GOP Corporate PAC, Club For Growth, Fails In Latest Attempt To Coopt The Tea Party

Club's Chris Chocola, inveterate loser

Club For Growth is primarily a corporate group backing outsourcing American jobs overseas, which has tried-- with some success-- to glom onto the populist, if diffused, Tea Party. Their agenda isn't especially related to the Tea Party but many observers have noticed that if someone is loud, incoherent and filled with Limbaugh-like hatred they can usually get some teabaggers to follow along. The Club took it upon themselves yesterday to issue a score card for the 87 freshmen elected in 2010-- Just How Tea Party Are They? They ranked everyone based on Club For Growth precepts, not Tea Party principles or values. Only three very extreme right freaks scored 100%, Justin Amash (MI), Tim Huelskamp (KS) and Raul Labrador (ID). Three other whack jobs-- Mick Mulvaney (SC), Marlin Stutzman (IN) and Joe Walsh (IL) were just behind with 99%.

Failing at corporate-teabaggery were Lou Barletta (PA- 47%), Charlie Bass (NH- 48%), Bob Dold (IL- 42%), Michael Fitzpatrick (PA- 43%), Chris Gibson (NY-44%), Micahel "Mikey Suits" Grimm (NY- 46%), Richard Hanna (NY- 44%), David McKinley (WV- 37%), Patrick Meehan (PA- 42%), David Rivera (FL- 47%), Jon Runyan (NJ- 45%), and Steve Stivers (OH-45%). Club for Growth characterized their rating system this way:

This study was compiled from the Club for Growth's Congressional Scorecard, which evaluates lawmakers based upon their commitment to limited government and pro-growth policies. What we found was that while some freshmen have lived up to the promises they made to the tea party movement, dozens of them are big-spenders and are no different from many of the veteran Republicans they serve with.

The only freshman looking to go on to higher office is North Dakota's Rick Berg, who rated a 54% and who the Club For Growth has said they will not support in his bid for the open Senate seat in his state.

Club for Growth is trying to claim some credit for the defeat of GOP Establishment hack Jon Bruning in Nebraska Tuesday night. But their pathetic candidate, state Treasurer Don Stenberg, came in third and the actual Tea Party candidate-- with backing from Sarah Palin and Herman Cain-- was the victor. Fischer took 41% of the vote to Bruning's 36 with the Club for Growth nonentity at under 20%, even though he had the endorsements of Jim DeMint and Rick Santorum, two corporate-greed candidates who, like the Club for Growth, have tried to use the Tea Party energy to advance their own career trajectories. And the next morning Republican Senator Mike Johanns told the press the reason Stenberg lost (again) is because he was tainted with Club for Growth's support.

Johanns, a former Nebraska governor, said the Club for Growth’s television ad campaign that targeted frontrunner Jon Bruning, the state attorney general, was “tone deaf” and left Nebraska GOP primary voters with an overwhelmingly negative impression of Stenberg, the state treasurer. Johanns referred to Stenberg as a “true blue conservative” who has a solid base of support in Nebraska and should have finished with at least around 35 percent of the vote. Bruning, who fought back against with negative attacks of his own, was also damaged in the fray.

“In a state like Nebraska, when the dirt starts flying, those throwing the dirt are going to get dirty too. It not only cost Bruning, it cost Stenberg significantly,” Johanns said this morning in a telephone interview. “It was an error in strategy.”


Johanns said Stenberg’s outside support damaged his candidacy such that even the extensive positive ad campaign run on his behalf by Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-S.C.) Senate Conservatives Fund was viewed by voters as being a part of the negative air war run to damage Bruning, who finished second in the three-way contest. Johanns said Stenberg “stalled, and then his numbers started to go backward” from the moment the Club for Growth and other outside groups entered the race.

Nebraska’s junior Senator expressed sympathy for Stenberg and dismissed claims by the club-- made in a statement released following Fischer’s victory-- that it succeeded in the Cornhusker State primary because defeating Bruning was its main goal. In a statement, Club for Growth President Chris Chocola congratulated Fischer for defeating Bruning but made no mention of Stenberg.

“I feel bad for Don because he is a good guy that worked hard and beat his brains out trying to put this Senate race together. But at the end of the day I really think [the outside groups] hurt,” Johanns said. “The club came to Nebraska to elect Don Stenberg. Deb Fischer wasn’t on the radar screen with them. For them to argue that this was about Bruning is to rewrite recent history.”

Johanns is up for reelection next cycle and I take it he was sending Chocola a message to keep his filthy and ineffective politics out of Nebraska.

Blue America Welcomes Scott Kleeb

In 2006 Scott Kleeb ran against far right Republican closet queen Adrian Smith in the largest-- like 75% of the state-- and most Republican (R+24!!!) district in Nebraska. In a district that gave Bush 75% of its vote in 2004 (while rewarding the GOP congressional incumbent with 87%), Scott managed to astound political observers with 45% of the vote. People in the ultra conservative 3rd district liked him and saw him as one of them-- but a representative of the very best in them. His appeal, while down to earth and primarily on bread and butter issues, appealed to the angels in people's nature not to the hatred and bigotry normally used by Republicans to appeal to another side of people's natures.

