Saturday, March 19, 2016

Todd Young And Erin Houchin Join Secretive Conclave Of Anti-Trump Billionaires In Palm Beach

It seems that U.S. Rep. Todd Young, who is seeking the Republican nomination to succeed Sen. Dan Coats, and State Sen. Erin Houchin, who is seeking the 9th District Republican nomination to succeed Young, are down in Palm Beach, Florida this weekend attending a conclave of anti-Trump billionaires. According to Politico, the event was organized by New York hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer and Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts, both of whom have contributed heavily to SuperPACs spending heavily on negative advertising in an effort to stop Trump from getting the Republican nomination.

Politico reports that House Speaker Paul Ryan dined with Singer, Ricketts and other heavy-hitting donors at a pricey French restaurant Thursday night at the secret two-day conclave for what is "being viewed as a pivotal moment for the big-money effort to block Trump from the Republican presidential nomination. The donors described as anti-Trump have varying views on Trump going forward, with some supporting Cruz or Kasich, while others have remained open to the possibility of supporting Trump. Singer and Ricketts, however, want Trump stopped by any means possible.

Politico says the secretive event took place in a "tony resort hotel secured by guards wearing gold trident lapel pins." House Speaker Paul Ryan isn't commenting on his role at the event, although he's been especially vocal in espousing anti-Trump rhetoric. Ryan has so far proven to be as unreliable when it comes to pursuing conservative principles as his predecessor, John Boehner, who said after endorsing Kasich in the Ohio primary that he now wants Ryan drafted as the GOP nominee at what these establishment folks hope will be a brokered national convention. Ryan shot down his interest in being drafted as the GOP nominee this year.

Why exactly Young and Houchin were invited to attend the event of all of the candidates running for either the Senate or House this year is unclear. Politico says they were both scheduled to speak to the group of wealthy donors on Friday, along with U.S. Rep. Joe Heck of Nevada. Neither Young nor Houchin would respond to questions asked of them about their appearances at the event. "Sources familiar with the gathering said the politicians likely would stand to benefit from fundraising by members of the American Opportunity Alliance," Political reported. "It is a loose coalition of some of the richest pro-business GOP donors in the country, and it has helped raise money for select Republican candidates who mostly support hawkish foreign policy stances, and sometimes are moderate on social issues."

This seems to suggest to us that Young and Houchin have sold their souls to the elitist billionaires who are determined to plunder this nation for their benefit and to the detriment of the shrinking middle class. Perhaps they're signing on to the Gannett pledge to disavow Trump in an effort to get financial support from these elitist billionaires and at the same time try to weaken support for Trump ahead of Indiana's Republican primary, which may be consequential for one of the first times in many decades. One thing is clear is that none of  these people could give a damn about what is in the best interest of ordinary Hoosiers. Republican voters should be asking Young and Houchin why they're attending secretive meetings in Palm Beach with the nation's wealthiest billionaires while pretending to represent the interests of ordinary Hoosiers.

32 comments:

LamLawIndy said...

Wait, Gary. Maybe Young and Houchins have looked at Trump's policy positions -- support for TARP, recent conversion on the life issue, backing of Kelo-style takings, antagonism toward free trade -- & abhor what they see. After all, not all of us #NeverTrump folks are fighting Trump for some private benefit: many of us disagree deeply with him on the direction of public policy and of the GOP.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Carlos, That doesn't explain why they would travel to a secret meeting of billionaires in Palm Beach, Florida with hat in hand. People need to wake up to the fact that the reason these people go to Congress and vote against the will of their constituents is because they sell their souls before they ever get there. Young and Stutzman both represent Indiana congressional districts currently, but their voting records in Congress are distinctly different on a host of issues that have nothing to do with Trump. I think people in Indiana need to know about their attendance at this secret conclave. The news media in Indiana sure as hell doesn't care to let people know these "minor" details.

Anonymous said...

