gave Club for Growth Action a high transparency grade for "significant disclosure." Top donors to Club for Growth Action include Peter Thiel, Bob J. Perry, and Virginia James.^[2][3]

References:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

1. ^ :{Jump up to::(style="user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^a ^b(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_for_Growth_Action#cite_ref-action_1-1) "Club for Growth Action". Retrieved 4 November 2016.
2. ^ :{Jump up to::(style="user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^a ^b(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_for_Growth_Action#cite_ref-fact_2-1) ^c(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_for_Growth_Action#cite_ref-fact_2-2) ^d(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_for_Growth_Action#cite_ref-fact_2-3) ^e(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_for_Growth_Action#cite_ref-fact_2-4) "Club for Growth Action". FactCheck.org. Annenberg Public Policy Center. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
3. ^ :{Jump up to::(style="user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^a ^b(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_for_Growth_Action#cite_ref-cpi_3-1) Marcus, Rachael. "PAC profile: Club for Growth Action". Consider the Source. Center for Public Integrity. Retrieved 1 March2013.
4. ^ "Club for Growth targets Idaho Rep. Simpson for defeat in 2014". Idaho Statesman. 2013-02-27. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
5. ^ Wing, Nick (2013-02-27). "Club For Growth Launches New Effort To Recruit GOP Primary Challengers Against Republicans". Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
6. ^ "Club for Growth Action Independent Expenditures". OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved 1 March2013.
7. ^ "Club for Growth Action". Sunlight Foundation. Retrieved 1 March2013.
8. ^ McClaughlin, Seth (2013-09-28). "Club for Growth targets Sen. Mark Pryor over spending". Washington Times. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
9. ^ Joseph, Cameron (October 8, 2013). "Pryor, Club for Growth in Arkansas ad slugfest". The Hill. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
10. ^ Logiuratu, Brett (December 6, 2013). "One of the Longest Serving Republican Senators Just Set Up a Huge Challenge With the Tea Party Next Year". Business Insider. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
11. ^ "Club for Growth Action". OpenSecrets. Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
12. ^ Weigel, David (May 5, 2015). "Here's the Commercial the Club for Growth Will Run Against Mike Huckabee". Bloomberg. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
13. ^ Haberman, Maggie (May 5, 2015). "Anti-Tax Group Wastes No Time Targeting Mike Huckabee". New York Times. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
14. ^ Epstein, Reid (March 2, 2016). "Super PACS Launch Anti-Trump Ads in Florida, Illinois and Michigan". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
15. ^ Bauer, Scott; Pace, Julie (April 1, 2016). "Trump stumbling in Wisconsin as forces coalesce against him". Frontline. PBS. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
16. ^ Sherfinski, David (April 21, 2016). "Club for Growth Action launching $1.5 million anti-Trump ad buy in Indiana". Washington Times. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
17. ^ Rappeport, Alan (September 22, 2015). "Donald Trump Threatens to Sue Club for Growth Over Ad Campaign". New York Times. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
18. ^ Confessore, Nicholas; Rappeport, Alan (September 15, 2015). "Donald Trump Is Target of Conservative Ad Campaign". New York Times. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
19. ^ Schouten, Fredreka (September 15, 2015). "Club for Growth launches ad campaign against Donald Trump in Iowa". USA Today. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
20. ^ Adler, Jonathan (September 25, 2015). "Donald Trump v. Club for Growth". Washington Post. Retrieved 8 October 2015.

External links:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

• Official website
• Profile at Ballotpedia
• Club for Growth Action at FactCheck.org
• Campaign finance at OpenSecrets.org
• Independent expenditures at OpenSecrets.org

Categories: 

• Political organizations based in the United States
• United States political action committees

https://www.rollcall.com/2019/08/23/david-koch-leaves-behind-legacy-of-dark-money-political-network/

Republican mega-donor David Koch, who helped pioneer a network of often surreptitious organizations aimed at influencing elections and public policy, leaves behind a legacy of dark-money groups and a volatile political landscape.

