GOP state rep. Bill Sali won a heavily contested primary election almost completely through the largess of the Club for Growth, that group wants to get rid of taxes and privatize Social Security. To that end, CFG finds the most extreme candidates it can and bankrolls their campaigns. It worked for them in Idaho, and it also worked for them in Michigan, funding Tim Walberg in his winning primary race against incumbent Joe Schwarz. But the
plot thickens.
Rep. Joe Schwarz, R-Mich., who was defeated in his Republican primary, has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against a conservative group that supported his challenger.
Schwarz contends the Club for Growth and Republican nominee Tim Walberg's campaign committed several violations of campaign finance law, including illegally coordinating resources with Walberg and three other candidates backed by the group. . . . The FEC complaint contends the Club for Growth coordinated expenditures from its political action committee and 527 organization, listing common political strategists and pollsters who were paid by the Club for Growth, Walberg and three other campaigns: Laffey and congressional candidates Sharron Angle in Nevada and Bill Sali in Idaho.
Given the CFG's history (the FEC has a suit pending against them now for violations of hard money regulations) and general distaste for responsible government, it would come as no surprise to find out that they had an equal disdain for the law governing campaign financing. And it's no surprise they found in Bill Sali a poster child for their efforts.
Smack dab in the middle of all this are a lot of senior citizens, who might be surprised to hear the governing philosophy of the group that would elect its representatives:
[T]he Club for Growth's founder, Steve Moore . . . made this comment about Social Security recipients: "I can say this because I'm not an elected official: the most selfish group in America today is senior citizens. Their demands on Washington are: 'Give us more and more and more.' They have become the new welfare state, and given the size and political clout of this constituency, it's very dangerous. One of the biggest myths in politics today is this idea that grandparents care about their grandkids. What they really care about is that that Social Security check and those Medicare payments are made on a timely basis."
Once word gets out to Idaho's seniors about the company Sali keeps, they'll be that much more likely to forget their GOP-voting ways, and cast their votes for Larry Grant.