Back on April 3, you may remember that Sen. Arlen Specter called on the Club for Growth to reveal how many of its members and donors work for companies that took TARP money. Pat Toomey has since resigned as the Club’s president and is expected to face Specter in a primary next April. And Toomey’s replacement, former Indiana Rep. Chris Chocola (R), has written Specter a response:
We do not inquire with our 40,000 individual members about their personal finances, so we do not know how many of our members, if any, have received compensation from institutions that have received TARP funds. In the event that any members did receive such income, they surely do not have the Club for Growth to thank for it, as we were — and remain — among the most vocal opponents of the legislation. We do not believe taxpayers should be hit with the burden of bailing out failed corporations, whether on Wall Street, the Detroit automakers, or anywhere else.
At the Club for Growth, we very much welcome the opportunity to sit down with Members of Congress and educate them about the importance of safeguarding taxpayers against the dangers of corporate bailouts. I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you, and hope that you would change your mind when the next round of Wall Street bailouts is proposed. Such a meeting would also be a good chance to discuss why you supported the Obama stimulus plan, and give me a chance to urge you to oppose the next round of debt-laden “stimulus” that many of your Democratic allies in Congress are urging.
Somehow, I doubt that such a meeting will ever take place.