It's civil war now: Chamber of Commerce will primary House Republicans [View all]

[eridani]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/24/1405423/-It-s-civil-war-now-Chamber-of-Commerce-will-primary-House-Republicans

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is ready to try to take out House Republican hard-liners who have been getting in their way, Politico reports.

The group’s apparent new willingness to engage in hand-to-hand political combat to take out sitting Republicans would represent a major shift for the business community, which has largely shied away from targeting sitting lawmakers. […]

The theory is simple: The Chamber spent some $70 million in 2014, mostly to help Senate Republicans build their majority. But many of their legislative priorities—immigration reform, the renewal of the Export-Import Bank and a long-term highway bill—have been held up by a clutch of conservative lawmakers in the House.

International Franchise Association President and CEO Steve Caldeira, who is a member of the Chamber’s public affairs committee, said the group is going to stay "maniacally focused" on what made it very successful in the 2014 election cycle.

"The fact that there are still members of the Republican House that are obstructionist, isolationists that would be willing to shut down the government only reinforces that the Chamber and the business community, for that matter, will double down on this winning formula," Caldeira said. "I believe they are going to continue to be involved early in candidate recruitment to find candidates that have the willingness to run, the courage to govern once they get to D.C., and hopefully work in a bipartisan manner to get things done."