NO tears from me for the Chamber, the NRA, or ALEC ~ or Karl Rove ~ or any of the GOP/TP super PACs ~ obviously, some of the politicos they bought were on a "final sale" table ~ and I would be ecstatic if any of them, and especially if ALL of them, disappeared forever ~ ~ Sooz

The Chamber Of Commerce's return on investment
By Steve Benen - Mon Aug 19, 2013 11:12 AM EDT

In the wake of the 2012 elections, a handful of powerful conservative interests came to an uncomfortable realization: they'd invested millions in like-minded Republican candidates, but had very little to show for it. The NRA spent nearly $11 million, but lost practically every race it cared about. Karl Rove's Crossroads operation spent nearly $400 million, and fared even worse.

But Sabrina Siddiqui and Paul Blumenthal take a closer look today at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has "doled out $69.5 million to send candidates to Congress," and has managed to fail in a different kind of way.


This is interesting because of the unexpected results. The NRA suffered embarrassing setbacks when it supported candidates that lost. Rove was humiliated last year when voters embraced the candidates he attacked and rejected the candidates he supported.

But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce managed to lose by winning -- the powerful business lobby backed the "right" candidates, and played a role in helping these conservative Republicans win, but have found that these candidates aren't quite the allies the Chamber had hoped for.

The Republican-appointed justices on the Supreme Court have been reliable allies to the Chamber of Commerce, but Republican lawmakers? Not so much.

The Chamber, for example, is an enthusiastic supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, which conservative Republicans are eager to kill -- including many GOP senators and House members that received contributions from the Chamber's political action committee.

But as the Huffington Post piece added, the Chamber's "losing legislative dynamic is not unique to immigration."


The conventional wisdom is that congressional Republicans are "business friendly." They're "natural allies" of business lobbying groups like the Chamber, because they want what's best for the private sector.

But it's well past time to reassess those assumptions. The Chamber and its lobbyists want immigration reform and infrastructure investments, and don't want a government shutdown or another debt-ceiling crisis.

In this sense, the Chamber's PAC seems to have made some bad bets -- "their" candidates won congressional races in 2012, but it sounds like the business lobby would generally be better off with a Democratic Congress.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/08/19/20090795-the-chamber-of-commerces-return-on-investment?lite

this is what happens when your policies are fundamentally inhumane that very few other than those they benefit will enthusiastically endorse them.

Speaking of Karl Rove, I heard him interviewed yesterday, along with this Lee fellow who thinks he has a plan for defunding the ACA and tricking the democrats and President into going along with it. Karl was pretty exasperated with him.

as well he should be. the man is a buffoon. there is no way the ACA will be defunded, overturned, or anything else. the could sooner fry an egg on an ice cube.