GOP establishment, including Romney's campaign mgr, fundraising for Walter Jones' opponent [Archive]

tsai3904

02-26-2014, 10:50 AM

GOP Operatives Fundraise to Oust House Republican

A handful of Republican operatives are scheduled to host a fundraiser later this week to boost a challenger to a longtime House Republican.

Political consultant Taylor Griffin is running against Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., a 10-term member who is frequently at odds with his party.

Griffin’s backers include a cadre of Republicans who worked with him during the Bush administration. GOP Operatives Fundraise to Oust House RepublicanHosts for the fundraiser include Brian Walsh, a Republican consultant who works with the National Republican Senatorial Committee; Matt Rhoades, Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign manager; and several of Griffin’s colleagues from his former political consulting firm, Hamilton Place Strategies.

...

More:
http://atr.rollcall.com/gop-operatives-fundraise-to-oust-house-republican/

jurgs01

02-26-2014, 11:00 AM

If Walter is ever in trouble, we will money bomb him back into the lead. We should all keep an eye on the polling in NC.

gnuschler

02-26-2014, 11:05 AM

If Walter is ever in trouble, we will money bomb him back into the lead. We should all keep an eye on the polling in NC.

I can't get excited about Walter Jones ... he has a FreedomWorks lifetime score of 66%.

Brian4Liberty

02-26-2014, 11:35 AM

I can't get excited about Walter Jones ... he has a FreedomWorks lifetime score of 66%.

His lifetime score is not the best.

His 2013 score from FreedomWorks was 95%, the same as many other "liberty-oriented" Congressman.

His score so far in 2014 is 50%, but that seems to be because he missed two key votes. Not sure why he missed those. In 2014 so far, there are people who missed a vote who still have a 100% rating. Perhaps missing a vote counts as a half deduction, so it takes two missed votes to equal a "bad" vote?

2013:
http://congress.freedomworks.org/keyvotes/house/2013#sort=score_high&state=

2014:
http://congress.freedomworks.org/keyvotes/house/2014#party=&sort=score_high

Edit: After looking at the votes that Jones was dinged for in 2012, I'd have to say I might side with Jones and not FreedomWorks on a couple of votes. And a couple of others (like not raising student loan interest rates) have pros and cons.

surf

02-26-2014, 11:52 AM

I can't get excited about Walter Jones ... he has a FreedomWorks lifetime score of 66%.for the most part, he's one of us. this guy has changed from "freedom fries" to being one of our greatest non-intervention allies.

i'm w/jurgs01 on this one. w/o delving deeply into this Griffin guy, if he's not another effing neocon i'll be surprised.

tsai3904

02-26-2014, 12:41 PM

There's an article on the front page of Bloomberg.com on Wall St lining up behind Walter Jones' primary opponent. That's odd for them to devote a long article about Walter Jones on the front page. No doubt his primary opponent has good connections.

Representative Walter Jones was a rare Republican who backed tough banking regulations after the 2008 economic collapse. Now Wall Street wants him out of office.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) are lining up behind Jones’ primary challenger, Taylor Griffin, an aide in President George W. Bush’s Treasury Department who later worked for groups that advocated in Washington for the biggest financial services companies.

...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-26/wells-fargo-bofa-targeting-lonely-dodd-frank-republican.html

Anti-Neocon

02-26-2014, 12:50 PM

Do these guys really think they've got a shot or is this intimidation to other members of Congress to get in line?

Look at how great Ellis is polling against Amash. This one looks like it'd be even more lobsided.

FSP-Rebel

02-26-2014, 01:11 PM

Best of luck unseating a guy by the name of Walter B. Jones who's been around for ten terms. Just shows that they aren't even focusing their money intelligently and/or have plenty to burn. Diminishing returns is diminishing. These consultant bastards can eat shit.

Brett85

02-26-2014, 01:17 PM

Walter Jones is far from a liberty candidate, but he's such a solid ally on foreign policy issues that I hopes he wins his race and stays in the house. Still, I'm not excited about him enough to actually donate money to him. He has a lifetime score of 56% from the Club for Growth. He's basically just a very moderate Republican who agrees with us on foreign policy issues.

