PAC, 527 groups stir bitter GOP infighting

Springs' Rep. Hefley: Club for Growth ads destructive to cause

M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 30, 2006 at midnight

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When times are tough, some families pull together.

But inside the Republican house, there's bickering, finger-pointing and more than a few folks getting worried.

Across the country, a spate of intra-party squabbles have put some once-safe GOP territories at risk, typified by the surprisingly competitive congressional contest in the conservative bastion of Colorado Springs.

It seems that some party activists are ignoring former President Ronald Reagan's famous 11th Commandment: "Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican."

"The shredding of the 11th Commandment in this election is making a contribution to many of these Republicans staying home or potentially voting Democratic," said pollster Floyd Ciruli.

Disharmony could jeopardize Republican House and Senate seats in Idaho, Arizona, Rhode Island and elsewhere.

But nowhere is discord louder than in Colorado's 5th Congressional District, where retiring incumbent Rep. Joel Hefley has refused to endorse his would-be Republican replacement, Doug Lamborn.

Hefley has accused Lamborn of running a "sleazy" primary campaign against his preferred successor, Jeff Crank, and other Republicans.

Many of the hard feelings stem from attacks launched by outside groups that, by law, cannot coordinate with Lamborn's campaign. The Christian Coalition of Colorado, for example, portrayed Crank and fellow Republican Lionel Rivera as supporters of "the homosexual agenda."

Meanwhile, the conservative political action committee Club for Growth launched ads accusing Crank and Rivera of the ultimate Republican sin: supporting tax increases.

Lamborn pulled out a narrow win over Crank, but Hefley's refusal to endorse the victor has given hope to Democrat Jay Fawcett, who is playing up his military service to win crossover votes.

Given the GOP's 100,000-voter registration advantage over Democrats, Fawcett still is the longshot. But the upset threat is real enough that Vice President Dick Cheney has scheduled a stop in Colorado Springs this week to stump for Lamborn.

Some see the Colorado Springs situation as a case study in how modern campaign finance laws allow independent "527 groups" or outside political action committees to shape the tone of campaigns.

"The 11th Commandment has been considerably degraded by campaign finance reform," said Ted Halaby, former chairman of the state Republican Party.

State and federal campaign finance laws prohibit outside PACs or so-called "527 organizations" from coordinating their efforts with candidates, and that makes it difficult or impossible for candidates and parties to keep the nastiness from getting out of hand.

"In the past . . . the candidate could control his own campaign, and parties could control the political process," Halaby said.

Hefley has lashed out at the Club for Growth, which often uses its money to influence what kind of Republicans get elected.

As of last week, the group had spent about $2.6 million nationally. Two-thirds of the money went to attack Republican primary candidates like GOP incumbent Sen. Lincoln Chafee in Rhode Island, various candidates in Idaho's 1st District, and Crank and Rivera in Colorado's 5th District.

On the surface, the Club for Growth and Hefley would seem to have the same approach when it comes to holding down taxes. But Hefley considers it destructive to the greater Republican cause.

"I think Club for Growth is one of the most self-righteous, hypocritical groups we deal with here . . . It's almost like they want to win regardless of the damage it does" to other Republicans, Hefley said.

In the Rhode Island Senate race, the Republican Senatorial Committee was forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars defending Chafee. But after he pulled out a primary win, he's trailing Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in recent polls.

"You spend all your effort and your money attacking your own team, and then don't have money to attack the enemy," Hefley said. "It just makes no sense to me at all."

David Keating, executive director of the Club for Growth, said the group's members are "great admirers" of Hefley for his efforts to constrain budget spending.

But he defends the group's strategy of trying to get its brand of Republicans elected.

"This isn't some new development," he said. "We go through every race in the country to find our members the best races to make a difference on economic policy issues."

After the primaries, win or lose, "we never . . . try to aggravate things" by running ads against Republicans, Keating said.

The Club for Growth also helped its hand-picked candidates win crowded primaries in districts in Nebraska, Ohio and Idaho - but only after attacking other Republicans in some cases.

Some observers think the effort could backfire because the contentious primaries have caused the general election contests to be surprisingly close in Idaho's 1st District and Colorado's 5th District.

"That's not a place where the Republican Party should have to invest any of its resources," said Seth Masket, assistant professor of political science at the University of Denver.

Still, Masket sees the disharmony issue in reverse.

He thinks party infighting usually is a result of a party's tough times, not the cause of it.

"In a good year for a party, that isn't a problem," Masket said.

"The Democrats are having a surprisingly harmonious year. They're pushing for a number of moderates . . . to be elected. They're just saying, 'Hey, we just want to win.' "

"Republicans are just having a tough year, and infighting is part of it," Masket said. "I don't think it's that unusual for a party that's in trouble."

Tally of spending for, against GOP candidates

• Rep. Joel Hefley has lashed out at the conservative political action committee, the Club for Growth, because it often spends its money to attack some Republicans and support others in contentious primaries. Analysts say that sort of infighting within conservative ranks is adding to the Republican Party's woes in this year's midterm elections.

• Club for Growth independent expenditures nationwide, through Thursday:

Total: $2,646,753

Opposing various Republicans: $1,739,402

Opposing various Democrats: $181,293

Supporting various Republicans: $726,058

• Club for Growth independent expenditures in Colorado's 5th Congressional District:

Total: $107,420

Supporting Republican Doug Lamborn: $21,384

Opposing Republican Jeff Crank: $43,018

Opposing Republican Lionel Rivera: $43,018

sprengelmeyerm@shns.com

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