The Chamber Strikes Back

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says it won’t be silenced by a smear campaign being waged against it by Democrats and, in fact, will ramp up its political activity in the three weeks remaining before the November 2 Congressional elections.

In a letter to the chamber’s board, CEO Tom Donohue refuted allegations that the chamber may be using foreign money to finance its millions of dollars in campaign ads. These allegations, first raised by the liberal blog ThinkProgress, have been repeated on almost a daily basis by prominent Democrats, including President Barack Obama.

“The chamber does not use any foreign money to fund voter education activities—period,” Donohue’s letter said. “We have strict financial controls in place to ensure this.”

Donohue said the Obama administration’s “smear campaign” against it is an “attempt to change the subject away from our stalled economy and nearly double-digit unemployment. They hope that by demonizing those who oppose their failed policies, they can fire up their dispirited and disappointed base and silence our voice.”

“It won’t work,” Donohue said.

“In fact, for the next three weeks leading up to election day, you will see us ramp up efforts to educate voters about the positions of candidates of both parties who are committed to free enterprise and economic growth,” he said.

While the chamber primarily is backing Republicans, it also has endorsed several Democrats, including West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, who is in a tight Senate race against a Republican businessman. That endorsement has to annoy Republicans, who need to pick up this West Virginia seat to have a chance of winning control of the Senate.

The chamber also has begun running ads on behalf of 10 Democrats who opposed health care reform or voted its way on other key issues. These Democrats, such as Virginia’s Glenn Nye and Alabama’s Bobby Bright, are facing strong challenges from Republicans. Winning these seats are critical to Republican hopes to win control of the House.

So even though most of the chamber’s money is helping Republicans, it has a few friends in the Democratic Party.

Its relationship with the Obama administration, however, appears to be irrevocably broken.

Donohue said the administration’s attacks on the chamber’s political activities are “part of a disturbing pattern of demonizing America’s job creators and those who represent them.”

“It’s sad to watch the White House stoop to these depths to try to salvage an election,” he wrote.

Donohue also pointed out that more than $400 million in spending by outside groups—“much of it from undisclosed sources”—helped Obama win the presidency and Democrats gain control of Congress.

In this election, “just three unions alone have announced plans to spend in excess of $150 million to support pro-union candidates,” Donohue wrote.

“You can see why it is absolutely critical that the business community remains engaged in the political process. If we succumb to threats and intimidation and become distracted or silenced, the only voices left will be those of the unions and other anti-business activists,” he wrote.

In other words, the chamber has not yet begun to fight.

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Kent Hoover is the Washington bureau chief for bizjournals.