House Communications Subcommittee Chair and NRCC head Greg Walden (R-OR) criticized Social Security cuts in a budget submitted by President Barack Obama, and in addition to earning pushback from Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), he may have earned a primary challenge initiated by the conservative PAC.
Boehner said he had spoken privately with Walden, who had described the Obama proposal as a “shocking attack on seniors.” Boehner said he stated his own belief cutting the entitlement as Obama proposed was a necessary starting point.
The Club for Growth went quite some distance further than holding a discussion with Walden.
“We always knew Greg Walden had a liberal record, but he really cemented it with his public opposition to even modest entitlement reform,” said Club for Growth President Chris Chocola. “Greg Walden has voted for bailing out Wall Street, dozens of pork projects, and against cutting the spending from the Obama stimulus. He even voted against blocking taxpayer subsidies for Viagra. Greg Walden should be held accountable for his anti-growth voting record as well as his anti-growth rhetoric.”
To hold Walden accountable, CfG will use its PrimaryMyCongresssman website to seek a Republican replacement for him in his district.
The organization stated, “The purpose of www.PrimaryMyCongressman.com is to raise awareness of Republicans In Name Only (RINOs) who are currently serving in safe Republican seats. Congressman Walden represents a district in which Governor Mitt Romney received 57% of the vote, but has a dismal 62% lifetime score on the Club for Growth’s Congressional Scorecard. The website offers Club members and the general public the opportunity to recommend primary opponents to the incumbents highlighted by Club for Growth Action, as well as to recommend primary challengers for any Republican member of Congress.”
RBR-TVBR observation: Walden is a former radio group owner and as such is of extreme value to broadcasters, particularly given his chairmanship over the most important subcommittee in the House.
We have always found Walden to be a congenial and civil chair with the ability to defend his positions without animosity, and sometimes with the aid of a refreshing sense of humor.
At no time have we found him to be what could even remotely be described as a liberal, but if you want to throw out the sum and total of Walden’s congressional career and base your assessment on a small handful of votes, you could probably call him just about anything.
RBR-TVBR does not support either party, nor do we make political endorsements. But that said, we suspect that Club For Growth will not find many in Walden’s district that share its opinion of him, and doubt strongly that this attempt to kick off a primary will turn up a viable candidate.
