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

[tsai3904]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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-...a-targeting-lonely-dodd-frank-republican.html

 

[Anti-Neocon]

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]

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]

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]

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. If that's the case, shame on Freedomworks for penalizing him.

 

[lib3rtarian]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[RPforPrez.]

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]

I support Jones.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

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]

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]

It would seem that he missed those votes because he was taking time off to rest from 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]

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.