Anti-Neocon

02-26-2014, 02:09 PM

His score so far in 2014 is 50%, but that seems to be because he missed two key votes. Not sure why he missed those. In 2014 so far, there are people who missed a vote who still have a 100% rating. Perhaps missing a vote counts as a half deduction, so it takes two missed votes to equal a "bad" vote?

2013:
http://congress.freedomworks.org/keyvotes/house/2013#sort=score_high&state=

2014:
http://congress.freedomworks.org/keyvotes/house/2014#party=&sort=score_high
It would seem that he missed those votes because he was taking time off to rest from kidney stone surgery (http://www.wwaytv3.com/2014/01/06/us-rep-jones-undergoes-kidney-stone-surgery). If that's the case, shame on Freedomworks for penalizing him.

lib3rtarian

02-26-2014, 02:38 PM

The liberty folks in Walter's district (CD-3) who get to interact with him much more than any of us here, LOVE him.

tsai3904

02-26-2014, 02:38 PM

Walter Jones calls his opponent a "puppet of Washington"

Rep. Walter B. Jones blasted his primary opponent Wednesday, implying that he is a “puppet of Washington” after CQ Roll Call reported that a cadre of plugged-in Republican operatives are hosting a fundraiser for his challenger this week.

The North Carolina Republican said the Capitol Hill fundraiser with a handful of longtime GOP aides shows the influence of Washington insiders and campaign money in politics, rather than ideas and principles.

“This is again an example of the influence of Washington. I am an independent. The people back home know I’m an independent. And I don’t think the people back home want a puppet of Washington to go down there and represent them,” he said.

...

“I’m an independent Republican, there’s a difference. You’re a Republican, then you’re a puppet of the leadership. I got kicked off a committee. I am not a puppet, I’m not going to be a puppet,” he said. “I’m happy where I am. As long as I can do what I think my conscience wants me to do for the people I represent, I’m OK.”

More:
http://atr.rollcall.com/walter-jones-primary-challenger-puppet/

jurgs01

02-26-2014, 02:44 PM

The liberty folks in Walter's district (CD-3) who get to interact with him much more than any of us here, LOVE him.

I think Walter Jones is one of those rare types that has a realization while in Congress and turns to liberty. I don't think it was political either (as it is for so many others).

I like Freedomworks, but I like the New American voting index better because it is more overall liberty oriented. Jones is damn near perfect for the last two session of congress (on the same level as Amash).

http://www.thenewamerican.com/freedomindex/profile.php?id=J000255

I'm all for being skeptical of people because of their past actions, so I can agree we need to continue to watch, but my money is on Walter being a stout liberty advocate from now until he is done.

Brett85

02-26-2014, 04:58 PM

RPforPrez.

02-26-2014, 05:48 PM

I really like Walter Jones' foreign policy views and respect him because of that, but can we really just ignore all of the other issues? This year he received a score of 78% from the Club for Growth, which is better than his 56% lifetime average, but not anywhere close to as good as the actual liberty candidates in Congress. By comparison, Amash received a 99% score, and Rand received a 97% score. Cruz and Lee both received a 100% score.

But I think we can all agree that Cruz and Lee, and even Amash and Rand in the past, aren't always liberty-aligned in regards to foreign policy. Scores don't always accurately reflect how people side on the votes, and while he may take a more moderate position on some issues, he's still right there along with us on others.

When Ron was still in the House, Jones was often one of the only people voting with him on a variety of issues. Ones that come to mind are the budget proposals.

And he's also one of the only people in Congress to actually endorse Ron.

So perhaps there's some votes which he may differ from us on, but I think the votes where he takes a similar stand and where he goes against the establish are enough to warrant the support

Uriah

02-26-2014, 06:21 PM

I support Jones.

Brian4Liberty

02-26-2014, 06:55 PM

This year he received a score of 78% from the Club for Growth, ...

Once again, I would have to review every vote that was scored, and I would anticipate that I would not agree with them every time. Club for Growth leans corporatist at times.

