Politics: Operation Breakout
Norquist, Grover G.
POLITICS by Grover G. Norquist Operation Breakout A t nine a.m. on Wednesday, July 22, more than 200 of the 228 members of the House Republican Conference filed into the Eisenhower Room of the...
...Soon enough that chairman found himself removed from the most powerful committee in Congress—and placed on the committee overseeing the District of Columbia...
...Any group of a dozen members unhappy about anything can and did throw sand into the gears of the House...
...Chris Cox, Budget Chairman John Kasich, Ways and Means Chairman Bill Archer, and Reps...
...There's a good reason why such efforts at party building are a recent phenomenon: Prior to 1992, members had the right to keep their political campaign funds when they retired...
...The members' money will be raised first to convince the business community that the GOP is serious and that the Republican House majority is safe...
...Campaign finance laws allow unlimited transfer of funds from individual members to the National Republican Congressional Committee...
...Chris Shays of Connecticut pledged $50,000...
...While the NRCC is on schedule and more than halfway towards its goal of $16 million from members, it's noteworthy that not a single Republican member has said no to a request to contribute...
...In this year's election cycle, twenty-five House leadership PACs have contributed $1.2 million to GOP candidates...
...The goal of Operation Breakout is to raise $16 million from these members, and then another $21 million from business...
...Second, this year 170 Republican incumbents face no serious opposition...
...Speaker Gingrich likes to recall a story from the days of Ohio Republican Nicholas Long-worth, who was Speaker of the House from 1925 to 1931...
...These members are sitting on $6o million in campaign funds...
...T his year's contributions and participation accelerate a recent election practice...
...Speaker Newt Gingrich pledged $5oo,000, as did Armey, Appropriations Chairman Bob Livingston, Rep...
...Any special interest that wants to slow the GOP has only to threaten, cajole, or befriend a dozen Republicans to protect itself...
...In 1994, Oklahoma's Frank Lucas won the seat of retiring Democrat Glen English helped by $8o,000 in contributions from loo members...
...But a meeting not on government property meant the topic was politics...
...Growing GOP teamwork is also seen in the increasing willingness of members to contribute in special elections after the death or resignation of a congressman...
...68 October 199 8 • The American Spectator tucky, Ron Lewis won an uphill battle aided by 115 such contributions totaling $102,000...
...The American Spectator • October 1998 69...
...The atmosphere was part pre-game locker room pep talk and part World War II movie scene in which American bomber pilots being briefed at an airfield outside London are told that their next mission won't be just another mission, but something "important...
...GROVER G. NORQUIST is president of Americans for Tax Reform...
...When the topic is legislative strategy the caucus usually meets in the Cannon Building...
...In the Senate, twenty leadership PACs have donated $876,000...
...The leadership is confident that the Clinton scandals, the Democrats' failure to gain traction on tobacco taxes and campaign finance reform, and strong Republican gubernatorial campaigns in large states will create a Republican wave and 1974-size election gains—but only if GOP candidates have enough money on hand to combat Big Labor soft-money ads and whatever October surprise Clinton holds in reserve...
...Asking a member to share his campaign funds was like asking him to sacrifice his personal wealth...
...The willingness of House Republicans to open their pocketbooks is driven by more than just a change in the rules...
...First, on November 6, 1996, the day after eighteen House GOP incumbents lost their seats and the Republicans a net nine seats, GOP incumbents had more than $35 million on hand in their campaign accounts...
...In the 1970's, the Democrats staged a revolution that saw left-wing ideology trump seniority in gaining key committee positions...
...Note the shift in soft money after the GOP captured Congress...
...Two months later in KenBy sharing the wealth the GOP will triple its winnings...
...Operation Breakout is thus about pre-positioning the fuel of politics—campaign funds—in preparation for creating and riding a Republican wave this fall...
...If one-quarter of the campaign funds held by safe Republicans was contributed to the NRCC, there would be $15 million for fall ads...
...This meeting ran more than an hour...
...Today's Republicans understand the message of that story...
...Of course, the Democrats can count on the flow of labor union dues to more than offset the Republican advantage...
...The name of the plan recalls the time when Patton's Third Army could have punched through a weakened German line and shortened the war— if only it had had enough gasoline for its tanks...
...NRCC Chairman John Linder and Majority Leader Dick Armey announced a goal to raise the first $8 million in pledges from members by the August recess...
...Republican members learned two stark facts...
...As long as the business community believes the GOP will hold the House and Senate, that disparity will continue through November...
...Fifty-two don't even have a Democrat running against them...
...Linder and Republican Conference Chairman John Boehner pledged $2oo,000...
...This outside financing also explains why so many Democrats are loyal to union leaders first and Clinton or the Democratic Party second...
...By August 18, Operation Breakout had already raised $9 million...
...Thirty-five million dollars...
...She won by 6,000 votes...
...In the first 18 months of the 1993-94 election cycle, the Democrats raised $30.1 million to the Republicans' $20 million...
...There's a final reason why House Republicans are becoming better team players: party-building is replacing seniority as the route to leadership and committee chairmanships...
...Since 1992, retiring members can no longer keep their campaign funds...
...Spencer Bachus of Alabama stood up and pledged $105,804.78—exactly half of his campaign fund...
...In the 1990's, the House Republicans are putting contributions to the party and its candidates ahead of age...
...If Operation Breakout brings an additional twenty-five Republicans to Congress, the io6th Congress will have 253 Republicans and only 182 Democrats...
...In 1997, when Vito Fossella ran to replace Susan Molinari, 154 members stepped up to contribute $199,250...
...on Wednesday, July 22, more than 200 of the 228 members of the House Republican Conference filed into the Eisenhower Room of the Capitol Hill Club two blocks from the Capitol...
...David Dreier, Majority Whip Tom DeLay, and Administration Chairman Bill Thomas...
...The narrow margin makes every vote difficult...
...Members were briefed on "Operation Breakout," a plan to push GOP House gains this November 3 from the expected net of five-to-ten seats to twenty-five seats and beyond...
...The last two years have been a painful reminder of how difficult it is to run the House with an 11-seat margin...
...Jerry Lewis, Wally Herger, and Jim Saxton pledged $100,000...
...Corporate money tends to flow to the winning team...
...There is less team spirit among Democrats, who have only eleven House and five Senate leadership PACs, which have contributed $175,000 and $93,000 respectively this cycle...
...They can contribute their campaign funds in toto to their party or in thousand-dollar chunks to other campaigns...
...During Longworth's tenure, the Ways and Means chairman failed to look after the party's interests...
...And in New Mexico earlier this year, Heather Wilson held off independently wealthy Phil Maloof with the help of $290,000 in contributions from 178 Republican congressmen...
...In the same 18 months of1997- 98, Republicans have raised $70 million to the Democrats' $45.8 million...
...In 1996, 101 members contributed $6 million for generic Republican advertising to counter labor ads...
...In 1994, ranking committee Republicans were urged to raise $100,000, contribute $50,000 or both...
...Another measure of Republican willingness to see politics as a team sport is growth in leadership PACs...
...These allow Republican leaders to travel in support of candidates or the party or to make direct contributions to individual campaigns...
...Fifty-three Republicans wound up contributing $2.7 million to a common pool for use that fall...
Vol. 31 • October 1998 • No. 10
