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August 8, 2006

Tim Walberg Wins in MI-07!

Andrew Roth

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In its first-ever primary victory against an incumbent, the Club for Growth PAC extended its record to 7 wins and 2 losses when challenger Tim Walberg defeated incumbent Representative Joe Schwarz today in Michigan's seventh district. Michigan Republican voters sent a clear message to Congress that they are tired of the big-spending, big-government policies that contributed so much to Joe Schwarz's downfall.

"Michigan voters made it clear that they still want Congress to limit government, reduce wasteful spending and cut taxes," said Pat Toomey, President of the Club for Growth. "The Club for Growth PAC is proud to have played a major role in helping Tim deliver his pro-growth, winning, message."

The Club for Growth PAC endorsed Walberg early in his race and raised over $600,000, from Club members, in contributions to the Walberg campaign. In addition, the Club for Growth PAC spent over $500,000 in independent expenditures including hard-hitting TV and radio ads that underscored Joe Schwarz' liberal record on economic issues.

"Our ads focused almost exclusively on the need to cut taxes and spending. The final ad we ran had a huge impact," Toomey said.

"Rep. Schwarz was one of the worst examples of Republican politicians who have abandoned any real commitment to limited government and pro-growth policy," Toomey concluded. "But Michigan voters have responded by electing to replace him with a true economic conservative who will work to enact the pro-growth agenda. We look forward to seeing Tim Walberg win in November and then serving in Washington in the 110th Congress."

PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.

Posted at 11:42 PM, August 8, 2006 | Trackback | Print | #

August 3, 2006

MI-07: McCain Candidate Breaks McCain-Feingold Law

David Keating

This is just so amazing. These holier-than-thou campaign finance regulation lovers can't seem to follow the law.

And it seems that the candidates Sen. John McCain endorses are most likely to forget about following the so-called "stand by your ad" provisions.

This time, it's Congressman Joe Schwarz, who was endorsed by McCain, who gets it wrong.

Former FEC Chairman Brad Smith sent a letter on behalf of the National Taxpayers Union Campaign Fund to Michigan TV stations notifying them that Joe Schwarz's new ads are illegal.

Excerpt:

Specifically, the Schwarz for Congress campaign ad, "Family Results," is illegal because it fails to include the proper spoken and written disclaimers required under 2 U.S.C §441d and FEC Regulation 11 C.F.R. §110.11. . . .

The ad "Family Results," which began running in the 7th Congressional District on or about July 31, 2006, does not contain an unobscured, full-screen view of the candidate making the statement. Although it does contain a voice-over of Schwarz making the statement, that voice-over is not accompanied by a photo of candidate Schwarz. Instead, Schwarz for Congress uses those valuable seconds - approximately 6 to 10 percent of the commercial running time - to show image clips conveying the substantive message of the ad, giving him an unfair advantage over other candidates and organizations that comply with the law.

What it comes down to is this. Schwarz is cheating. By cutting the ad this way, he effectively gets to run a longer ad than his opponent since he doesn't have to waste precious screen time on government-mandated speech.

Typical.

And here's another interesting twist. The Republican Mainstreet Partnership PAC is getting it wrong too, according to the Smith letter.

Guess who is on the Mainstreet PAC's board?

That's right. John McCain. And Joe Schwarz.

That has to make you wonder. How exactly does RMSP PAC run an "independent expenditure" for Schwarz if the guy they are supporting is on their PAC board?

But I guess campaign finance laws are only made to apply to people who disagree with them.

Oh, and since we don't know if this might be construed as an endorsement of something we'll slap this box on the blog post and pay for it out of our PAC.

PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.

Posted at 5:44 PM, August 3, 2006 | Trackback | Print | #

MI-07: Schwarz Loves to Spend Your Money

Andrew Roth

National Taxpayers Union just issued their popular BillTally report for 2005. The report calculates the total amount of spending (or spending cuts) that each member of Congress advocates through their sponsorship of legislation.

