This story is like “Adam and Eve are divorcing!” The House Republican leadership has broken up with the Chamber of Commerce:
GOP leadership has booted the Chamber from the party’s reconciliation-related coalition strategy calls. These calls between Republicans and their allies outside the Capitol help the leadership mobilize for their priorities and against the Democrats. This move by the leadership essentially says that the Chamber is an outcast in House Republican legislative politics.
Punchbowl News, which is produced by Chevron, gives one explanation:
For a long time, it would’ve been hard to imagine any Republican coalition without the Chamber. But the Chamber has been looking to cozy up to Democrats in recent years, and that has drawn the ire of Republicans. The Chamber has been supportive of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and has publicly made the argument that it was separate from the larger reconciliation package -- an argument that angered House Republicans.
A better explanation is that the Chamber hasn’t moved; the GOP has. There have been signs all along that the Chamber, whose mission is to protect big business, hasn’t been happy with the way the GOP — whose mission, one would have said a while back, was also to protect big business — has been changing.
The Chamber embraces Biden. And Republicans are livid. (Feb 12, 2021):
Over the past month, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has taken a series of steps that have enraged its traditional Republican allies. It applauded much of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion plan to Covid relief bill; cheered Biden’s decision to rejoin the Paris climate agreement; backed the former leader of the liberal Center of American Progress, Neera Tanden, for Office of Management and Budget director; and expressed openness to raising the minimum wage, though not to $15 an hour.
EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Chamber of Commerce pressing House Republicans to save $1.2T infrastructure bill (Sep 22, 2021):
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pressuring House Republicans to save President Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure package in the face of rising opposition from far-left Democrats.
A whip list the Chamber is using to build support for the package, obtained exclusively by The Washington Times, indicates it’s targeting 57 potential GOP members who might support a centerpiece of Mr. Biden’s domestic agenda. The Chamber hopes to flip enough Republicans to overcome heavy opposition from the 98-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, who say liberal priorities are being lost as Mr. Biden tries to sell his spending programs on the Hill.
(Yes, it’s the Washington Times, so of course it’s going to take a swipe at “far-left” Democrats. The point is that the Chamber was pushing Republicans to pursue policy rather than power. BIG no-no.)
And just after the election: Chamber of Commerce breaks with Republicans who want to open up the economy fully (Nov 6, 2020):
Washington Examiner: So, it's a misperception, then, that the Chamber is more aligned with the Republican Party?
Bradley [executive VP and chief policy officer]: There's no question, particularly in recent years, there's been more overlap with Republicans and with Republican officeholders, but it's never been exclusive. And I remind folks, the same scorecard that produced the 30 Democrats who earned the Chamber's endorsement also produced 192 House Republicans earning the same endorsement.
Washington Examiner: So, that strong overlap and loyalty with Republicans hasn't changed. It's just kind of like a tiny blip in the other direction?
Bradley: We don't approach this by looking at what someone's party label is. We look at it by saying, "How did you vote, and what did you do for the business community's priorities?" And from that, irrespective of what party you are in, if you've done the things to support the business community, you will get the Chamber’s support. I know it is a foreign concept for many in Washington for whom the first and only thing that they want to know about someone is what letter is after their name, what political party someone belongs to. [emphasis added]
“It’s never been exclusive.” That is heresy, sir! You are either with us entirely or you are with the devil! Begone, foul fiend!
Bradley also explained that the Covid pandemic is bad for business and that we need to be realistic about it:
Washington Examiner: So, fundamentally, there is not a big push or complaints that you're hearing from businesses saying that they want to open up the economy fully as soon as possible, now?
Bradley: The biggest thing we hear, and it shows up even in our polling, is fear that another coronavirus wave, if left unchecked, will result in the need for another springlike lockdown. That is the penultimate and ultimate concern.
Heresy again! Doesn’t he know Covid is a hoax? Or that masks take away our freedums™? This interview was before we had any vaccines, but the way big businesses are going further than Biden’s vaccine-or-testing and mandating vaccination also goes against the GOP message. But now….
US Chamber mandates vaccines for employees, visitors
and some guidance from the Chamber to its members:
Requiring Employee Vaccinations? Here’s How to Communicate With Your Staff
I suppose the only real surprise here is why McCarthy waited so long.
As the Republican party continues more and more to resemble the Spanish Inquisition, the real question is whether they will drive enough erstwhile supporters away that they won’t have enough left that they can steal the election. This is not to say that the Chamber — which, after all, was pushed out rather than walking out — is fully ready to admit the danger to business that the GOP poses. But it does offer an opening to get another powerful force on our side. Let’s not make the same mistake the GOP is making in demanding purity and total loyalty.