Rand Paul defends foreign-funded Chamber: "More Popular Than Any Politician Running For Office"

[ProSense]

Defending Foreign-Funded Chamber, Rand Paul Says It’s ‘More Popular Than Any Politician Running For Office’

In a debate last night in Kentucky, the Senate candidates were forced to weigh in on the controversy over the Chamber’s foreign funding. Democratic candidate Jack Conway was asked to offer his stance on whether “secret donors trying to influence the elections.”

Conway responded by correctly noting that the local chambers in various Kentucky towns are separate from the actions of the national chamber. Indeed, most of the local chambers operate independently. Noting that his father-in-law was a former head of a local chamber, Conway said, “Our local chambers of commerce do a great job.”

Conway continued that the “larger issue” is that the “U.S.” Chamber of Commerce and Karl Rove’s American Crossroads group are “coming in here, and spending, spending, spending, spending, and trying to take your democracy away from you.” He concluded, “I don’t think the U.S. Chamber ought to be in here in support of a candidate that’s questioned civil rights and questioned the Americans with Disabilities Act.” (To be fair, local chambers may have supported the Disabilities Act, but the national Chamber did not.)

Republican Rand Paul responded with a full-throated defense of the Chamber:

I see the Chamber as a group that fosters economic development in every community. … In fact, we would encourage you to keep attacking the Chamber because the Chamber is probably more popular than any politician running for office. So please, your side, if you like this — keep on attacking the Chamber. It makes no sense whatsoever. And I think it’s a really, really poor political tactic and untrue.

Watch it:

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Paul never explained what exactly is “untrue.” As ThinkProgress has meticulously documented, the Chamber is receiving at least $885,000 from over 80 foreign-based companies, co-mingling those funds into the same account that runs the political attack ads, and righteously refusing to disclose its donors.

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[Kdillard]

1. Conway better be hitting him on this over the next two weeks

It is very disturbing the people who are coming out in defense of the CoC.

[ProSense]

4. Conway's response implied it, but

most people are likely not aware that many local chambers don't identify with the U.S. Chamber, which operates largely as a corporate tool.

US Chamber Shrinks Membership 90%

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As Mother Jones detailed on Tuesday, the Chamber's assertion that it represents "3 million" businesses is most likely based on claiming the membership of 2,800 state and local chambers of commerce as its own. But while local chambers are often dues-paying members of the US Chamber, they aren't chartered or controlled by it, nor does membership grant them a say in electing its leaders or setting its policies, which are determined by a self-appointed board composed of large companies. Moreover, local chambers do little to support the national group financially. The Greater New York Chamber of Commerce pays annual dues to the US Chamber of only $1000. That means the 2,800 local chambers probably contribute less than 3 percent of the US Chamber's $100 million budget.

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[Stuart G]

2. K and R

[Enrique]

3. there's the GOP nomination for president in 2012

Chamber of Commerce, with Americans for Prosperity as its running mate.

[Arkana]

5. So defensive!

If they have nothing to hide, they can show us their books.

(Hurts to have that argument used against you doesn't it wingnuts?)

[Canuckistanian]

6. The CofC is popular?

I doubt you could find 0.5% of the population that actually knows what the CofC does or who's in charge of it.

[cascadiance]

7. Yeah, Hillsboro local chamber has been good about helping people find jobs too...

They have weekly meetups here for that purpose, and are pretty decent people, though perhaps a little more conservative than your average Portlander. It is really important that Conway delineates the difference between the local chambers from the national chamber which is the one that is causing the problems.

And perhaps even reframe it and ask Paul why he wants to push for more power of local political organizations over other national arms of government, but that he favors the national COC to be seen as the entity deserving power over the local COC entities to do what they want in this case, and profiteering on the reputations of what the local COC entities do.

[Radical Activist]

8. The Chamber is one of the most destructive forces in America today.

Although there are a very few progressive Chambers around, most of the state and local ones push the same agenda. Anti-union, anti-regulation, anti-environment, anti-smart growth, and anti-human. And many of them receive taxpayer dollars to push their agenda.