Koch, one half of the Koch Brothers along with his older brother Charles, died at age 79, the billionaires’ company, Kansas-based Koch Industries, said Friday. David Koch had stepped away from business and politics in 2018 for health reasons and had previously battled cancer, though the company did not say the exact cause of death.

Congressional and K Street insiders, whether they agreed with the Kochs’ libertarian-conservative ideology or fought it relentlessly, agreed that David Koch left a lasting imprint on the nation’s politics.

The flush-with-money Koch network, which includes such groups as Americans for Prosperity, helped to resuscitate the Republican Party after its losses in the 2008 presidential and congressional elections and helped give rise to the tea party movement. But David Koch died at a time when the emboldened Republicans’ current leader, President Donald Trump, doesn’t toe the Koch line, especially when it comes to trade and immigration policy.

In establishing AFP and the Koch network, “you could fairly say he saved the Republican Party after that incredible defeat,” said David McIntosh, president of the conservative Club for Growth, referring to the 2008 elections. “He helped the Republican Party get back on its feet.”

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David Koch’s biggest, most lasting influence is likely to be the system of using nonprofit organizations that often do not need to disclose their donors. The Koch network made use of Supreme Court rulings, such as the landmark 2010 Citizens United case, that allowed corporations to spend unlimited money. But they also worked through organizations that could shield donors from public view.

Though they pioneered the effort, they have been widely copied on both sides of the aisle.

“By far, the most fundamental way that David Koch and his brother and their network has influenced campaign finance broadly is through the role that they played in expanding the way that dark money enters elections,” said Sarah Bryner, who has tracked Koch political spending as research director at the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. “That’s what I think of when I think of Koch money — those networks and the chains of connections and the ways in which they are able to spend millions and millions of dollars out of the public view.”

Still, some of the money is traceable to some extent to the Kochs’ network of groups, which include nonprofit social welfare organizations, super PACs and other outside entities with various rules for public disclosures.

Americans for Prosperity reported spending some $13.3 million and Freedom Partners reported $30 million to the Federal Election Commission for political advertising in 2016, the center has found. The Kochs said they would spend $400 million in the 2018 elections, but just $44.2 million was disclosed to the FEC, the center’s research showed.

Club for Growth’s McIntosh recalled that he first met David Koch in the 1990s when McIntosh was a GOP congressman from Indiana. Koch, he said, invited him and his wife, Ruthie, to New York.  

“He was very encouraging,” McIntosh said. “He was always looking for young people to get involved and take leadership roles. That’s a huge part of the legacy of the Koch Network: to bring droves of young people into the conservative and libertarian movement and Republican politics.”

David Koch ran for vice president, on the Libertarian Party ticket, in 1980, but found the Republican Party the closest and most viable political home, McIntosh and others said.  

In addition to funding political causes and candidates, David Koch, who lived in New York, donated millions to artistic and medical caucuses with his name on several spots including the David H. Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. But it’s his role in politics that won him the most fame.

“The Kochs, and you’ve got to talk about Charles and David together, they revolutionized much of money in politics,” said Burdett Loomis, an emeritus professor of politics at the University of Kansas. “They certainly moved politics, with their money, to the right.”

Though the Kochs may be at odds with Trump Republicans on issues of trade and immigration, they were big backers of a criminal justice overhaul that won Trump’s blessing and was enacted in December.

Despite policy divisions with the Trump administration, the Kochs backed some of the administration’s insiders, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a former Kansas congressman.

“Certainly, the Kochs were instrumental in the rise of the farther right politics in Kansas,” Loomis said, noting the Koch Brothers’ work through state-focused organizations, including the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Through their company, they also spent millions on lobbying.

The Kochs’ donor retreats also helped expand their own influence, urging other business leaders to give in lockstep.

David Koch and his brother Charles “have been staunch proponents for spending as much money in politics in every avenue you can,” said Lisa Gilbert, a frequent opponent of the Koch network as vice president of legislative affairs at the liberal group Public Citizen. “They sort of led the charge in explaining how to do that to other corporate interests.

