Thread: Conservatives question US Chamber's plan to spend millions to defeat Tea Party style

Conservatives question US Chamber's plan to spend millions to defeat Tea Party style candidates in 2014

Published January 11, 2014 FoxNews.com

FILE: Oct. 10, 2013: Demonstrators at event on the Affordable Care Act and protest against Tea Party officials, in Santa Monica, Calif.REUTERS


The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says it will back “pro-business” candidates against Tea Party-styled opponents in this year’s elections, largely in response to conservative lawmakers fueling last year's partial government shutdown fight.

“In 2014, the chamber will work to protect and expand a pro-business majority in the House and advance our position and our influence in the Senate,” Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue said Wednesday. “We will support candidates who want to work within the legislative process.”

Donohue, in his annual State of American Business speech, didn’t single out the Tea Party specifically but said afterward the chamber’s frustrations are with the movement’s extreme faction and politicians who have linked themselves to the Tea Party.

“It’s people who don’t want to play,” Donohue told Fox Business, referring to last year’s budget stalemate that partially closed the federal government for 16 days and the ensuring debt-ceiling negotiations that almost resulted in the same outcome.

“The Tea Party has lots of good ideas,” Donohue said. “But those people are not helping us.”

In his speech, he said the victory in December of a pro-business candidate over a self-described Tea Party candidate in a GOP congressional primary race in Alabama is a preview of the “aggressive efforts the chamber has planned for the midterm elections.”

The chamber -- the county’s most powerful and deep-pocketed pro-business lobby -- signaled last month its stake in the elections by telling The Wall Street Journal it would spend $50 million in this year’s GOP primaries to back establishment Republicans over Tea Party challengers.

Dan Holler, spokesman for Heritage Action for American, says conservatives are also interested in economic growth and job creation and suggested the chamber’s efforts might be more about Big Business protecting its influence in Washington and beyond.

“If ‘pro-business’ candidates are interested in removing government impediments to growth and job creation, they'll find support amongst conservatives,” Holler told FoxNews.com on Saturday. “But few Americans are clamoring for well-connected special interest groups to use their political connections to secure government-sponsored privileges.”

His comments were similar to those of Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, which often backs Tea Party candidates.

“It looks to me like the chamber is more interested in protecting incumbents and the special deals of some of their members, and that’s where we’re going to disagree in primaries,” Kibbe told Bloomberg News.

Donohue said also said the chamber will get involved in primary and general election races.

“If you can’t make them see the light, then at least make them feel some heat,” he said.

“Our attitude is that the Tea Party Express is looking for strong candidates who are both fiscal conservatives and have an excellent prospect for winning,” group co-founder Sal Russo told FoxNews.com on Saturday. “This is not 2010 when it was important to get the Republican Party to pay attention and end their addiction to big government and spending.

"The biggest problem in Congress today is the Harry Reid and Obama controlled Senate. Both the Tea Party and the business community should be united in finding those good candidates who are committed to growing the economy with lower taxes and less burdensome regulations and providing hope and opportunity to all Americans. Picking needless fights is foolhardy.”

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014...eat-tea-party/

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f9/us-chamber-c...ection-295311/

If the arrogant mega rich in the US Chamber of Commerce are successful in electing RINO Republicans, effectively shoving conservatives out of the Republican Party, then there will be no reason for patriots not to form a third party. Yes a third party will mean Democrat majorities forever, but if the Chamber of Commerce has its way the Democrats will rule forever anyway. At that point what will we have to loose? patriots will have been denied their right to participate in national politics. We will have no party, no voice and no representation.

If out spending us by 10 or 20 to one will always achieve victory for RINOs over conservatives in the primaries, then we will have no chance to change things in the future. We will never be able to match huge spending by the mega rich. Between the mega rich Democrat/Marxist and the mega rich Republicans, conservatives could be purged from the political process.

At that point what will conservatives do? Bow down and meekly submit to being a serf--I think not.

It appears that the US Chamber of Commerce is shilling for all of the administrations pet projects.

