Stop Giving Money To American Crossroads Until Rove Stops Targeting Conservative Candidates in Primaries

After American Crossroads frittered away 200 million dollars in the 2012 campaign cycle, mostly on ineffective TV ads, you’d think Karl Rove and his organization might be asking some tough questions about their strategy. But instead, they came to the same conclusion establishment Republicans always do: the problem is those darn conservatives.

So, Rove and company have created a spin off group to try to sandbag conservatives in primaries in order to make sure we’ll have a slate full of Charlie Christs and Arlen Specters in 2014.

The biggest donors in the Republican Party are financing a new group to recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who Republican leaders worry could complicate the party’s efforts to win control of the Senate.

Steven J. Law, a leader of the Conservative Victory Project, say they are taking steps to steer Mr. King away from a Senate run.

The group, the Conservative Victory Project, is intended to counter other organizations that have helped defeat establishment Republican candidates over the last two election cycles. It is the most robust attempt yet by Republicans to impose a new sense of discipline on the party, particularly in primary races.

“There is a broad concern about having blown a significant number of races because the wrong candidates were selected,” said Steven J. Law, the president of American Crossroads, the “super PAC” creating the new project. “We don’t view ourselves as being in the incumbent protection business, but we want to pick the most conservative candidate who can win.”

The effort would put a new twist on the Republican-vs.-Republican warfare that has consumed the party’s primary races in recent years. In effect, the establishment is taking steps to fight back against Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations that have wielded significant influence in backing candidates who ultimately lost seats to Democrats in the general election.

Not once has Karl Rove, the NRSC or the RNC EVER backed a conservative candidate over a moderate in a competitive Republican primary (The exception for Rove would be W. over McCain, but W. was paying Rove’s bills). That’s because they start with the presumption that the more moderate candidate is ALWAYS more electable.

That’s the same mentality that made the establishment pick Trey Greyson over Rand Paul, David Dewhurst over Ted Cruz, Charlie Crist over Marco Rubio, Arlen Specter over Pat Toomey, Bob Bennett over Mike Lee, John McCain and Mitt Romney over the rest of their competitors — and even Gerald Ford over Ronald Reagan. So, when people with that mentality decide to get involved in primaries, nothing good will come of it.

Oh, but maybe they can stop us from getting terrible candidates….again, like Rand Paul, Pat Toomey or Ted Cruz? Well, you may say, what about the really bad candidates? Well, for every Christine O’Donnell, there’s a Linda McMahon. For every Sharon Angle, there’s a Tommy Thompson. For every Todd Akin, there’s a Carly Fiorina. Oh, but they were obviously the best candidates available because….of what exactly? The establishment liked them? Because they were more moderate?

Karl Rove doesn’t care what I have to say, you have to say, or what the grassroots thinks. He cares about precisely one thing: fund raising. His power comes from raising and spending money. Cut into his donations, then you cut into his power — and that will get his attention.

So, stop giving money to American Crossroads. Not one more dime — and let the people know why if they pitch you for a donation. There are lots of great conservative organizations out there that need help and if you specifically want to aid candidates, the Senate Conservatives Fund is a better place to put your money. Jim DeMint is behind that organization and just about anybody you love in the Senate who has been elected over the last couple of cycles did it with the help of the Senate Conservatives Fund. You’ll also never catch those guys trying to kill conservative candidates.

Now, can blog posts like this one shut off the flow of cash to American Crossroads? Nope, but we can slow it down. If we peel 10, 20, 30 million dollars off its totals, then that will get some attention. American Crossroads may not speak grassroots or Tea Party, but green, it speaks just fine. It’s time for conservatives to start speaking to American Crossroads in a language that it can understand.

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