“In terms of laying a path that corporate America has followed, that does not go away with the death of the single person,” she added.

McIntosh agreed that David Koch’s imprint will endure.

“He made sure there was a political force for freedom and liberty that survived past his lifetime,” McIntosh said. “In a personal way, he was such a warm and gracious man.”

==

wiki has later info than sw

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_for_Growth

...

2011–12[

The Club was involved in the debate over the debt ceiling that took place in August 2011. The Club endorsed and strongly supported "Cut Cap and Balance" and ran issue ads urging Republicans to "show some spine" on maintaining the debt ceiling.^[45]

The Club opposed the re-authorization of the Export-Import Bank.^[46] The Club also took a strong position against Republicans voting for tax increases during the debate over the so-called "fiscal cliff". The Club opposed the "Plan B" tax increase proposed by John Boehner and also opposed the final deal.^[47]

2013:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

In September 2013, Club for Growth made voting on the Continuing Appropriations Resolution a key vote, announcing it track how representatives voted on the bill and make that part of their congressional scorecard.^[48] The group urged representatives to vote yes, particularly with defunding ObamaCare in mind.^[48]

The Club for Growth opposed the Ryan-Murray Budget deal.^[49] It also opposed the 2013 farm bill, which failed for the first time in the bill's 40-year history.^[50][51][52]

2014:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

The Club's PAC spent $3.1 million ($2.4 million on independent expenditures and $700,000 on ads) or nearly half of the $7.8 million which it spent in 2014 on Chris McDaniel's effort to defeat Thad Cochran in the United States Senate Republican primary election in Mississippi, 2014.^[8]

2015:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

From April through June 2015, the Club for Growth spent $1 million on television ads in nine congressional districts, urging the members of Congress in those districts to oppose re-authorization of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank). Additional advertisements were announced in two districts in Utah, but were cancelled when the members declared their opposition to the Ex-Im Bank.^[53] In addition, the Club for Growth announced a key vote against re-authorization of the Ex-Im Bank.^[54]

The Club for Growth produced a series of policy papers on the positions taken by major Republican presidential candidates on the government's role in economic growth. The eleven papers examined the records and remarks of the candidates on issues such as tax reform, government spending, entitlement reform, and free trade.^[55] The Club concluded that Senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio were the most likely candidates to enact pro-growth policies if elected president.^[56]

In October 2015, the Club for Growth announced a key vote against the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, saying that it would include a $1.5 trillion in the debt ceiling and a $112 billion increase in federal spending.^[57]

Climate change[

The Club for Growth has opposed government action to curb greenhouse gas emissions. In 2009, the Club for Growth pressured Republican politicians not to support a cap-and-trade bill, which the group viewed as being "extremely harmful to the economy."^[58] In 2011, the group issued a white paper criticizing presidential candidate Mitt Romney's regulatory record as Massachusetts governor, including his support of global warming policies.^[59] In 2017, the group called on President Trump to exit the :{Paris Agreemen:(style="background-color:#ffcc66;"):}::{t:(style="background-color:#ffffff;"):}:.^[60]

Congressional scorecard[

Since 2005, the Club for Growth has produced an annual congressional scorecard. Each member of Congress receives a score on a scale of 0 to 100. The Club for Growth awards a Defender of Economic Freedom award to members of Congress who receive a 90% above on the annual scorecard and have a lifetime score of at least 90%.^[61] The New York Times described the Club's release of its annual scorecard as "set upon by Republicans like the Oscar nominations list by Hollywood, with everyone dying to know who ranks where, especially in election years."^[62]

The Club's 2015 congressional scorecard was based on 29 House votes and 25 Senate votes. Mike Lee was the only U.S. Senator to receive a perfect score. Ben Sasse was ranked second among U.S. Senators, followed by Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. On the U.S. House side, John Ratcliffe, Tim Huelskamp, and Scott DesJarlais received perfect scores.^[63]

