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UPDATE JULY 21! David Keene just emailed us his side of the FedEx story. “ACU Chairman David A Keene rejected last week’s Politico charge that ACU was guilty of [sic] made a ‘pay to play’ proposal to Federal Express ‘absurd.’ ACU is not, never has been and never will be for sale. The charge that ACU took a position to raise money is untrue. The charge that we changed that position to ‘punish’ a potential supporter for not funding our efforts is untrue. Neither ACU nor I changed our position which was based on principle and we never got a nickel from anyone on either side of the issue.” Read all of Keene’s statement here. Readers should sort out the issue using their best judgment; doubtless there will be further back-and-forth from the conservative commentariat. This distasteful matter just reinforces our point:  that transparency is good not just for the Other Team, but for conservative organizations when they put their members’ reputation and honor on the side of individual corporations or special interests. 

Slowing Down FedEx: Are “Big Conservatives” Out of Line?

Last Friday RedState’s editor-in-chief Erick Erickson commented extensively in his “Paying to Play in the Conservative Movement” about the American Conservative Union (ACU) and that group’s offer of lobbying support to the FedEx Corporation. 

Here is the original Politico story “Exclusive: Conservative group offers support for $2M” on the uproar.  Here is today’s Wall Street Journal article “FedEx and UPS Clash Over Legislation | Accusations of Bailout and Disinformation Fly as Bill Threatens to Facilitate FedEx Unionization.” The WSJ’s Alex Roth explains the details of the legislative fight.

RedState’s Erick Erickson warns:

“At a time when every conservative is under the hot light of media and Democrat scrutiny, the movement leaders cannot afford to do stupid stuff like this.

When we cannot trust the supposedly leaders of our movement to do the right thing without cash, we have lost the moral clarity we need in the fight.”

Other voices across the center-right have weighed in with some force on ACU’s positions.

Power Line’s Scott Johnson here in his “A house derided” notes:

“FedEx is not amused. It has obviously decided to expose the ACU’s flexibility on purported matters of principle for the right price. It must be a funny matter of principle involved in the legislation for the ACU’s chairman and executive vice president to be on opposing sides. I seem to recall a famous Republican who said something once about a house divided.”

David Frum reveals here some ACU lobbying history and declares:

 “The activities of the ACU have damaged the good name of every American conservative organization. The next time conservatives take a stand on an issue that helps or hurts an industry or firm, everybody will have reason to ask: Who’s paying you this time? Or are you exacting revenge from somebody who opted not to pay you?

What was once a cause has degenerated into a racket. Fedex exposed the racketeering. Now conservatives must make the fateful choice whether or not to cleanse themselves of the racketeers.”

Janet Ellen Levy in her “One-Way Free Speech” here in today’s American Thinker raises questions about ACU’s 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) - -

“In February 2009, a representative from the Washington, D.C.-based, Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) informed a conservative West Coast think tank that the topic of jihad was off limits at the annual event attended by 7,000 conservatives from around the country.  At the previous CPAC meeting in 2008, Islamic expert Robert Spencer had been a featured speaker.  But, a year later, when it was discovered that Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders would be in Washington at the time of the conference and a request was made to offer him an opportunity to speak to 2009 conference attendees, event organizers claimed that scheduling conflicts precluded their ability to include Wilders in the program.”

The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) does essential analysis upon which all fiscal conservatives depend.  Their late president John Berthoud was a faithful friend of taxpayers nationally.  We know how much time John personally gave to coming to Maryland, for example, to help grass-roots efforts.

But the current head of the NTU signed the letter attacking FedEx. What possible policy interest does NTU have in signing such a document? 

Read all the linked commentary above to get a fuller picture of the ACU problem going back over the years — but also including Mr. Keene’s support for senator Arlen Specter in 2004.

All this raises the question of transparency in big conservative organizations.

Local chapters and grass-roots members have necessarily trusted the judgment of the national conservative players on those company or interest-specific issues with which they are not immediately familiar.  But now they will rightly wonder whether these judgments are unduly influenced or even largely shaped by big donors.

Conservative grass roots can come to an informed conclusion on these recommendations to help specific companies or interests only when they know the financial context showing the relationship of their particular national organization to the company or interest involved.

As we never tire of pointing out, Western values are in grave danger from the Obama Administration.  We just don’t have time for Beltway GOP practices that unfortunately seemed to peak during the two terms of former president George Bush. 

Our freedom is paramount, not the fortunes of  familiar Washington, D. C. Republican Establishment names.

Michelle Malkin says it well:  “We’ve got major battles on the Hill and fundamental principles to defend.” Erick Erickson adds: “The rot and termites cannot be left to destroy us all.”

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