Club for Growth

The final numbers are in. Congressman Don Young has won the highest turnout primary (40.6%) in Alaska's history by 304 votes. Because the margin is less than 0.5%, Sean Parnell was afforded the right to a state-funded recount. Instead, the lieutenant governor conceded today and said in a statement that because his campaign was based on "treating taxpayer dollars with more respect and greater care," the margin does not justify "an expenditure of taxpayer funds." Here's exactly how close it was:

• LEDOUX, Gabrielle: 9901 votes - 9.34%
• PARNELL, Sean: 47891 votes - 45.19%
• YOUNG, Don: 48195 votes - 45.47%

While I still won't disclose who I voted for because of my previous position within the Alaska Republican Party, I do know there are a lot of readers and writers on The Next Right that were fans and supporters of Sean Parnell. I've made some of the following points before, but they need to be made again in order to give a full analysis of why I believe Sean Parnell lost. And, yes, like a fellow Alaskan political operative repeated to me today, "Don didn't win. Sean lost."

The Club for Growth just dropped a huge amount of coin in Alaska to help Sean Parnell. $350k for 2 weeks, the largest independent expenditure in a federal race in Alaska history, according to one AK operative. Here's the ad:

CfG has taken care of the negative. Now go help Sean Parnell with the positive. Give money to Sean Parnell.

Two :15 spots from ClubforGrowth.net on Don Young and the gas tax. If Young had his way, it would be $5 gas.

Time to give the boot to the AFL-CIO's favorite Republican by supporting Sean Parnell. And if you need some more convincing, watch this:

The Hill has an interesting article on the Club for Growth's involvement or lack thereof in the Presidential campaign. The Club for Growth could get involved for McCain or they could sit out. The big difference:

Toomey also stressed that McCain’s vice presidential pick will help influence the Club’s decision.

“I think it’s very important,” he said. “It’ll be an important signal, indicating whether he wants to help consolidate the Republican coalition and energize the base of the party or not.”

The Club feels very strongly about South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), whose name comes up often among those speculating on McCain’s short list. Toomey also suggested in a February Wall Street Journal column that Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) and businessman Steve Forbes would make strong vice presidential candidates — a slate of names less frequently mentioned, if at all.

The Club for Growth seems to be taking the stance that if America's electing a 71 year-old cancer survivor, then the real future of the country lies with the Veep. While the other names mentioned are quite farfetched (Steve Forbes and Phil Gramm? What is this? 1996.) Sanford has currency and I think he's the desire of Club insiders.

Andy Roth on the Club blog went after Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for banning text messaging and watching videos while driving and then pointed to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal refusing to fight a legislative pay increase. They actually released a full fledged hit on Jindal's conservative credentials from Nachema Soloveichik. It's clear, they want a governor and they'd like Sanford.

I've met Mark Sanford and he is a fabulous guy, let there be no question about this.  He would be a great President. I think he has absolutely nothing to do with these games the CFG is playing, but it's clear that they want him to be Veep and don't mind knocking people off the road to get that result.

This brings a very interesting choice to John McCain. If he places Sanford on the ticket, his campaign coffers are sure to swell from CFG members who would love to see Mark Sanford a heartbeat from the Presidency. Not only that but CFG.net as a 527 could be counted out to pound Obama with millions inunds from the last loophole for free speech, McCain left in McCain-Feingold.

Money is key for McCain. The FEC has a map that lays the numbers bear. McCain trials Obama badly in fundraising by 2.93:1 margin. Put another way. If you added the total funds raised by Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Fred Thompson to McCain's total, he'd still trail Obama in fundraising by $30 million. Given that money is the mother's milk of politics, McCain's in trouble on that front, and a Sanford pick would close the gap.

The problem with Sanford is that he's unknown by all but a few political geeks like me. I realized this when I mentioned him on the Michael Reagan show, Reagan thought the guy was still in Congress. Given that few people know of him, it'd be very hard to fix the widespread problems McCain has with conservatives.

Then, you have Mike Huckabee who could shore up McCain's sagging base among Evangelicals and in America's heartland. While, he wouldn't bring  gobs of money along, he would bring volunteers who would work the campaign hard, and really believe in it. Most of Huck's Army would do everything they could for McCain/Huckabee.

However, the Club for Growth would spend money to elect Mike Huckabee Vice-President about the time I'd cheer for the San Francisco Giants, and so McCain would be cash-strapped.

So for love or for money?

Or what about somewhere in between? Mitt Romney would bring a little bit of money. (Not as much as the Club would for Sanford) and a little bit of love. But how much of this will add up to foot soldiers is questionable and Romney has a lot of detractors.

Of course the most likely result is that McCain goes with neither Sanford nor Huckabee, nor Romney either. Which will leave him with neither a huge amount of love or money from the Veep choice.

And neither Social Conservatives or Economic Conservatives will get what they want. There's a lesson in there for us if we'll learn it.

Podcast Show Notes

Obama the Pooh: A chief Obama foreign policy adviser shares his basis for foreign policy.

McCain plays politics on the Windfall Oil Tax.

Why are Black Conservatives trending towards Obama?

The consensus on Offshore Drilling. (Hat Tip: Clayton Cramer.)

The Club for Growth applies the Sanford standard to Governor Sarah Palin (R-Alaska.) and attacks Bobby Jindal (R-Louisiana)

The homosexual activist plan on gay marriage: slow boiling the frog. (Hat Tip: Pam’s House Blend.)

Click here to listen, click here to download.

[Promoted - I think the Right would do well to fix its own house first.  Internicine warfare is unfortunate....and unfortunately necessary.   The GOP needs to clean its own house before it can ever be trusted with the people's House.   That doesn't just mean primarying Republicans, though; it also means Republican Senators and Representatives need to start encouraging and supporting primary challengers.   Until they put their personal political capital behind reform, they're just status quo Republicans - Jon Henke]

The process of truly remaking the GOP into a party that the grassroots can be proud of again requires a step that was more complicated in 2006 when there was still a majority to worry about:  cheering the electoral confrontation of Republican Members of Congress currently doing more harm than good to the conservative cause.

That inevitably becomes a debatable filter and people can disagree about  the primary cause of the party's 2006 losses, ranging from over-spending, the Iraq War, and the stench of assorted scandals.  Regardless of the ultimate ranking of those problems, however, zeal among some significant Republicans in Congress to continue obnoxious spending practices is not only bad policy, it was - and is - a significant annoyance to the conservative grassroots.

As such, it is difficult to do anything but applaud the increasing critical mass in a primary challenge to uber-purveyor of pork, Don Young.  The Club for Growth has its critics on the right at  times given their aggressive efforts in some Republican primary contests.  Yet, their vigorous opposition to Young is a welcome sign in the bigger picture of the spring-cleaning the still needs to occur in the Capitol Hill Republican Caucuses.