The Club for Growth Foundation's 2017 Congressional Scorecard was released in February 2018. Andy Biggs, a Republican from Arizona, was the only member of the U.S. House to receive a 100% rating. A total of 29 members of the U.S. House received a score of at least 90%. In the U.S. Senate, Jeff Flake, Pat Toomey, and James Lankford scored 100%, while four other Senators scored at least 90%.^[64]

The Club for Growth's 2018 Congressional Scorecard awarded twenty members of the U.S. House and five U.S. Senators scores of at least 90%. Four U.S. Senators (Jeff Flake, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, and Pat Toomey) and three U.S. Representatives (Justin Amash, Andy Biggs, and Paul Gosar) received perfect scores. Susan Collins received the lowest score among Republican Senators while Brian Fitzpatrick and Christopher Smith were the lowest scoring Republican members of the U.S. House.^[65]

Club for Growth PAC

...

2016

U.S. presidential election:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

With regard to the 2016 Republican presidential primary candidates, the Club for Growth was critical of Mike Huckabee, Chris Christie, John Kasich, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, and Donald Trump.^{[150][151][152][153][154]} In August 2015, Club for Growth President David McIntosh said that Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and Ted Cruz are "the real deal candidates, the gold standard of the race," and that while questions remained, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker showed some pro-growth stances.^[155]

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."^[156] In October 2015, McIntosh said Cruz and Rubio were "the gold standard" of Republican presidential candidates.^[157]

The Club for Growth's Super PAC, Club for Growth Action, was particularly critical of Trump's candidacy, announcing a $1 million Iowa advertising buy against his campaign in September 2015. The Club for Growth Action was the first third-party group to spend significant sums against Donald Trump.^[158] The Club for Growth announced a $1.5 million advertising buy in Florida in March 2016. The group's advertisements highlighted Trump's support for liberal policies, such as a single-payer health insurance system and tax increases.^{[159][160][161][162]}

In March 2016, Politico reported that the Club for Growth PAC planned to deny congressional endorsements to any candidates who endorsed Donald Trump's presidential bid before the nomination was actually clinched. The Club's PAC noted that the warning did not apply to those who endorsed Trump after the May 3, 2016, Indiana primary.^[163][164] Also in March 2016, the Club for Growth PAC endorsed Ted Cruz for president. The Club for Growth PAC had never previously endorsed in a presidential race. According to Club for Growth head David McIntosh, "This year is different because there is a vast gulf between the two leading Republican candidates on matters of economic liberty. Their records make clear that Ted Cruz is a consistent conservative who will fight to shrink the federal footprint, while Donald Trump would seek to remake government in his desired image."^[165]

U.S. congressional elections[

In North Carolina's 2nd congressional district, Club for Growth Action opposed incumbent Renee Ellmers without endorsing a specific candidate. She was defeated in the primary

...

2017[

The Club for Growth endorsed Bob Gray to represent Tom Price's district after he left to lead the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The group reportedly also bought $250,000 of airtime on Atlanta cable against early Republican front-runner Karen Handel.^[186][187] The special election took place on April 18, 2017, with Republican Karen Handel defeating Gray and winning a run-off election on June 20, 2017, against Democrat Jon Ossoff.

The organization endorsed Ralph Norman in the Republican primary to replace Mick Mulvaney in South Carolina's 5th congressional district. Norman won the primary and went on to defeat Archie Parnell in the general election.^[188] The organization also endorsed Christopher Herrod's candidacy in the special election to replace Jason Chaffetz.^[189]

2018

The Club for Growth PAC endorsed Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel in his bid to unseat incumbent Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in the United States Senate election in Ohio, 2018. Mandel dropped out of the race in January 2018.^[190]

yikes see graf, many wins in blue wave 2018]!