Parents and Grandparents Have the Right to Question Chamber of Commerce


January 10, 2014 - 2:56 PM
By Jen Kuznicki


Tom Donohue, CEO of the United States Chamber of Commerce, has laid out his intentions to work to enact immigration reform, regarded as amnesty by conservatives.

"We’re determined to make 2014 the year that immigration reform is finally enacted" - Donohue at #jobs14
— U.S. Chamber (@USChamber) January 8, 2014

But, that is not all he is interested in promoting. As a part of their new push to get business-friendly candidates elected to office, The Chamber's CEO is also pushing for the acceptance in states the voluntary nationalized standards called Common Core.

#CommonCore will help students develop skills employers need most -http://t.co/A9SqpzwVYr
— U.S. Chamber (@USChamber) December 26, 2013

If you follow that link, it takes you to a pledge that the Chamber wants you to sign, ultimately stating that, "I support the full implementation of Common Core academic standards for the benefit of our children, our workforce, and our economy."

But back in September, a poll put out by PDK/Gallup showed that 62% of Americans did not know what Common Core was.

Those of us who have traded our hobbies for becoming thoroughly informed of what both our State and Federal Governments are doing, are quite informed of Common Core, and like most government centralized programs, we reject it. We are the tea party.

The nation's education system is supposed to be locally controlled. But even the pdf put out by Gallup admitted that federal programs such as, "No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and the Common Core State Standards — face uncertain futures even as the poll lays bare a significant rift between policy makers and ordinary citizens and parents."

Those programs weren't only put in place by Barack Obama, but by George W. Bush, and the opposition to all resides in the conservative view of local control.

After all, we are the conservative parents of our children, and asking questions about a voluntary program being promoted by the US Chamber of Commerce, is our right as American citizens to be informed of our government's actions. We also have the right to question if the Chamber of Commerce is going the right way, spending time and money in support of programs that do not represent the limited government principles that the nation was founded upon.

I completely understand the frustration of all involved. But the fact remains that those issues we hold dear are not being disseminated by the press, but are being fed to us with advertisements and promotion, as if they are a product that we would buy if we just thought it flashy enough, as if a new fad.

And really, Common Core is a new fad. How many times has our Department of Education developed rules and reform, and yet, we still are trailing far behind other countries in education?

Conservatives stand for being a part of your own community, and having a say in how your own children are educated. Top-down authoritarian rule is absolutely not what the people of our nation represent, promote or acquiesce to. But yet, 45 states have implemented the voluntary reforms because of heavy federal incentive.

Opposition to heavy authoritarian government is what made America. It cannot survive being the land of the free and home of the brave, if we do not do our parts as citizens, become informed, and act.
http://cnsnews.com/commentary/jen-ku...amber-commerce

K-12 | POLICY
Common Core Pledge

Posted November 13, 2013


The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation urges you to show your support for college- and career-ready standards by reading and signing the Common Core pledge below:
I appreciate the steps that 45 states and the District of Columbia have taken to advance our education system by better preparing students for college and the workforce.
Increasing the rigor of standards and sharpening the focus on the skills needed to succeed is essential to the health of the economy and ultimately to benefit our students. It is for that reason that I believe the following:

• The Common Core State Standards, voluntarily adopted by states, will better prepare students for college and career than existing state standards.
• These standards lay out what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each year, including being ready for college and/or the workforce upon high school graduation.
• State and local education leaders maintain the authority to implement these standards, including setting the curriculum, choosing materials, and providing professional development. Common Core does not dictate the rights of teachers and administrators.

I support the full implementation of Common Core academic standards for the benefit of our children, our workforce, and our economy.
Please complete the information below to sign the Common Core Pledge and support higher academic standards.

First Name Last Name

Email Address

City State AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Do you pledge your support of the Common Core as a business, individual, or other organization?

Business Organization Individual Business or Organization Name:

I support Common Core ....

Sign me up for Common Core updates.

http://education.uschamber.com/initi...on-core-pledge

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