JONATHAN CHAIT DECEMBER 7, 2010
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Jeanne Cummings has a really interesting story about local Chambers of Commerce chafing at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's staunch pro-Republican agenda:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is under fire from some local chambers over its hard-hitting $75 million ad campaign to elect a Republican House, with dozens of hometown groups distancing themselves from the effort and a handful even quitting the national group in protest.
“We were getting pounded. We felt here, in Central Pennsylvania, that the ads they were running were not professional ads,” said David Wise, president of the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, which is considering dropping its national membership. “This was not a unifying event. It was divisive.”
More than 40 local chambers issued statements during the midterms distancing themselves from the U.S. Chamber’s campaign — including nearly every major local Chamber in Iowa and New Hampshire, key states in the presidential campaign.
Other chambers plan to take the extraordinary step of ending their affiliation with the U.S. Chamber, including The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been walking a bit of a tightrope. Its lobbying clout derives in large part from the perception that it's simply the national equivalent of the local Chamber of Commerce -- which is to say, the most appealing image of small, practical, non-ideological business. But the Washington organization is primarily run by professional Republicans, and it operates mainly as an arm of the party.
Some businesses withdrew from the Chamber last year in protest of its recalcitrant opposition to any bill to mitigate climate change. (It's not as if unchecked carbon emissions are good for business.) How long the Chamber can continue walking the tightrope of using the credibility of local Chambers of Commerce to leverage a hard right agenda is an interesting question.
7 comments
This will be news to quite a few readers here, who think that pretty much all businesses and business organizations are in the pockets of the Republican Party.
- liberal reformer
December 7, 2010 at 12:33pm
Yes, an interesting question. Though the play of the title is over the top, given the substance of the piece.
- robertgorton
December 7, 2010 at 12:53pm
The local Chamber (Raleigh, NC) is in a skirmish with our extreme right-wing/GOP county-wide school board. It's quite a difference between the local GOP and the local Chamber compared to what is happening on a national level.
- tnmats
December 7, 2010 at 1:38pm
Thanks for the link. I'm president of my local Chamber, and I've had to explain to my members that we have absolutely nothing to do with this group, and they have nothing to do with us. Local Chambers are in no way required to join the US Chamber. In small towns like mine it is suicidal for the Chamber to play partisan politics.
- koppgeo
December 7, 2010 at 2:45pm
Since you're in the local Chamber Koppgeo, could you enlighten us on the relationship between the organizational structure from local to national? I always thought the local chapters were part of the national organization.
- tnmats
December 7, 2010 at 3:20pm
Well tnmats, after reading this article I wondered that too. So I did a Google search to see if we were in any way illegal for not joining the national Chamber, while calling ourselves a "Chamber of Commerce." Answer is no. We're a duly incorporated 501(c)(6) organization, meaning we are entitled by the IRS to endorse candidates, legislation, etc. without losing our tax-exempt status. Basically any group can call itself the "Mytown Chamber of Commerce" but unless they incorporate and get the IRS to agree they are a legitimate business association they will not receive 501(c)(6) designation. Without that, they might as well be a drinking club (which, legend has it, is how our Chamber began 40 years ago).
- koppgeo
December 7, 2010 at 3:56pm
There is a real split between the national chamber, which is pretty much an arm of the Republican Party by now, and the local chambers (which are not "chapters" of the national one, but may choose to join like any other organization). The key difference is this: the local chambers typically pursue a moderate, pragmatic agenda, and they recognize the need for government to do things that help business, such as infrastructure. The metro Atlanta chamber (which I'm a member of) has been strongly supportive of transit funding, for example. Now the national chamber comes along and endorses "Tea Party Republicans", who are opposed to any non-defense discretionary spending. No way these Republicans will support the necessary investment in our nation's infrastructure. That's in direct conflict with what local chambers want.
- bjones
December 7, 2010 at 4:33pm