...

yikes a bunch uncontested

2019[

In the 2019 special election in North Carolina's 9th congressional district, the Club for Growth endorsed state senator Dan Bishop in the 10-candidate Republican primary field.^[195] Bishop advanced from the primary and defeated Democrat Dan McCready in the general special election on September 10, 2019.^[196]

In the 2019 special election in Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district, the Club for Growth endorsed Fred Keller, who advanced to the general election.^[197] Keller won the general special election held on May 21, 2019.^[198]

In the 2019 special election in North Carolina's 3rd congressional district, the Club for Growth endorsed Celeste Cairns in the 17-person Republican primary field. Cairns did not advance to the run-off primary

graph drops off as most of the money is "outside"?

https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000763

320

2020 so far

contributions to candidates: $1,039,944

Contributions to Leadership PACs: $0

Contributions to parties: $0

Contributions to 527 committees: $0

Contributions to outside spending groups: $163,078

Awake Carolina	$160,000	$0	$160,000
Bishop, Dan	$153,157	$152,962	$195
Perry, Scott	$96,283	$95,183	$1,100
Roy, Chip	$93,034	$93,034	$0
Budd, Ted	$90,607	$90,407	$200
Schweikert, David	$86,902	$86,802	$100
Rosendale, Matt	$78,045	$77,400	$645
Sasse, Ben	$72,001	$72,001	$0
Brakey, Eric	$71,757	$71,757	$0
Keller, Fred	$52,890	$52,705	$185
Chabot, Steve	$49,414	$49,314	$100
Perdue, David	$49,128	$48,953	$175
Hightower, Bill	$46,053	$46,053	$0
Cairns, Celeste	$34,977	$34,800	$177
Daines, Steven	$28,279	$26,882	$1,397
McCarthy, Kevin	$5,600	$5,600	$0
McConnell, Mitch	$5,600	$5,600	$0
Cornyn, John	$5,600	$5,600	$0
Massie, Thomas	$4,050	$4,050	$0
Toomey, Pat	$3,718	$2,800	$918
Cotton, Tom	$3,700	$3,700	$0
Herrell, Yvette	$2,800	$2,800	$0
Paul, Rand	$2,800	$2,800	$0
CFG Action Montana	$2,775	$0	$2,775
Blackburn, Marsha	$1,999	$0	$1,999
Taylor, Van	$1,000	$1,000	$0
Nunes, Devin	$500	$500	$0
CFG Action Tennessee	$303	$0	$303
Gaetz, Matt	$50	$0	$50

No outside spending groups threw their support behind Murphy, the top vote-getter at 22.5 percent. But Murphy had plenty of money himself, raising far more than any of his opponents — $317,994 through March 31. While some of his opponents invoked President Donald Trump and other national figures in their campaigns, Murphy stuck with his message of lowering taxes.

Perry raised $152,245 through March but also received support from several outside groups. Anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List made $86,853 in independent expenditures supporting Perry through its Women Speak Out PAC. Winning for Women Action Fund made its first appearance, adding another $201,351 in support of Perry.

The group, which intends to recruit and support Republican women candidates, cheered Perry’s second place finish, saying in a statement it “proves that voters have an appetite for electing qualified Republican women and that critical primary support will help get them there.”

Outside groups that bet on Perry can call her second-place finish a success. The rest — not so much.

Influential anti-tax super PAC Club for Growth shelled out $199,050 to boost public accountant Celeste Cairns’ campaign, but she finished ninth. Another super PAC, an obscure group called **Awake Carolina**, spent $104,350 to boost Cairns. The outside support wasn’t enough, as Cairns raised just $75,099 and collected only 1,462 of 68,593 votes cast.

==

2018

==

==

https://www.issueone.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2018-outside-spending.pdf

...candidates in Florida’s 17th Congressional District spent approximately $1.1 million, while super PACs and dark money groups spent about $1.8 million. Republican Greg Steube spent about $700,000 in his victory over Democrat Allen Ellison, whose campaign spent about $2,000. (Most of the spending in this race occurred during the GOP primary, when Steube’s main opponents combined to spend about $500,000.) The top-spending outside group in the race was a super PAC affiliated with the conservative Club for Growth, which spent about $800,000. The No. 2 outside group was the veteran-supporting With Honor Fund super PAC,

==