2003 In 2003, the original Club for Growth strongly opposed the
Medicare prescription drug benefit proposal. The Club for Growth strongly supported the Bush tax cuts of 2003 and ran television ads against two Republicans who voiced opposition to the tax cuts. According to
The New York Times, "Last spring, [Club for Growth president Steve] Moore attacked two Republican Senators who were resisting the latest tax cut:
George Voinovich of Ohio and
Olympia Snowe of Maine. He ran ads in each of their states in which he compared them with the French president,
Jacques Chirac.
Karl Rove, President Bush's political advisor, stated that the ads were "stupid" and "counterproductive".
2005 In 2005, Pat Toomey became president and the Club for Growth created a congressional scorecard. The Club's first key vote alert was an amendment sponsored by a Democrat. Representative
Earl Blumenauer offered an amendment to an agricultural appropriations bill that would have reduced the sugar program by 6 percent. The Club for Growth supported the amendment, which failed, 146–280. The Club fought to support the
Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement in 2005, running print advertisements in local Beltway publications in the Washington, DC area. According to
Roll Call, "Former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), president of the Club for Growth, a CAFTA supporter, said his group continued running advertisements before the Congressional vote." The Club opposed the 2005 highway bill. President Bush threatened to veto the bill but did sign it. The
Christian Science Monitor quoted David Keating saying, "For fiscal conservatives, it's frustrating to watch ... He's beginning to lose all credibility with these veto threats." According to
The Washington Post, "The Club for Growth, a conservative group that funds like-minded candidates for Congress, has turned the highway legislation into a bumper sticker for the GOP's fiscal failings. Keating said to the
Chicago Sun-Times, "It is a pork-laden bill."
The Christian Science Monitor reported Toomey saying, "This is a defining moment. The Republican Party came to power in 1995 by advocating limited government. But in the last four to five years, there has been no evidence that the Republican officials in the federal government have any remaining commitment to this vital principle." During the debate on the highway bill, the Club supported an amendment by
Tom Coburn that would defund the noted
Gravina Island Bridge, from Ketchikan to the island in Southeast Alaska. Following the Supreme Court's
Kelo v. City of New London decision, the Club gained an appropriations amendment by
Scott Garrett to prohibit funds in the bill from being used to enforce the Court's decision. The amendment passed, 231–189. The Club for Growth PAC highlighted this vote when it targeted
Joe Schwarz, a House Republican who it helped defeat in 2006, claiming he was too liberal.
2006 In the spring of 2006, the Club opposed the 527 Reform Act, which curtailed spending by such political organizations. It led a coalition of center-right groups in sending letters to Congress to support its position. The House passed the 527 Reform Act by a margin of 218–209, but the Senate did not consider the legislation. The Club for Growth supported various amendments to cut earmarks in the budget, such as "dairy education" and a "wine initiative." The Club included assessment of sponsorship of the
card check bill in its scorecard. If lawmakers co-sponsored the bill, they were docked points in the rating system.
2007 The Club for Growth issued a new scorecard in 2007 that highlighted how House members voted on several amendments that defunded earmarks. Sixteen congressmen scored a perfect 100% on the so-called "RePORK Card", voting for all 50 anti-pork amendments. They were all Republicans. Conversely, 105 congressmen (81 Democrats and 24 Republicans) scored a 0%, voting against every single amendment. In 2007, the Club also scored against House bills that increased the minimum wage, implemented card check, and sought caps on CEO pay. In the Senate, the Club scored against bills that increased the minimum wage, passage of the farm bill, and the
SCHIP healthcare plan. In 2007, the Club for Growth opposed protectionist policies against China. Senators
Chuck Schumer of New York and
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina had proposed a bill to apply large tariffs on Chinese imports if that country did not increase the value of its currency. In response, the Club sponsored a petition of 1,028 economists who stated their opposition to protectionist policies against China. The list of economists included Nobel Laureates
Finn Kydland,
Edward Prescott,
Thomas Schelling, and
Vernon Smith. The petition played off a similar petition that was also signed by 1,028 economists in 1930 that opposed the
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.
2008–09 In 2008 and 2009, the Club for Growth opposed the
$787 billion stimulus bill,
Cash for Clunkers,
cap and trade legislation, the
Wall Street bailout, the
auto bailout, the
Affordable Care Act and the bailout of
Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac. After Barack Obama was elected president in November 2008, Club President Pat Toomey penned an op-ed that included the results of a poll commissioned by the Club: "A poll commissioned by the Club for Growth in 12 swing congressional districts over the past weekend shows that the voters who made the difference in this election still prefer less government—lower taxes, less spending and less regulation—to Obama's economic liberalism. Turns out, Americans didn't vote for Dems because they support their redistributionist agenda, but because they are fed up with the GOPers in office. This was a classic 'throw the bums out' election, rather than an embrace of the policy views of those who will replace them." In 2009, the Club produced another "RePORK Card". This time there were 22 House members with a 100% score: 1 Democrat and 21 Republicans. At the bottom, 211 House members received a 0% score: 202 Democrats and 9 Republicans.