This year Scott was drafted to run for the open Senate seat when Chuck Hagel decided to retire. Nebraska's reactionary Democratic senator, Ben Nelson, persuaded a Republican multimillionaire friend of his to switch parties and try for the Democratic nomination, giving Scott a rough time. Nebraska Democrats, however, were not impressed by the free-spending reactionary and gave Scott around 70% of their votes. Now he's facing a cookie cutter Republican ex-governor, Mike Johanns.

I've spoken with Scott on the phone a few times and followed both his races and I've come to the conclusion that not only will be a far better senator than any Nebraska Republican, he'd also be a huge improvement over the state's two most recent right-of-center Democrats, Bob Kerrey and Ben Nelson. But first he has to be elected, no mean feat in one of the most dependably Republican states in America. But Scott's managed to raise over a million dollars (to Johanns' $2.7 million) and he's running a compteitive, if uphill, race against Johanns.

"The netroots community has been vital to this campaign," he told us. "DWT readers understand the 50-State Strategy and the importance of giving voters a real choice in November. I'm happy to have a chance to visit with you today and have a discussion about the issues facing Nebraska and our nation."

You can meet Scott at any of these upcoming events around the nation: Chicago, 9/17, New York, 9/18, San Francisco, 9/22, Boston, 9/25, and Washington, DC, 9/26.

Many of us have been reading Kid Oakland's brilliant commentary at Daily Kos for years. Kid Oakland's day job is Internet director of Scott's campaign. This morning Scott is at a fundraising brunch in Omaha and he'll be joining us at FDL at 11:30 am (PT). I bet Adrian Smith won't be there. Until then, we can talk campaign tactics, etc with Paul Delehanty (Kid Oakland).

A few weeks ago Scott debated Johanns at the Nebraska County Fair in Lincoln. Let's listen to Scott answering a question about the retroactive immunity granted to telecom executives under Bush's FISA bill and then see the stark difference between Scott and pure Bush apologist Johanns:

SCOTT KLEEB-- A NEW PRAIRIE POPULIST FROM NEBRASKA... IN THE U.S. SENATE?

Nebraska, once the home of inspirational progressives like William Jennings Bryan and, later, George Norris, is now one of the reddest states in the Union. Since I was born it has been the second most dependable supporter of the GOP's horrid presidential candidates. And the Democratic senators and governors Nebraskans elect... in many cases-- think Bob Kerrey and Ben Nelson--they vote as badly as Republicans. By any measurement Nelson is the absolute most reactionary Democrat in the U.S. Senate, voting with Republicans as much as he does with Democrats and always the second (after Lieberman) to start spouting right-wing talking points as soon as a difficult issue comes up. His voting record-- on substantive matters-- has more in common with rubber stamp Republicans like Olympia Snowe, Arlen Spector and Susan Collins than with even the most right wing, triangulating Democrats (Mary Landrieu, Evan Bayh and Mark Pryor).

With the retirement of a disgusted and disillusioned Chuck Hagel, there is an open seat in Nebraska. For a while there it looked like it would be two very conservative Republicans, ex-Gov. Mike Johanns and stinkin' rich businessman Tony Raimondo (thinly disguised as a freshly minted Democrat) battling it out to see who would go to Washington and do the most damage. Before we talk about the wonderful new development yesterday in Nebraska, I want to point out Raimondo's campaign contributions. Between he and his wife, there have been 78 political contributions since 1994 for a total of $53,750. The vast bulk of the money has gone to right-wing Republicans and to one right-wing Democrat: Ben Nelson (nearly $18,000). All the donations he's given to political committees have been to Republican ones and when he's given to local Democrats it's usually in small amounts, like a fraction of what he gives to their GOP rivals. Example in 2006 he donated $250 to Democrat Scott Kleeb who was running against far right nutcase and closet queen Adrian Smith (who he gave $2,000, followed by another $2,000 in 2007).

Yesterday that same Scott Kleeb, after a tremendous push from a draft movement among grassroots Nebraskans, decided his state deserved the opportunity to pick between an actual Democrat and a Republican. As many had hoped, he declared his candidacy. All my friends who know him have something nice to say about him. Ben Nelson, on the other hand, who convinced Raimondo to drop his intention to run a primary campaign against Johanns and switch to the Democratic Party, is seething. The Hill reported that Scott will file his papers today.

There are a ton of stories today about Scott announcing. I've been unable to find any-- or locate a place on his website-- that mentions specific policy positions. I'm certain he's better than the other creeps running and I know he's an intelligent guy whose heart is in the right place. I also know he is a firm believer in grassroots democracy, in practice as well as in theory. We'll be interested in seeing where he stands on the tough issues of the day when the rubber meets the road. And we'll let you know.