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Wednesday, Mar 13, 2013 5:40 PM UTC

Club for Growth intensifies GOP civil war

The conservative group plans to target "RINOs" next year, and doesn't care if it makes people "uncomfortable"

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Topics: Club For Growth, Karl Rove, Republicans, Conservatives, Tea Party, 2014 elections,

Club for Growth intensifies GOP civil war A Tea Party Protest in Washington D.C., September, 2009. (Credit: Wikipedia)

Club for Growth, the anti-tax group, wants to boost conservatives in the 2014 elections. And it doesn’t care if it has to target Republicans to do it. “Our job is not to elect Republicans, that’s not what we do,” said Chris Chocola, the head of the group.

From Reuters:

The confrontational strategy flies in the face of post-election Republican efforts to become a more accommodating and less ideological party, and is certain to deepen the rift between the party’s conservative warriors and more pragmatic establishment wing.

It also is certain to cement the Club’s reputation, earned over more than a decade of sometimes brutal primary battles, as the outside group most likely to frustrate party bosses.

“If we make people uncomfortable, that’s OK,” Chocola added. “Our effectiveness lies in our uncompromising adherence to our mission, and in our proven ability to impact races.”

Club for Growth recently launched a website to spotlight moderate Republicans, whom they called “RINOs,” who are potential targets for the group in 2014. This makes the group something of a counterweight to Karl Rove’s initiative to target far-right conservatives in the primaries next election cycle.

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com. More Jillian Rayfield.

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