Conservatives Join Forces for Bush Plans

[pberq]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19782-2005Feb12.html

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Conservatives Join Forces for Bush Plans
Social Security, Tort Limits Spur Alliance

By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 13, 2005; Page A04

With billions of dollars at stake, a large network of influential conservative groups is mounting a high-priced campaign to help the White House win passage of legislation to partially privatize Social Security and limit class-action lawsuits.

Corporate America, the financial services industry, conservative think tanks, much of the Washington trade association community, the Republican Party and GOP lobbyists and consultants are prepared to spend $200 million or more to influence the outcome of two of the toughest legislative fights in recent memory.

Many of these same interest groups backed Bush administration tax cuts, the 2003 Medicare prescription drug legislation and proposed energy initiatives. As President Bush begins his second term, the alliance has become an institutional fixture, providing both money and manpower to further the Bush agenda and strengthen the Republican Party apparatus.