Chamber of Commerce Wants to Rein in GOP: No More ‘Fools,’ ‘Loser Candidates’

Amid the whole government shutdown mess two months ago, business groups expressed their concern about their waning ability to influence Republicans, and now they’re trying to reverse the tide. And so the Chamber of Commerce has now set a very clear goal for how it wants to approach the upcoming round of elections: less ridiculous candidates.

This is how the top political strategist for the Chamber of Commerce put it.

“Our No. 1 focus is to make sure, when it comes to the Senate, that we have no loser candidates… That will be our mantra: No fools on our ticket.”

Republican leaders and groups like the Chamber of Commerce are fighting to “groom and support more centrist Republican candidates” in the 2014 midterm elections, as part of the continuing backlash to more conservative activist groups that was cranked up to 11 when John Boehner publicly bashed some of those groups after they expressed some displeasure with the budget deal agreed to by Congress.

The Chamber of Commerce is reportedly going to be spending $50 million to back more moderate, “business-friendly candidates,” in order to get work done on passing a farm bill and immigration reform that the more conservative wing of the party has publicly voiced serious problems with.

This news comes just weeks after it was reported the GOP is planning tighter control over the 2016 primary elections.

[h/t Raw Story]

[photo via Shutterstock]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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