Establishment Groups on Retreat Against Tea Party Incumbents

Big-business and establishment groups vowed they would wage war on conservatives and Tea Party candidates, particularly incumbents, in 2014, but they are backing off after realizing they may not want to throw money at losers. 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce vowed to spend $50 million taking sides in GOP primaries for establishment-friendly candidates, and other GOP establishment front-groups vowed to raise and spend millions more dollars against conservative and Tea Party candidates. 

“Big Business swore this would be the year it would wrestle back the soul of the Republican Party from the grip of the tea party,” Politico writes. “But with primary season looming, the big threats from Big Business appear to be just that.”

Politico notes that the big-business groups are not backing many candidates early and have not “cowed conservative groups fueling challenges to incumbent senators.”

The Republican party has shifted to the right for at least the last thirteen years, according to Gallup polls, and on issues like amnesty, grassroots have mobilized against it even without big-money being spent by amnesty opponents. For instance, after the House GOP released its so-called “immigration principles,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) slammed the document as “amnesty.” That was enough to stall whatever momentum there may have been as the grassroots galvanized against amnesty, forcing GOP leaders to declare that they would not go forward on amnesty until they can trust President Barack Obama to actually enforce any new law that may be passed. 

That is why it is becoming more difficult for establishment groups to primary conservative lawmakers like Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), the Tea Party and libertarian lawmaker who has stood firmly against wasteful spending and the National Security Agency’s spying programs. Though establishment groups vowed to make an example of him as one of their potential scalps, Amash’s pro-establishment challenger has not gotten the support from big-business groups because they do not want to waste their money on a potential loser. Conversely, as Politico noted, Amash has gotten reinforcements from conservative groups. The Club for Growth, for instance, has “dropped six figures on a radio and TV ad attacking” Amash’s opponent and “has bundled $150,000 for Amash in contributions.”

Steven LaTourrette, the former moderate Republican lawmaker who is the founder of the Main Street Partnership group that is financed by left-wing unions, said his group was hesitant about spending money against Amash. 

“All of this is just happy talk by the business community,” a veteran business lobbyist told Politico. “First off, they are reluctant to go against incumbents. No. 2, they are reluctant to go against Republican incumbents. If that person is defeated in a primary and a Democrat wins, they view it as a worse position for business.”

As a result, “Tea party groups are launching rebel campaigns,” and “a new breed of conservative is marching up to Congress who doesn’t much care that the Republican Party is supposed to be the party of Big Business.” Big business groups have spent money to help Florida Republican Dave Jolly and Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), an ally of House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH), who is being primaried by Bryan Smith. But they have not spent as aggressively for establishment candidates or against conservative incumbents as they had suggested. 

Conservative groups like Senate Conservatives Fund, FreedomWorks, and Club for Growth, though, “haven’t been scared by prominent lawmakers’ tough talk, continuing to raise and spend millions of dollars to support candidates mounting primary challenges.”

“Big Business already controls the Republican Party. It’s why the Republican leadership regularly sides with the Democrats to increase the debt, raise taxes and fund Obamacare,” said Matt Hoskins, the director of the Senate Conservatives Fund. “The corporate community’s control over the party is now being threatened by grass-roots conservatives who oppose their crony capitalist policies and are determined to replace liberal Republicans with true, constitutional conservatives.”