Richard Hudson: part of DC, Raleigh establishment plan to stamp out the Tea Party
After the smoke cleared on Tuesday, Richard Hudson had convincingly stomped Scott Keadle in the GOP primary runoff for the 8th congressional district. Hudson scooted down to North Carolina in October 2011, formed an LLC so he could call himself a businessman, and filed for Congress.
Keadle has been a longtime presence in the business community. His residence is just outside the boundaries, but his business is within the district. He has served and employed a lot of 8th district residents for decades. He was backed by scores of Tea Party groups, The Club for Growth, and the RedState web site.
Hudson had the party establishment star power and fundraising power behind him. He had incumbent members of Congress coming in to endorse him. Hudson got a TON of money from a group out of Washington allied with Majority Leader Eric Cantor called Young Guns (YG) political action committee.
Let’s turn to RedState to tell us a little about YG:
One of the most perplexing organizations on the political scene this election cycle is theYoung Guns Action Fund, started by two former aids to Eric Cantor. It was started last fall in an effort to support “conservative candidates for elected office who hold true to the Young Guns movement.” One would expect a PAC affiliated with the House Majority Leader to get involved in numerous general election races to help preserve and grow the Republican majority. Yet, this committee has only run independent expenditures in primaries, not in general elections.
Well, you might be thinking that there is a good reason to get involved in primaries. After all, we need to ensure that the Republican nominee is a “conservative candidate.” To that end, Young Guns has made the most bizarre choices of any political committee this cycle.
The affiliated-YG Network began the election cycle by putting out some independent expenditures for moderate Adam Kinzinger against the more conservative Don Manzullo in IL-16. Then, they sent out mailers attacking Richard Mourdock and telling Democrats to vote for Dick Lugar. Lugar was neither young, conservative, or a member of the House. Following the Lugar folly, they have been involved in just one random race in North Carolina over the past few months. Take a look at their FEC filings:
Source: FEC
They’ve spent $426,225 – more than they’ve spent the entire election cycle combined – against a random conservative named Scott Keadle in a primary! What a bizarre use of campaign funds for a leadership-affiliated PAC. They spend everything they have on negative ads against one conservative in a House primary. What do they know that we don’t?
Do they believe that Scott Keadle is a RINO who will vote with Democrats like…say ..Dick Lugar?
The reality is that this race is neither random nor bizarre. They realize that Scott Keadle is a bigger threat to them than any Democrat. He is committed to rallying conservatives in Congress to support limited government initiatives that will never see the light of day with leadership. Clearly, Young Guns perceives that threat and is desperately trying to prevent Keadle from winning the nomination.
Let’s help elect a true conservative gun and thwart the efforts of the loose cannons to install like-minded supporters of big government.
Through the 4th of July weekend, I saw a lot of pro-Keadle, anti-Hudson advertising on Charlotte market television stations. However, the week before the election, all you saw — at every commercial break — were attacks on Keadle.
Did The Club for Growth see something the week before the election that caused them to pack up their marbles and go home? Or did they and Keadle simply get overwhelmed by the GOP establishment?
One of the more sickening things I saw was a front page article in Human Events, the national conservative weekly paper, praising Hudson as something that is GOOD for conservatism AND North Carolina. Really? Do the guys at Human Events talk to the folks at their sister publication, RedState? Human Events illustrated their piece with Hudson campaign propaganda, and described the candidate as a conservative, Tea Party-aligned champion. Really? A guy who — according to his own resume — has been NOTHING more than a paid political hack ? Hudson attacked Keadle for reportedly voting to accept stimulus funds as a county commissioner. Hudson WORKED as chief of staff for a Republican congressman who VOTED to create the Obama stimulus!
If you want to see what the Tea Party movement really thinks about Hudson, look to Freedomworks — one of the lead Tea Party organizations. Freedomworks sent out an email the day after the North Carolina runoffs cheering the victories of Robert Pittenger in the 9th and Mark Meadows in the 11th and encouraging people to donate to these campaigns. Not a peep about Hudson.
Back to the YG PAC. I saw an article early in the election cycle quoting an unnamed YG employee describing the mission of Young Guns PAC as identifying and supporting candidates who will be “manageable” by the GOP leadership. Translation: We don’t like those rabble-rousing, troublemaking Tea Partiers.
YG supported Renee Ellmers in her 2010 primary as well. They helped pay for a flood of pro-Renee ads in the 2nd district primary in May, which paid off. It appears that the flood of anti-Keadle ads financed by Washington helped Hudson greatly. To get elected to Congress, it helps to have a lot of money from Washington PACs and a lazy mainstream media that won’t question a thing.
Are Eric Cantor and John Boehner’s goals in line with those of the Tea Party and grassroots America? They’ve caved to Obama on the debt ceiling and all kinds of spending.
The establishment got scared by 2010. They are using tools like YG to pack Congress with go-along, get-along empty suits like Hudson and Ellmers. Is THAT practice really going to help us right the sinking ship that is our economy?
The grassroots did well in protecting their interests in the legislative runoffs on Tuesday. We really fell down on the job in the Eighth. Voting for everyone with an (R) next to their name is NOT going to get the job. We’ve got a LOT of Rs who owe their allegiance first and foremost to The Party of Government. It’s a new set of hands on the cash box. You still have a bunch of people who enjoy the power that comes with the office.
The establishment preaches the concept of unity on us. We MUST accept McCrory and Romney and Hudson. In the meantime, they are spending money like crazy to kill our candidates.
Surrendering and giving these people what they want in November is NOT going to help. It won’t change a thing. Stop giving money to the state or national GOP. Give directly to the campaigns of your favorite candidates.
You don’t have to vote for these hand-picked shills in the general election. In the second district, there will be a Libertarian candidate and a Democrat candidate in the general. You can also NOT vote in that race. Eighth district voters can also NOT vote in the November general election.
Forcing a large third party vote — or pulling a John Galt and not voting in THAT race — forces establishment candidates to lose or have too-close-for-comfort contests. THAT is the only way to make these people recognize the value of the Tea Party, grassroots voter who is sick and tired of the monkey-business-as-usual in Raleigh and DC.
Spot on! Great analysis!
You have noticed that about Human Events, too? This is far from the first race where they have passed off establishment candidates as conservatives. They even had a video of Gizzi posted that had him saying that BOTH Cruz and Dewhurst were conservative in the Texas primary!!!!!! I have read HE for decades, but now I take their political commentary with a grain of salt. RedState is the one that gets it right!
Thanks for your excellent analysis. Your identification of the problem and how we should respond is right on the money, in my opinion.
Thank you for you for your succinct analysis and public description of Scott Keady’s loss to a RINO and the Republican “establishment”! The Tea Party movement is at war with the Republican establishment and we must take over the Republican Party and then drastically downsize Washington DC or our country is doomed.
Your idea to support a Libertarian versus a Rino in selective cases is excellent and must be pursued by Tea Party organizations where appropriate.
I am supporting a similar Tea Party “write-in” or libertarian candidacy in Boehner’s and Cantor’s districts for the November election. The Tea party has shown in Wisconsin that we can beat the unions at their own game with organization and feet on the ground! We can do the same and remove Boehner and Cantor from leadership.