Role in Policymaking
Club for Growth focuses on policies that it believes will drive economic growth and reduce the size of government. Those two things are seen as mutually inclusive, as their ideology does not support the idea that more public sector or government involvement can be beneficial to the economy. Key policy areas of focus for Club for Growth include; lower taxes, cutting government spending, repealing the estate tax, expanding free trade, tort reform, replacing the tax code, reducing or eliminating public education, deregulation, and decreasing entitlement spending on Social Security and healthcare(1). These policies are all hallmarks of laissez-faire economic theory and it is the foundation on which they evaluate every policy being contemplated by the government.
The group influences policy in a number of ways and one influential way they attempt to hold current elected officials accountable is through their scorecard for both members of the House of Representatives(2) and the Senate(3). This scorecard gives a current cycle score to each elected official on a scale from 0-100, as well as a lifetime score that is calculated based on their votes across previous terms in office. Politicians that score particularly well are given an award titled “Defender of Economic Freedom” which is denoted by a trophy on the scorecard(4). The scorecard calculation is very simple, it tracks important legislation that the organization took a position on, and compares it to how the elected official voted. The more in line with the organization, the higher the percentage and the greater the opportunity for support from the organization and its members.
Club for Growth also influences policy through issue or campaign ads, primarily targeting select members of Congress or particular candidates in competitive districts to either elect a favored candidate or to influence a current elected official to vote a particular way on an issue. Recently, the organization has been running digital ads against Democratic legislators in competitive districts in an attempt to get them to vote against President Biden’s agenda(5). This move into digital ads is a growing part of the organization's spending, but historically they have done most of their advertisements on TV. Each cycle they run a number of different TV ads in key races targeting incumbent officials, challengers, or important issues facing big votes in Congress(6). These advertisements are a hallmark of what the organization is known for. Often running ads that are viewed as tough at best, they are almost always negative asking the viewer to oppose a candidate or piece of legislation.
This organization also emails its members and Congressional offices “Key Vote Alerts” when there is important legislation pending before Congress where they have taken a position(7). This encourages their members to contact legislators that are currently undecided or against a particular issue, or to contact those in favor of that legislation to voice their support. While these members do have an opportunity to contact Congress based on this information, the more impactful consequence of these alerts is the knowledge of how the organization would score their vote on the scorecard if they vote incorrectly. Knowing that your chances for reelection could be impacted, or that a challenger could even be recruited to run against you, is the kind of pressure and influence that Club for Growth excels at. Every Republican in Congress has seen the ads that this organization runs against incumbents who were not deemed friendly enough to the free-market agenda, and these alerts keep the Congressional members informed of where the organization stands.
Club for Growth is mostly focused on influencing policy at the Congressional level. They were supporters of Donald Trump’s reelection campaign in 2020, but they focus most of their resources on the legislative branch at the federal level. This organization also does not lobby or attempt to influence the judicial branch either. In an interesting coincidence, or not, the current president of Club for Growth is David M. McIntosh, who was a founding member of the Federal Society(8). The Federal Society is the most effective conservative organization that lobbies and influences the judicial branch, which allows Club for Growth to solely focus on the legislative branch. This division of resources has worked well for both, as they both can claim victories in several areas of focus for their two organizations.
Footnotes:
What we do: Conservative activism. Club for Growth. (2021, October 6). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.clubforgrowth.org/about/what-we-do/.
Club for Growth Foundation Scorecard. Club for Growth. (2020, April 8). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.clubforgrowth.org/scorecards/app/?party=all&chamber=H&yr=2020&state=all&rep.
Club for Growth Foundation Scorecard. Club for Growth. (2020, April 8). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.clubforgrowth.org/scorecards/app/?party=all&chamber=S&yr=2020&state=all&rep.
Ibid.
Vakil, C. (2021, November 12). Club for growth launches ad against Democrats over social spending bill. TheHill. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://thehill.com/homenews/house/581356-club-for-growth-launches-ad-against-democrats-over-social-spending-bill.
Watch ads - conservative Republican group: Political Advertisements. Club for Growth. (2021, April 23). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.clubforgrowth.org/elections/club-for-growth-action-super-pac/.
Club for growth. (2021, July 21). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.clubforgrowth.org/about/club-for-growth/.
Bennett, W. J., Hardy, P., & Easterbrook, F. H. (n.d.). Hon. David M. McIntosh. The Federalist Society. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://fedsoc.org/contributors/david-mcintosh.