Shame on Club for Growth

They spent September 11, a sacred and solemn day in this nation, putting up a hatchet job website devoted to slamming Mike Huckabee.

Maybe this is my own private conspiracy theory, but I am convinced that the number one thing holding Huckabee back right now is opposition from Club for Growth. Many of the big Republican donors are under their sway, and I think they've intimidated (or at least influenced) the conservative pundits into ignoring Huckabee.

I remember thinking Club for Growth was a good development when I first read about them in National Review several years ago. But increasingly they are becoming like Judicial Watch. Remember them? Back when Clinton was President and Al Gore was trying to cheat his way to the Presidency, Republicans loved this watchdog group. But founder Larry Klayman didn't know when to stop, didn't know how to choose his enemies or battles wisely, and it didn't take long for Judicial Watch supporters to walk away. Klayman left in 2003, and who has heard of them recently?

Likewise, Club for Growth has gone from opposing Democrats and RINOS to attacking anyone who votes for any tax for any reason. They are inflicting serious damage on Republicans by doing this. In Virginia, for instance, they are outspoken critics of the transportation compromise achieved in Richmond this year that will finally set aside billions of desperately-needed transportation dollars for Northern Virginia. Hey Club for Growth, did you realize that the suburban areas of Northern Virginia are a key swing vote for statewide elections, and that fully half of NoVa voters say improving transportation is the most important issue for them in state and local elections? Instead of praising the sensible Republicans who finally got a compromise through that will provide real relief for terrible traffic congestion without raising income or sales taxes, Club for Growth writes misleading talking points that go straight into the arsenal of Democrats, attacking the "abusive driver fees" that are mostly controversial because of a change made by our Democratic governor.

Oh, you poor (rich) boy, you can't drive your sports car 85 miles an hour or run a red light and get off with a $200 ticket - now it's a whopping $1,000 (over 3 years). These Club for Growth guys are perfectly illustrated in this new Onion video.

Look, I hate high taxes and taxes that discourage hard work, savings, and innovation as much as you do. But government does have the responsibility to provide transportation infrastructure, and has to pay for it somehow. Not all transportation spending is pork. When public transportation is so packed that people can't get on and all the major arteries in the area are parking lots during rush hour (and even on weekends often!) then government really does need to do something about it.

In NoVa it's transportation, and apparently that was a big issue in Arkansas when Huckabee was Governor, but the need to balance tax policy with other government priorities is a nationwide issue. A new Roll Call article notes that independent voters are most interested in positive government action on issues like health care, and Tax Tourette's Syndrome won't get a Republican elected to the White House.

Oh yes, and politics is about the art of compromise. If you want to get something done, you have to accept certain things you don't personally support because it is part of an all-or-nothing package. Counting small tax or fee hikes as black marks against politicians who vote for or sign a bill because the package is a good thing on balance is the basest form of demagoguery.

It's time for conservatives to toss Club for Growth on the "has been" heap with Judicial Watch.

P.S. Here's a great rebuttal to the Club for Growth slanders against Huckabee.