For instance, the liberal Congressman from Michigan's 7th district, Joe Schwarz, sponsored or co-sponsored a whopping 43 bills totaling $26.65 billion in new spending versus only 2 bills that cut spending by $41 million (note the "b" and the "m" in the two figures). Combined, he proposed $26.61 billion in net new spending.

There were 30 Democrats who advocated spending less than what Joe "RINO" Schwarz supported. Democrats like Alan Mollohan ($2.5 billion) and John Murtha ($11.9 billion).

In contrast, Jeb Hensarling (TX-05), a fiscal rock star who was elected with Club member support in 2002, supported 11 bills totaling $299 million in new spending, but who also supported 11 bills totaling over $41 billion in spending cuts. Combined, he supported a net cut in spending that was just over $41 billion.

Compared to Schwarz, that's a $67.61 billion swing in the right direction!

It's true that one congressman is only one small voice out of 435 screaming politicians, but if you get the rights ones in Congress who will tirelessly fight for taxpayers, then you're talking about billions of dollars that can be saved.

If elected to Congress, you can rest assure that Joe Schwarz's opponent, Tim Walberg, will be standing side by side with Jeb Hensarling in reducing the size of government.

Walberg's primary race against Schwarz is only 5 days away, but there's still time left to send him a much needed donation.

PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.

Posted at 5:16 PM, August 3, 2006 | Trackback | Print | #

August 2, 2006

MI-07: Tim Walberg Interview

Andrew Roth

John Hawkins, who runs the popular Right Wing News blog, recently conducted a great interview with Tim Walberg, the Club PAC-endorsed candidate in Michigan's 7th district who is running against the liberal Joe Schwarz in next week's August 8th primary.

Human Events has the transcript.

PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.

Posted at 12:32 PM, August 2, 2006 | Trackback | Print | #

July 28, 2006

FLASH REPORT: It's Time to Take Down Schwarz

Andrew Roth

Yesterday, RedState.com came out and supported Tim Walberg in his effort to unseat liberal Joe Schwarz in the GOP primary for Michigan's 7th district. With RedState's huge conservative readership, this was definitely a big boost.

Now comes word that the Flash Report has endorsed Walberg as well. The Flash Report's proprietor, Jon Fleischman, is based out of California and has a massive following on his website.

Fleischman writes:

As I have said all along, the biggest danger we have to losing our Republican majority in Congress is if we squander it by not keeping our promises as a party. Taking down a leftist "Republican" like Schwarz would send a chilling message to any remaining Republicans on the Hill who want to stand in the way of reducing the size and scope of the federal government. We need to send a message that if you can't support a mere 1% cut in the amount of federal spending, you are endangering our majority.

With RedState and Flash Report coming together, the Right-of-Center blogosphere is starting to rally for Walberg. Help us send Schwarz packing. And check out Jon's website for top shelf political news in the Golden State.

PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.

Posted at 11:33 AM, July 28, 2006 | Trackback | Print | #

Ten Reasons Why Joe Schwarz Must Go

Andrew Roth

RedState.com has given its support to Tim Walberg, who is running against the liberal Joe Schwarz in the August 8th GOP primary in Michigan's 7th district. With 10 days until the primary, RedState has started a new blog series where they provide a reason each day for why Schwarz must be given an early retirement. Here's their first installment.

PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.

Posted at 8:29 AM, July 28, 2006 | Trackback | Print | #

July 27, 2006

Pork on TV

Andrew Roth

The Club for Growth PAC recently launched a TV ad campaign in Michigan's 7th district. The ad, which is critical of Congressman Joe Schwarz for wasting federal tax dollars on pork projects and his own pay raise, is playing district-wide across several avenues - broadcast and cable, along with a radio version as well.

Let's send Schwarz into an early retirement. Donate to Tim Walberg's campaign now and help him defeat Schwarz in the August 8th primary.

PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.

Posted at 11:27 AM, July 27, 2006 | Trackback | Print | #

July 24, 2006

MI-07: Schwarz is Against the Fair Tax

Matt Prasse

RINO Congressman Joe Schwarz (MI-07) recently attacked his Republican primary opponent, Tim Walberg, for Walberg's support of the Fair Tax.