2010 The Club for Growth launched its Repeal It! campaign in 2010 in an attempt to help build public support for undoing the Affordable Care Act. In 2010, more than 400 federal lawmakers and candidates signed the Repeal It! pledge, including more than 40 of the incoming freshman class of congressmen and senators. The Club for Growth advocated the discharge petition, a proposal that would have forced a House vote on repealing the Affordable Care Act. At the time,
Keith Olbermann said: "The petition, which would need 218 signatures to force House Speaker Pelosi to put the repeal bill up for a vote, went largely ignored. As
Talking Points Memo reports, on Monday it had only 30 signatures. That is until the right wing group Club For Growth e-mailed its members, explaining Mr. [Steve] King's discharge petition will be considered as a key vote on the club's annual Congressional scorecard. That scorecard is considered one of the gold standards of conservative rankings. That and the Spanish Inquisition. So by Tuesday, the petition had 22 more signatures."
2011–12 The Club was involved in the
debate over the debt ceiling that took place in August 2011. The Club endorsed and strongly supported "Cut Cap and Balance" and ran issue ads urging Republicans to "show some spine" on maintaining the debt ceiling. The Club opposed the re-authorization of the
Export-Import Bank. The Club also took a strong position against Republicans voting for tax increases during the debate over the so-called "
fiscal cliff". The Club opposed the "Plan B" tax increase proposed by
John Boehner and also opposed the
final deal.
2013 In September 2013, Club for Growth made voting on the
Continuing Appropriations Resolution a key vote, announcing it track how representatives voted on the bill and make that part of their congressional scorecard. The group urged representatives to vote yes, particularly with defunding ObamaCare in mind. It also opposed the 2013 farm bill, which failed for the first time in the bill's 40-year history.
2014 The Club's PAC spent $3.1 million ($2.4 million on independent expenditures and $700,000 on ads) or nearly half of the $7.8 million which it spent in 2014 on
Chris McDaniel's effort to defeat
Thad Cochran in the
United States Senate Republican primary election in Mississippi, 2014. In addition, the Club for Growth announced a key vote against re-authorization of the Ex-Im Bank. The Club for Growth produced a series of policy papers on the positions taken by major Republican presidential candidates on the government's role in economic growth. The eleven papers examined the records and remarks of the candidates on issues such as tax reform, government spending, entitlement reform, and free trade. The Club concluded that Senators
Ted Cruz,
Rand Paul, and
Marco Rubio were the most likely candidates to enact pro-growth policies if elected president. In October 2015, the Club for Growth announced a key vote against the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, saying that it would include a $1.5 trillion in the debt ceiling and a $112 billion increase in federal spending.
Climate change The Club for Growth has opposed government action to curb
greenhouse gas emissions. In 2009, the Club for Growth pressured Republican politicians not to support a
cap-and-trade bill, which the group viewed as being "extremely harmful to the economy." In 2011, the group issued a white paper criticizing presidential candidate
Mitt Romney's regulatory record as Massachusetts governor, including his support of
global warming policies. In 2017, the group called on President Trump to exit the
Paris Agreement.
Congressional scorecard Since 2005, the Club for Growth has produced an annual congressional scorecard. Each member of Congress receives a score on a scale of 0 to 100. The Club for Growth awards a
Defender of Economic Freedom award to members of Congress who receive a 90% above on the annual scorecard and have a lifetime score of at least 90%.
The New York Times described the Club's release of its annual scorecard as "set upon by Republicans like the Oscar nominations list by Hollywood, with everyone dying to know who ranks where, especially in election years". The Club's 2015 congressional scorecard was based on 29 House votes and 25 Senate votes.
Mike Lee was the only U.S. Senator to receive a perfect score.
Ben Sasse was ranked second among U.S. Senators, followed by
Marco Rubio and
Ted Cruz. On the U.S. House side,
John Ratcliffe,
Tim Huelskamp, and
Scott DesJarlais received perfect scores. The Club for Growth Foundation's 2017 Congressional Scorecard was released in February 2018.
Andy Biggs, a Republican from Arizona, was the only member of the U.S. House to receive a 100% rating. A total of 29 members of the U.S. House received a score of at least 90%. In the U.S. Senate,
Jeff Flake,
Pat Toomey, and
James Lankford scored 100%, while four other senators scored at least 90%. The Club for Growth's 2018 Congressional Scorecard awarded twenty members of the U.S. House and five U.S. Senators scores of at least 90%. Four U.S. Senators (
Jeff Flake,
Mike Lee,
Rand Paul, and
Pat Toomey) and three U.S. Representatives (
Justin Amash,
Andy Biggs, and
Paul Gosar) received perfect scores.
Susan Collins received the lowest score among Republican senators while
Brian Fitzpatrick and
Christopher Smith were the lowest scoring Republican members of the U.S. House. == Club for Growth PAC ==