CLUB FOR SHRINKAGE:

Club for Growth Wears on Some Republicans (NAFTALI BENDAVID, 5/18/09, WSJ)

"If their goal is to increase the Democrats' numbers in Congress, they're doing a very good job," said Rep. Steven LaTourette (R., Ohio), a moderate who won his seat in 1994. "Do they want a permanent minority of 140 people as pure as Caesar's wife, or a Republican majority that can get them 70% of the issues that are important to them?" [...]

Other Republicans say the Democrats have the right idea with their approach toward the past two elections of fielding candidates even though they deviated from some elements of party orthodoxy such as abortion rights and gun control.

"I'm not looking to be a member of a club," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) told reporters the day of Mr. Specter's defection. "The difference between being a club and a national party is being able to play outside your traditional areas."

Critics of the group say there are several elections in which the Club defeated or weakened a Republican candidate. Republican Reps. Joe Schwarz of Michigan and Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland lost primary bids in 2006 and 2008, respectively. Both districts are now represented by Democrats.

"It brings a smile to our face when we see the Club For Growth going in, because in some instances it improves the prospects for our candidates," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.), who spearheads the Democrats' House campaigns.

It's like something out of the old Communist Bloc where party members are put on trial for deviation.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 18, 2009 7:33 AM