Boston Globe: Chamber of Commerce to flex muscle before midterm vote

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Boston Globe

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK

Chamber of Commerce to flex muscle before midterm vote

March 17, 2010

WASHINGTON — The US Chamber of Commerce, already one of Washington’s

largest lobbying groups, is gearing up to play a major role in this year’s

midterm elections on a scale to rival the nation’s two main political

parties.

Modeled in part on Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign juggernaut, the group has

built an operation known as “Friends of the US Chamber of Commerce.’’ It

has a member list of 6 million names and focuses on lobbying, legislation,

and persuading voters to back preferred candidates, primarily Republicans,

in crucial battleground areas, officials said.

With an overall budget of $200 million — twice what it spent in 2008 —

the group plans to target vulnerable Democrats in up to two dozen states with

ads, get-out-the-vote operations, and other efforts.

The strategy follows the group’s record lobbying effort at the end of

2009, when it spent nearly $800,000 a day rallying opposition to Democratic

proposals in Congress. All told, the organization spent more money on

political activities last year than either the Democratic National Committee or

the

Republican National Committee.

Bruce Josten, the group’s longtime chief lobbyist, said its accelerated

activities reflect the stakes of the issues under debate. “The business

community has begun to get concerned that suddenly you’re seeing an attempt

at

fundamental restructuring and reorganization of broad swaths of the US

economy,’’ Josten said.

The chamber’s potential impact on November elections was bolstered by a

recent Supreme Court decision, which allows corporations and their surrogates

to spend freely on ads right up to Election Day.