Cleaner44

02-26-2014, 06:56 PM

Jones may not be a solid liberty candidate, but he is far better than most and certainly a solid ally. I think we should focus on defeating neocons like Lindsey Graham and protect allies like Jones.

If we used a 5 star system. Ron Paul being 5 stars and Graham/McCain being 1 star, I think Jones would be a 4 star ally.

We need to primary and defeat the 1 and 2 star neocons and protect the 4 and 5 star candidates.

Brian4Liberty

02-26-2014, 06:58 PM

It would seem that he missed those votes because he was taking time off to rest from kidney stone surgery (http://www.wwaytv3.com/2014/01/06/us-rep-jones-undergoes-kidney-stone-surgery). If that's the case, shame on Freedomworks for penalizing him.

Yeah, it appears the FreedomWorks is not taking into account valid medical time off.

Brett85

02-26-2014, 07:54 PM

But I think we can all agree that Cruz and Lee, and even Amash and Rand in the past, aren't always liberty-aligned in regards to foreign policy. Scores don't always accurately reflect how people side on the votes, and while he may take a more moderate position on some issues, he's still right there along with us on others.

When Ron was still in the House, Jones was often one of the only people voting with him on a variety of issues. Ones that come to mind are the budget proposals.

And he's also one of the only people in Congress to actually endorse Ron.

So perhaps there's some votes which he may differ from us on, but I think the votes where he takes a similar stand and where he goes against the establish are enough to warrant the support

I would still take Rand over Jones any day, even if Rand isn't quite as non interventionist as Jones. Foreign policy isn't the only thing we should look at.

I'm just pointing out that a lot of the criticism that Jones is receiving from the GOP and from some conservative groups isn't primarily because of his foreign policy views, but for his votes in favor of big government bills like Dodd-Frank.

erowe1

02-26-2014, 08:24 PM

I can't get excited about Walter Jones ... he has a FreedomWorks lifetime score of 66%.

His foreign policy makes him better than almost anyone else with a higher Freedom Works score. I've been disappointed with him lots of times too.

Anti-Neocon

02-26-2014, 09:06 PM

Why are we looking at a lifetime score of someone who has changed drastically? Seems like a completely stupid, pointless, and misleading exercise. Walter Jones is a top 3 Congressman. Period.

MichaelDavis

02-26-2014, 09:39 PM

Why are we looking at a lifetime score of someone who has changed drastically? Seems like a completely stupid, pointless, and misleading exercise. Walter Jones is a top 3 Congressman. Period.

We are looking at his lifetime score because he's had some horrendous votes. Dodd-Frank, Cap-and-Trade, raising the minimum wage, and extending unemployment benefits are just a few of many. On FreedomWorks, he's had one good year out of nine. How do we know he'll continue to vote like 2013?

William Tell

02-26-2014, 10:03 PM

Walter is not perfect, but he does have more guts than any other Republican in the House. He is a straight shooter, and that counts for something. It would be a huge blow if Jones lost this race. Thomas Massie is my favorite Congressman, but I love Walter Jones too.

Brett85

02-26-2014, 11:21 PM

Why are we looking at a lifetime score of someone who has changed drastically? Seems like a completely stupid, pointless, and misleading exercise. Walter Jones is a top 3 Congressman. Period.

In order to say that he's a top 3 Congressman, you basically just have to judge him by his foreign policy positions and completely ignore the economic issues.

specsaregood

02-26-2014, 11:27 PM

In order to say that he's a top 3 Congressman, you basically just have to judge him by his foreign policy positions and completely ignore the economic issues.

The fact that he endorsed Dr. Paul for president in 2008 and 2012 well before it was remotely popular goes a long ways in my book.

Brett85

02-26-2014, 11:31 PM

The fact that he endorsed Dr. Paul for president in 2008 and 2012 well before it was remotely popular goes a long ways in my book.