Schwarz's campaign journal included the following:

"With a new, national sales tax on all goods and services, a bicycle that costs $69.99 would cost $86.08."

"YOU’D HAVE TO PAY A NEW NATIONAL SALES TAX OF 40 PERCENT!"

It's amusing that the Schwarz campaign is so desperate to win back the taxpayers in his district that he's trying to brand Walberg as a tax hiker. But his attacks just don't hold water.

The Fair Tax is a comprehensive reform of the way Americans are taxed by the federal government. It does away with the present cumbersome and complicated income tax and all other federal taxes in favor of a national sales tax. Economists predict that the Fair Tax will supercharge the economy due to its simplicity, the absence of taxes on savings, and its flat rate. And the Fair Tax also incorporates a pre-bate so that all Americans can afford basic necessities.

Instead of raising taxes, the Fair Tax will lead to a huge tax cut for Americans. What's more, Americans will save $265 billion per year in compliance costs.

A bicycle that costs $69.99 today will not cost $86.08 if the Fair Tax is implemented. That's because a huge chunk of today's price has built-in corporate taxes. In addition, because every American would not pay any personal income, Social Security, or Medicare taxes, your paycheck would go a lot farther than it would today.

Joe Schwarz is wrong about the Fair Tax and wrong about Tim Walberg. But I wouldn't expect anything less from a guy who the National Taxpayers Union gave a C- (47%), good enough to be in the bottom 4% of the GOP conference.

Donate to Tim Walberg's campaign HERE and send liberal Joe Schwarz packing.

PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.

Posted at 8:54 AM, July 24, 2006 | Trackback | Print | #

July 20, 2006

MI-07: Joe Schwarz is Labor's Liberal Lapdog

Andrew Roth

Liberal Republican Congressman Joe Schwarz is having a tough time raising money in his re-election bid in Michigan's 7th district. But one bright spot for him is the pile of cash he's received from labor unions.

In fact, labor unions appear to be tripping over themselves to support Schwarz, which you would think is kind of odd considering Schwarz is a Republican. But by our count, at least 30 labor unions have given Schwarz over $125,000 for this election cycle. He's received more money from labor unions than any other House Republican in Michigan. And more specificially, the UAW has given money to 238 various Senate and House candidates so far this year. Schwarz was one of the beneficiaries. In fact, he was one of only 4 Republicans nationwide to get money from the UAW.

It is a rogues gallery of labor unions, with some of the worst anti-taxpayer, anti-student, anti-economic growth unions like AFGE, AFL-CIO, NARFE and NEA.

Here's the list and the date and dollar amounts given to Schwarz's campaign (all of this can be found in Schwarz's FEC filings):

