Wisconsin-Report

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Club for Growth, a self-described ‘state-wide network of thousands of pro-growth Wisconsinites.’ After Scott Walker was
elected governor in 2011, Mr. O’Keefe was impressed when Mr. Walker pushed through Act 10 legislation to reform the
state’s public unions. This was exactly the sort of government-limiting reform that Mr. O’Keefe believed in, and when
Republicans in the state Senate came under recall threat, he stepped in. He fired up his fundraising networks, and the
Wisconsin Club for Growth ran issue ads extolling Act 10, ads that became the main counter to a union-funded anti-Act 10
advertising juggernaut. The GOP kept the Senate in 2011, and Mr. Walker beat back a recall vote a year later.” [Wall Street
Journal, 4/8/16]
O’Keefe Has Long Been “Friendly With The Koch Brothers.” According to the Washington Post, “Early in his
libertarian days, O’Keefe became friendly with the Koch brothers, with whom he has joined in many battles, mainly through
independent groups that the courts have empowered to raise unlimited money, often without having to identify their donors.”
[Washington Post, 3/25/12]
O’Keefe Announced He Would Fight For A Contested Republican Convention
Eric O’Keefe Has Maintained That The Results Of The GOP Primaries Are “Hardly Representative Of The Party’s
Will” And Sees A “Contested Convention As A Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity For The Delegates Of A Private
Political Party To Assert Their Power.” According to the Wall Street Journal, “Eric O’Keefe is here to say: whoa. The
veteran Republican grass-roots activist sees a contested convention as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the delegates of a
private political party to assert their power. The results of the GOP primaries are hardly representative of the party’s will, Mr.
O’Keefe says, because state parties have been wrecked by domineering state legislatures.” [Wall Street Journal, 4/8/16]
Eric O’Keefe Announced He Is Gearing Up For A Campaign To Encourage Republican Delegates “To Exercise
Their Prerogatives At The Convention And To Ignore Specious Insistence That They Follow Some Imaginary
Obligations” Because “They Have An Obligation To Nominate A Better General-Election Candidate Than Mr.
Trump.” According to the Wall Street Journal, “‘There’s nothing that special or even good about the government-run primary
process,’ Mr. O’Keefe says. Relishing the opportunity for Republican delegates to stand up for themselves, he is gearing up a
campaign to educate and encourage them to exercise their prerogatives at the convention and to ignore specious insistence
that they follow some imaginary obligations. […] Which brings him back to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
Mr. O’Keefe has been researching the history of conventions and collecting material for meetings with GOP convention
delegates to present his case. He will tell them that they have an obligation to nominate a better general-election candidate than
Mr. Trump—not merely to spare the country from Mr. Trump’s policies, but to reassert the party’s constitutional right to
operate as a wholly private, autonomous political actor.” [Wall Street Journal, 4/8/16]
O’Keefe Was Subpoenaed In John Doe Investigation
O’Keefe Was Subpoenaed In John Doe Investigation. According to the Wall Street Journal, “But one target who did
confirm receiving a subpoena is Eric O'Keefe, who realizes the personal risk but wants the public to know what is going on.
Mr. O'Keefe is director of the Wisconsin Club for Growth, which advocates lower taxes, limited government and other
conservative priorities. He has worked in political and policy circles for three decades, including stints as national director of
the Libertarian Party in 1980 and a director of the Cato Institute, and he helped to found the Center for Competitive Politics,
which focuses on protecting political speech.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/18/13]
JOHN DOE CONTROVERSY
Wisconsin Club For Growth Was Subpoenaed In The Second John Doe Investigation. According to the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel, Sources have said prosecutors are looking at whether groups such as the Wisconsin Club for Growth
coordinated illegally with GOP candidates during the 2011 and 2012 recall races. […] Last month Peterson — the judge
overseeing the probe — issued a secret order quashing subpoenas against conservative groups supporting Walker, dealing
investigators a setback, sources told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. […] The quashed subpoenas were sent to Walker's
campaign, business lobbying group Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the Wisconsin Club for Growth and Citizens for
a Strong America, according to the Wall Street Journal.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2/10/14]