Club for Victory Email (Club for Growth)

We have been telling people to donate direct to candidates except for one group which we find helps candidates the most in elections -- Club for Growth.

The first time we an experience with Club for Growth was in 2004 in the Dr. Tom Coburn race for the Oklahoma Senate seat vacated by Senator Don Nickles.

The powers at be in D.C. decided that another Republican candidate was who they wanted as the next Senator not Dr. Coburn who had the experience of serving three terms in the House and was known as a straight shooter and cost cutter who hated earmarks and pork. They shut off Dr. Coburn's fundraising in DC and one of his opponents was sending flyers around in the PRIMARY with his picture with Pres Bush at the White House. Club for Growth knew that Dr. Coburn was the conservative in the race so they got behind him in the primary which he won outright in a 3-way race which meant no run-off.

After the primary, you would think that the RNC would have made sure along with the NRSC to ensure that Dr. Coburn had plenty of money to run in the general. They didn't so Club for Growth and all of us in Oklahoma who supported Dr. Coburn in the primary opened our wallets and also provided plenty of volunteer hours to help him win. Speaker of the House Denny Haster three weeks before the election said that Coburn was not going to win. George Allen, Chair of NRSC, disagreed and supported Dr. Coburn in the general. We held a fundraiser in Norman near the end of the campaign and the room was packed with donors which said Dr. Tom was going to win and he won going away.

Without Club for Growth not sure that Dr. Coburn would have pulled it off as his opponent Brad Carson was pretending himself to be the 'conservative' on radio and TV. IMHO Club for Growth donated the money for ads that put Dr. Coburn over the top. Pat Toomey who was head of Club for Growth at the time Dr. Coburn won is now running for the US Senate from Pennsylvania -- we need to get that Senate seat back Republican after Specter defected to the Democrats.

Now Club for Growth is heavily involved in the Florida Senator race for Marco Rubio to defeat Charlie Crist plus in Nevada to defeat Harry Reid and send Sharon Angle to the US Senate.

If you only donate to one group, make sure it is Club for Growth who support Conservatives who win elections.

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Dear Sharon,

Our PAC got a new nickname yesterday, courtesy of The Wall Street Journal's Political Diary - "Club for Victory." Here's an excerpt:

"The free-market oriented political group had a banner primary night [Tuesday]. It not only helped Tim Scott win a primary in South Carolina, but provided over $400,000 to help his fellow state legislative colleague Jeff Duncan. Mr. Duncan won a 51% runoff victory and becomes the GOP candidate for the vacant Congressional seat held by Gresham Barrett, who ran unsuccessfully for governor. The Club also had a good night in Utah, where it provided early support for lawyer Mike Lee in his race for the U.S. Senate. Mr. Lee, together with businessman Tim Bridgewater, knocked off incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Bennett at the GOP state convention earlier in this spring."

National Review Online chimed in too, saying "The Club for Growth is on a roll. Earlier this month, it won big with Sharron Angle in Nevada. After last night, it is batting a thousand this cycle" with its PAC.

Then The Washington Post reviewed the "Winners and Losers" after this week's primaries.

The #1 winner? The Club's PAC. Here's their report:

"Club for Growth: Has any outside group had a better election cycle than the Club? On Tuesday, South Carolina state Reps. Tim Scott (in the 1st district) and Jeff Duncan (in the 3rd) -- both of whom the Club bundled tens of thousands for -- won contested Republicans runoffs. Those victories prove, yet again, that the Club's support -- in the form of bundled donations and spending on ads and direct mail -- matters in a real way in contested Republican primaries."

Thanks to your support, our PAC can help elect the best candidates in the most important races in the country. After years of being let down by Republicans and Democrats alike, you know that we need to find and elect candidates with real principles and backbones. If we want a better Congress, we need better congressmen. And if we want better Republican leadership, we need better Republicans. The kind who will tell their leaders they won't just go along to get along. The kind who will elect leaders of the party who are solid fiscal conservatives, not porkers.

Thanks to you, the Club's PAC will be a major player in the key Senate races this year, too. Races like defeating Harry Reid in Nevada and Charlie Crist in Florida.

Please click here to donate to the Club's PAC so we can keep winning key races.

Can you imagine how much different the Senate will be if Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania, Marco Rubio from Florida and Sharron Angle from Nevada cast votes? Instead of Arlen Specter, Charlie Crist and Harry Reid?

Big primaries are coming up in July and August. Let's set a goal today - let's raise at least $100,000 for the Club's PAC by June 30.

Let's declare independence from the big-spending, tax-hiking politicians who don't care if the US follows Greece to the road to bankruptcy.

Please click here to donate to the Club's PAC so we can keep winning key races.

Let's refill the Club PAC's war chest so it can help change Congress.


Best Regards,

Chris

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Chris Chocola
President, Club for Growth
2001 L Street, NW, Ste 600
Washington, DC 20036
PH: 202-955-5500

Gov. Charlie Crist said today he expects to announce whether he will run for U.S. Senate as an independent on Thursday

From Tampa Bay On-Line comes the latest on the Charlie Crist saga. Club for Growth has one again proved why they are such a valuable organization for Republican Conservative candidates. If Crist runs as no party, they will be helping donors to Crist get their money refunded the same as they did when Arlen Specter decided to switch to Democrat.

It is not right to have a candidate take money from one party and then switch in midstream. When a candidate switches they should be obligated to return every last dime and then let the donor decide if they want to give the candidate money.

Looks like Thursday will be the day of the announcement by Crist.

TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Charlie Crist said today he expects to announce whether he will run for U.S. Senate as an independent on Thursday.

"I sort of imposed a deadline on myself of Thursday, so I look forward to coming to a conclusion by then," he told reporters.

He said he hopes he would both decide and announce on Thursday. "I think both would be my preference… to go ahead and get that concluded and then look forward to the last day of session."

Running well behind former state House Speaker Marco Rubio for the Republican nomination, Crist has until noon Friday to file as a Republican, Democrat, minor party or no-party affiliate.

If he decides not to run as a Republican, he would be listed as a no-party affiliate, or NPA, candidate on the ballot.

Although seen as the front-runner a year ago, when Rubio was still a virtual unknown, Crist is now behind in some polls by 20 points or more.

Asked whether the Republican party had changed, Crist told reporters, "Things ebb and flow and that's true of parties and other institutions, and certainly that's part of what's happening here."

Meanwhile, the business-backed conservative group Club for Growth, which is known to spend millions in Republican primaries, has announced it plans to lead a campaign contribution refund effort if Crist runs as an independent.

"Candidates who switch parties in the middle of a campaign have an obligation to return contributions on request," said Club President Chris Chocola in a press release. "If and when Charlie Crist leaves the Republican Party, we will contact his contributors and help them make formal refund requests to his campaign."

The group received permission last year from the Federal Election Commission to do the same when U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, of Pennsylvania, switched from the Republican to the Democratic party. The group says Specter's campaign has refunded about $1.2 million.

Source: Tampa Bay Online