Organization
The Club for Growth is laser-focused on an agenda limiting the reach of government, especially in areas of the economy, and in supporting specific policies that it believes will contribute to economic growth. Their policy areas of interest include but are not limited to the following areas; Budget & Spending, Education, Entitlements, Free Trade, Regulation, Taxes, Term Limits, and Tort Reform(1). Within all of these policy areas, there is a commitment to ending government spending or entire government programs, with an emphasis on allowing the private sector greater involvement. They carry out this agenda by actively promoting or opposing candidates in line with their policy goals during primary or general elections through direct contributions and independent spending. They also keep and publish a scorecard ranking politicians based on their votes on key policies, and using their influence and membership base to lobby members to vote in line with the organization(2). The organization primarily acts through two subsidiaries of the large organization, the Club for Growth PAC and Club for Growth Action, an affiliated Super PAC.
Club for Growth membership is open to the general public, but at the time of this article being published, the portal to sign up is broken: https://www.clubforgrowth.org/register/. The organization claims a membership of over 500,000 people and there do not appear to be any costs or tangible benefits to becoming a basic member of the organization(3). The fact that the portal to join is broken is fitting based on the overall composition of the organization. The leadership is heavily favored towards conservative elites, particularly former politicians and members of Congress. This organization is very top-down, or astroturf, in its orientation and composition. Club for Growth raises millions of dollars each year but the vast majority of it comes from a few wealthy donors that are interested in the ideology and policies backed by the group. During the 2020 election cycle, the vast majority of all of their reported donations came from just five donors, totaling $57,550,000(4).
Inclusion within the elites of the conservative movement has many benefits for up and coming politicians, as well as elites in the policy arena. The support of this organization is a signal to the entire Republican political establishment, and in many cases the general public, that they have the correct conservative credentials. The organization has become a thorn in the side of the broader Republican party based on their steadfast commitment to their agenda and a reputation for being too ideological or lacking in pragmatism. Approval from this organization provides tremendous intangible benefits for these elites. There are also intangible benefits for Club for Growth members specific to the Club for Growth PAC. Members of the organization received information on endorsed candidates and the ability to make contributions to those candidates, as the PAC acts as a bundler for those donations(5). These members receive solidarity or purposive benefits from joining the organization.
Footnotes:
Parkinson, S., & Updates, C. F. G. A. (2020, June 5). Key issues. Club for Growth. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.clubforgrowth.org/issues/.
Club for Growth. Club for growth. (2021, July 21). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.clubforgrowth.org/about/club-for-growth/.
What we do: Conservative activism. Club for Growth. (2021, October 6). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.clubforgrowth.org/about/what-we-do/.
Top organizations disclosing donations to Club for Growth, 2020. OpenSecrets.org. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/contrib.php?cmte=Club%2Bfor%2BGrowth&cycle=2020.
Club for growth pac: Conservative PAC endorsed candidates. Club for Growth. (2020, April 8). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.clubforgrowth.org/about/club-for-growth-pac/.