Labor Union PAC	Date	Amt
American Fed. of Gov't Employees (AFGE) PAC	6/27/2005	1000
AFGE PAC	2/27/2006	500
AFGE PAC	2/27/2006	500
AFL-CIO C.O.P.E. PAC	3/17/2005	1000
Air Line Pilots Assn. PAC	5/26/2006	2500
Air Line Pilots Assn. PAC	6/30/2006	2500
Amalgamated Transit Union COPE	6/29/2006	1000
Am. Maritime Officers- V - PAF	4/28/2005	1000
Am. Maritime Officers- V - PAF	6/13/2005	1000
Am. Maritime Officers- V - PAF	9/9/2005	1000
Am. Maritime Officers- V - PAF	3/31/2006	1000
Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders CAF	6/16/2005	1000
Carpenters Legislative Improvement Cmte.	3/30/2005	5000
Carpenters Legislative Improvement Cmte.	3/27/2006	5000
CWA Cope PCC	6/28/2006	1000
Engineers Political Ed. Cmte.	5/5/2006	5000
Intl. Assn. of Fire Fighters	5/12/2005	1000
Intl. Assn. of Fire Fighters	6/3/2005	1000
Intl. Assn. of Fire Fighters	9/14/2005	2000
Intl. Assn. of Fire Fighters	6/15/2005	1000
Intl. Assn. of Fire Fighters	6/30/2006	2500
Intl. Union of Painters Political Action Together	5/3/2005	1500
Intl. Union of Painters Political Action Together	2/15/2006	1000
Intl. Union of Painters Political Action Together	3/31/2006	2500
Intl. Union of Painters Political Action Together	6/15/2006	1000
Intl. Assn. of Masters Mates & Pilots	5/13/2006	2500
Intl. Assn. of Masters Mates & Pilots	6/30/2006	2500
Ironworkers Political Action League	8/25/2005	1000
Ironworkers Political Action League	12/22/2005	4000
Ironworkers Political Action League	6/15/2006	1000
Laborers Political League	5/2/2005	2000
Laborers Political League	11/17/2005	3000
Laborers Political League	6/10/2006	5000
Letter Carriers PAF	4/28/2005	1000
Letter Carriers PAF	7/29/2005	1000
Michigan Boilermakers Federal PAC	6/17/2005	1000
Nat'l Assoc. of Active & Retired Fed. Employees (NARFE)	10/27/2005	1000
NARFE	6/29/2006	3000
National Air Traffic Controllers PAC	5/3/2005	1000
National Air Traffic Controllers PAC	6/20/2005	1000
National Air Traffic Controllers PAC	8/12/2005	3000
National Assn. of Air Traffic Specialists PAF	4/12/2005	500
National Assn. of Social Workers PAC	6/30/2006	5000
National Assn. of Social Workers PAC	6/30/2006	5000
National Assn. of Letter Carriers	5/3/2005	1000
Operating Engineers Local 324	3/10/2005	1000
Operating Engineers Local 324	7/5/2006	4000
Operating Engineers Local 324	5/30/2006	5000
Pol. Ed. Fund of Building Con. Trades Dept. AFL-CIO	12/12/2005	5000
Service Employees Intl. Union Co	5/11/2005	1000
Service Employees Intl. Union Co	6/28/2005	1500
The NEA Fund	5/25/2005	1000
The NEA Fund	10/27/2005	1000
The NEA Fund	6/21/2006	3000
The NEA Fund	6/21/2006	5000
Transport Workers Union PAC	6/17/2005	1000
Treasury Employees PAC	6/10/2005	1000
UAW-V-CAP	3/30/2005	1000
UAW-V-CAP	5/16/2005	1000
UAW-V-CAP	6/21/2005	1000
UFCW Active Ballot Club	4/12/2006	3500
United Transportation Union PAC	9/2/2005	1000
United Transportation Union PAC	3/30/2006	2500
TOTAL		$127,500.00

Why do labor unions love Schwarz? Because he votes like a liberal. In one instance, he sided with the labor unions to make sure federal rebuilding contracts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina paid so-called prevailing wages (i.e., higher-than-market wages that rip-off taxpayers). And according to both the National Taxpayers Union and Citizens Against Government Waste, his record on fiscal issues is worse than 96% of all House Republicans.

And this guy calls himself a Republican?

On top of the labor support, Schwarz is also getting help from environmentalists. Roll Call reports ($) that the League of Conservation Voters is running a TV ad on behalf of Schwarz against Tim Walberg, the true Republican in this race and a Club-PAC endorsed candidate. The ad buy is over $86,000.

The Schwarz campaign is clearly on the ropes. Bill Ballenger, a political writer in Michigan, recently said, "The Schwarz people are running scared."

If you want to help stop the egregious spending in Washington; if you want the GOP to return to its principles of limited government, then please consider giving Tim Walberg a donation today so that we can send Schwarz packing (see donation link below). The primary is only a short 19 days away. If Walberg wins this race, and we believe he has a great chance, this will be a great win for fiscal conservatives and the right-of-center bloggers who trumpet his support. It will also be a thunderous shot across the bow, putting all RINO Republicans on notice.

PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.

Posted at 11:56 AM, July 20, 2006 | Trackback | Print | #