I'm not saying that I want to see him lose his race and get kicked out of office, but I just cringe every time someone says that he's a "liberty candidate." He just isn't anywhere near a liberty candidate. I'm glad that he's a strong non interventionist on foreign policy issues, and I imagine that's why he endorsed Ron. But, if Walter Jones wasn't so good on foreign policy issues, we would all be calling him a RINO and one of the most liberal Republicans in the house. He has a lifetime rating of 56% from the Club for Growth, which is just barely above Peter King's lifetime rating of 54%.

Bastiat's The Law

02-26-2014, 11:34 PM

compromise

03-02-2014, 10:57 AM

Why are we looking at a lifetime score of someone who has changed drastically? Seems like a completely stupid, pointless, and misleading exercise. Walter Jones is a top 3 Congressman. Period.

The real top 3 are Amash, Massie and Sanford.

Jones is a paleocon which explains some of his protectionist and anti-corporate views. I agree 2013 was a good year for him but that doesn't mean we can truly trust him.

thoughtomator

03-02-2014, 11:03 AM

I can't get excited about Walter Jones ... he has a FreedomWorks lifetime score of 66%.

Ah but his recent record easily puts him in the top 5 liberty-minded elected officials. And we have every reason to believe the conversion is genuine. I believe he had a come-to-Jesus moment as a direct result of his association with Ron Paul in the House.

RandallFan

03-02-2014, 08:50 PM

Walter is good enough on guns, war, banks and amnesty.

RandallFan

03-10-2014, 12:35 AM

A national tea party organization is injecting itself into a Republican Party primary to help incumbent Congressman Walter Jones.

Americans for Prosperity is airing radio advertisements that sound like a full-throated endorsement of the contested Republican, who is facing a primary challenge from Taylor Griffin, a former aide to President George W. Bush.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/03/07/3681671/afp-wades-into-north-carolina.html

GunnyFreedom

03-10-2014, 12:45 AM

If Walter is ever in trouble, we will money bomb him back into the lead. We should all keep an eye on the polling in NC.

Yeah, I am sure that's what we like to say, but as a community the only person we've ever given big to is Ron Paul himself.

GunnyFreedom

03-10-2014, 12:57 AM

We are looking at his lifetime score because he's had some horrendous votes. Dodd-Frank, Cap-and-Trade, raising the minimum wage, and extending unemployment benefits are just a few of many. On FreedomWorks, he's had one good year out of nine. How do we know he'll continue to vote like 2013?

Some folks insist on looking at his 20 year record, because his radical conversion was only 6-7 years ago. That way they can re-frame the debate to make him out to be worse than he really is now. One of our bigger failings as a movement is a reluctance to embrace people who legitimately wake up and start singing our tune. This is something we have to overcome. If the only thing a candidate ever gets from us is hate when they start singing our tune, well, then nobody will bother singing our tune. Turning the massive ship of State necessarily means embracing and rewarding people who move our way. Sometimes that means we will end up rewarding someone who will turn around and stab us in the back, but it is still absolutely critical to do it if we are going to have any hope of turning this thing around peacefully/politically.

I trust Jones. He is not 100% with us, and we do still have some work to do on him economically, but in 7 years this guy has moved 80% towards our direction. He's even getting better economically, although that one is taking longer. Even if he sucked (which he doesn't) that should be enough for us to embrace and reward him as an example to others so that we can say, "legislate how we like, and we will support you." If candidates and elected people look over this way and see us aggressively destroying people who move our way, then we won't have people coming our way. If they see us welcoming people who come our way, we will get more people coming our way.

This should be obvious, no?

MichaelDavis

03-10-2014, 01:58 AM

Some folks insist on looking at his 20 year record, because his radical conversion was only 6-7 years ago. That way they can re-frame the debate to make him out to be worse than he really is now. One of our bigger failings as a movement is a reluctance to embrace people who legitimately wake up and start singing our tune. This is something we have to overcome. If the only thing a candidate ever gets from us is hate when they start singing our tune, well, then nobody will bother singing our tune. Turning the massive ship of State necessarily means embracing and rewarding people who move our way. Sometimes that means we will end up rewarding someone who will turn around and stab us in the back, but it is still absolutely critical to do it if we are going to have any hope of turning this thing around peacefully/politically.

