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How To Fix the Senate

by Steve Moore - Club For Growth

And now for the race that so many of us have been waiting for.

Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania has been one of the brightest stars in the United States Congress over the past several years.  Pat is precisely the kind of candidate the Club searches far and wide to find: a man who is principled, is fearless in standing up to his own leadership and has pit bull determination to promote our economic growth agenda of tax cuts and smaller government.  Pat (along with several others like Jeff Flake, Mike Pence, Paul Ryan, and Ric Keller) has truly been the fiscal conscience of the U.S. House of Representatives. 

In the latest debate on the budget, it was Pat Toomey who led the fight on the "Toomey Budget," which contained even more tax cuts and budget reductions than the President requested.  That's typical Pat Toomey: always pushing the envelope for growth. 

Although Pat Toomey has represented Allentown, Pennsylvania, a very unionized steel town district that leans Democratic, he has never compromised his pro-growth convictions.  (He really is a rare breed in our current political environment.)  He has consistently voted for tax cuts, leaner budgets, free trade, and personal Social Security accounts even when those positions were politically explosive in his home district.  He was one of the few conscientious Republicans who voted against the dreadful $400 billion pork-laden bill enacted earlier this year.  He promised to serve only three terms in the House, and he is keeping his word (unlike some of the weasels who took a term limits pledge and broke their promise).

Pat is now going to run for the U.S. Senate against four term liberal Republican incumbent Arlen Specter.  This sets up a classic match up between a young pro-growth Republican challenger against a veteran Republican with a poor voting record on our issues of concern. 

The Specter and Toomey Record

You know how much trouble we had this year stopping a handful of Republicans from watering down the Bush tax cut.  Well, two years ago, it was Arlen Specter who joined with the Democrats in an attempt to gut the president's tax cut.  He voted for an amendment by ultra-liberal Democratic Senator Tom Harkin to slash President Bush's tax cut by $450 billion.  He voted for that tax cut trigger that would have canceled any remaining tax cuts if Congress spent too much.  He even voted for an amendment by Senators Tom Daschle and John McCain to keep the top income tax rate at 38.6%.

In the last Congress alone Sen. Specter also voted:

1.  Against school choice in opposition to the President's position. 

2.  Against legal reform efforts.

3.  For the Senate version of the budget-busting farm bill.

4.  For an amendment to gut the President's free-trade negotiating power.

5.  Against an amendment by Sen. Gregg to place meaningful spending caps in the budget.

Our records show that on tax and budget issues, Specter has one of the worst records of any Republican in the House or Senate.  He voted for tax increases in 1982 (twice), 1984, 1987, and even for the infamous 1990 "read my lips" Bush tax hike.  He was one of only two Republicans to vote against a 1997 tax cut.

Toomey earned the Taxpayer Friend Award from National Taxpayers Union every year he has served in Congress.  Last year, the NTU gave Specter a 42% score.

In the last Congress, Specter sponsored bills to add $29.3 billion in new spending, as if the already bloated Federal budget wasn't big enough.  Toomey's legislation would have cut the budget.

Specter even has a higher lifetime rating from the AFL-CIO than the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 

I think you can see that there is a crystal clear ideological distinction here between Pat Toomey and Arlen Specter.

The Political Outlook

Needless to say, this is an uphill climb for Pat Toomey.  He is a decided underdog, though polling indicates that he does have a chance to win this primary race, which would really make history. 

Arlen Specter will have numerous built-in advantages.  One is that he already has the entire Republican establishment behind him.

Another is that Specter has much wider name recognition from having served in the Senate for 23 years.  And perhaps his biggest advantage is financial.  Specter has over $7 million in the bank compared to $1 million for Toomey.

So here we find ourselves in the familiar territory of backing a David versus a Goliath.  We believe that if Toomey can raise between $3 million and $4 million, he can make this a highly competitive race.

Another View

I should tell you that this race is complicated by the fact that some of our members believe that it is a mistake for us to back Pat Toomey, because of the closeness of the Senate.  These Club members generally concede that Specter is a problem in the Senate, but they believe that Toomey's challenge could put the Republican Senate majority at risk. 

We take this argument very seriously, and concede that this primary challenge does pose some risk of losing the seat ultimately to the Democrats.  But we do not think this risk is very high.  We believe that whoever wins the primary between Specter and Toomey will be the odds on favorite to win the seat against a Democrat, especially because the Democrats have no strong candidates to run for this seat.

Specter's defenders also point out that he helped save the nomination of Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court.  But for many members, that heroic act is partially canceled out by the fact that he helped torpedo the nomination of Judge Bork. 

Your Decision

As with every race we get involved in, but especially this one, we believe that given the controversy surrounding it every member should make up his or her own mind about whether they wish to contribute to Pat Toomey or not. 

Here is why we are recommending that you should give to Toomey.  First, we think our co-chairman Dick Gilder said it best: "When you see a rising stock, you buy it."  Pat Toomey is a rising stock, the future of the Republican Party.  If he could be cloned and we had 200 more of him in the House and Senate, our problems would be all but over. 

If he wins this race, it would be an earth shattering political victory for good policy, for the future of the Republican Party and for the Club for Growth.  It would send a powerful message to the Republican in Name Only ("RINO") Republicans that your time has come and gone.  Our other co-chairman Dusty Rhodes also put it well, when he said: "If we are not going to get full blown behind the Pat Toomeys of the world, why should the Club even exist?" 

I would also note that the Toomey challenge to Specter has already paid dividends for the Republican Party and our economic growth agenda.  Last week Specter voted for the Bush tax cut.  Specter is moving radically to the right for now, no doubt as a result of the Toomey challenge.  Unfortunately, after the election, he will almost certainly move back to his natural comfort zone, which is to the left. 

I hope you will join me in making a generous contribution to the Pat Toomey for Senate campaign.

Your contribution will have more impact if it's received by June 30, the deadline for the next candidate reports to the Federal Election Commission.  If Pat Toomey shows a surprisingly large fundraising total, his campaign will be seen as gaining momentum and that will make it easier for him to raise the money he needs to win.

Best,

Steve

__________________________________

Stephen Moore

President, Club for Growth

1776 K St NW Suite 300

Washington, DC 20006

202-955-5500

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