I trust Jones. He is not 100% with us, and we do still have some work to do on him economically, but in 7 years this guy has moved 80% towards our direction. He's even getting better economically, although that one is taking longer. Even if he sucked (which he doesn't) that should be enough for us to embrace and reward him as an example to others so that we can say, "legislate how we like, and we will support you." If candidates and elected people look over this way and see us aggressively destroying people who move our way, then we won't have people coming our way. If they see us welcoming people who come our way, we will get more people coming our way.

This should be obvious, no?

His "radical conversion" was just last year. In 2013, he recieved a FreedomWorks scorecard of 95%. In 2012, he recieved a score of 63%. I'm hoping he continues to vote like 2013, but it may have just been a good year. He has a lifetime FreedomWorks score of 66%.

Brett85

03-10-2014, 08:09 AM

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/03/07/3681671/afp-wades-into-north-carolina.html

That's not surprising. Americans for Prosperity certainly isn't a neocon organization either. They're a libertarian organization. Americans for Prosperity is helping out Justin Amash in his race. They're only opposed to Walter because of his bad voting record on economic issues. I wouldn't be surprised if the Club for Growth came out and endorsed Walter's opponent and ran ads against Walter as well.

LibertyEagle

03-10-2014, 09:10 AM

LibertyEagle

03-10-2014, 09:11 AM

That's not surprising. Americans for Prosperity certainly isn't a neocon organization either. They're a libertarian organization. Americans for Prosperity is helping out Justin Amash in his race. They're only opposed to Walter because of his bad voting record on economic issues. I wouldn't be surprised if the Club for Growth came out and endorsed Walter's opponent and ran ads against Walter as well.

Why the love fest with Club for Growth? They are far from perfect.

William Tell

03-10-2014, 09:15 AM

Why the love fest with Club for Growth? They are far from perfect.

He said AGAINST Walter. :D

RandallFan

03-10-2014, 03:48 PM

They should spend their money on worse candidates like Pittenger or Ellmers. Maybe they think they can get Jones because of his association with anti-Bush people.

Brett85

03-10-2014, 05:17 PM

Why the love fest with Club for Growth? They are far from perfect.

Then why do Rand and Justin have close to a 100% lifetime rating from them?

GunnyFreedom

03-10-2014, 08:24 PM

His "radical conversion" was just last year. In 2013, he recieved a FreedomWorks scorecard of 95%. In 2012, he recieved a score of 63%. I'm hoping he continues to vote like 2013, but it may have just been a good year. He has a lifetime FreedomWorks score of 66%.

I call BS on that. I live here. Jones has been getting exponentially better for years. FreedomWorks, on the other hand, was crap until 2012.

MichaelDavis

03-10-2014, 08:37 PM

I call BS on that. I live here. Jones has been getting exponentially better for years. FreedomWorks, on the other hand, was crap until 2012.

In the time span you gave, Jones has voted for Dodd-Frank, Cap-and-Trade, raising the minimum wage, and extending unemployment benefits. Jones is in the wrong, not FreedomWorks. 2013 is the beginning of his political transformation, if he has even had one.

GunnyFreedom

03-10-2014, 08:58 PM

In the time span you gave, Jones has voted for Dodd-Frank, Cap-and-Trade, raising the minimum wage, and extending unemployment benefits. Jones is in the wrong, not FreedomWorks. 2013 is the beginning of his political transformation, if he has even had one.

Yes, his economic side is taking longer to turn than the rest of his ideology. I double-down on calling it BS. I know Walter personally.

ronpaulhawaii

03-10-2014, 09:02 PM

That's not surprising. Americans for Prosperity certainly isn't a neocon organization either. They're a libertarian organization. Americans for Prosperity is helping out Justin Amash in his race. They're only opposed to Walter because of his bad voting record on economic issues. I wouldn't be surprised if the Club for Growth came out and endorsed Walter's opponent and ran ads against Walter as well.

Uhhh... From my read AFP is helping Jones; not "opposed... as well"