Carlos is the type of dainty individual that sends his wife once or twice a week to an expensive hairdresser.....Trump probably offends his delicate sensibilities and comfort zone. Good. Folks such as Carlos,et al need to have their world rocked.


It's telling that Young and Houchin-as representatives of the public,and of it's interest-- feel no need to answer to the public for their attendance of such an elite gathering.


This reveals as to whom these whores (Young & Houchin) consider to be their true and genuine constituents.

Anonymous said...


Somewhat off-topic but similar to questions about Young's and Houchin's true motives: If Hoosier Republicans can be flimflammed by political connections-made wealthy attorney David Brooks and his wealthy liberal Republican attorney wife Susan Brooks, that just about says it all for the Hoosier voter intellect.

When you know that fact that Susan Brooks actively supported establishment liberal "R" loser Chris Christie for 2016 POTUS candidate- well... that says exactly who Susan Brooks is and what type of "constituency" she really supports. Susan Brooks also actively supported fake conservative John Boehner and often sided with Boehner against real Conservatives in the Congress.

David Brooks and his wife Susan Brooks- like Young and Houchin- sure do not seem to have Hoosier political values in their hearts at all. I think they more recognize the smell of money than anything else.

Anonymous said...

Maybe, as any Wabash graduate would know, means no more than "maybe not". A candidates's financial supporters are mostly revealed in Indiana (or used to be) by examination of their Campaign Finance Reports. Of the three whores (two mentioned) running for Congress only one can't count to 500 but doesn't need to because he has $3,000,000 plus in his pocket already and those people don't give a hoot about Indiana Law. One might say the same of the Indiana Republican Party which doesn't either but that does not distinguish them in the least from the Democrat Party under Zody, the third whore. If he meant to waste money challenging Young's stupidities in counting why did he then practice his perversion of coitus interruptus and fail to copy and paste Bopp's work and proceed to find an honest judge?
One hopes that the old expression about money talking and bullshit walking won't hold in this election season with Jeb Bush being the exemplar. Money's #2, Rubio, also got blasted out the water...both were carrying the immigration issue for Big Money and let me guess that our two Indiana sunshine boys in Florida pledged to go along with Big Money. Young can't afford to do so, actually, his petticoats are already mud encrusted suggesting that his loss of virtue was consensual. Let's dig up his CFR's and use our "institutional memory" to let Indiana know who thinks they bought a seat?

Anonymous said...

All this "crap" happening recently is EXACTLY why I will be voting for Marlin Stutzman. He has not forgotten who he is, where he comes from OR who we are !!!!!!!

All the anti-Trump movements certainly are pushing my buttons - FOR TRUMP! A real consideration considering my brain aligns me more with Ted Cruz.

Anonymous said...

Anon 8:05, I don't think Carlos Lam went to Wabash...you might be confusing him with Carlos May who I believe did go to Wabash

Flogger said...

The gathering of Republican anti-Trump Billionaires to "Select" an alternate Candidate is a reminder of how the power of money works in elections in AmeriKa.

The same song and dance played in the Democratic Party. Hillary has spent the last seven years since she lost to Obama cultivating the moneyed interests. The Democratic Party Establishment understands perfectly Hillary can deliver the money to those that support her. The Democratic Establishment can count on the low information voters to blindly vote for who they are told to vote for, in this case Hillary.

What is happening to Trump and Sanders is similar to what happens when a country in Latin America, Asia or Africa makes the "wrong" choice in an election. The blue print is there. A coup inevitably follows. Violence isn’t required when the media can stop them or some other maneuver can stop them character assassination, blackmail, distraction, or simply a media black out.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Ted Cruz released his tax returns late last month. It was shocking how much money his wife had been paid by Goldman Sachs after she was hired as an investment manager with zero investment banking experience. It appears she pulled down between a half million and a million dollars annually. Her salary had to explain the $1 million plus annual income they reported on their tax returns. His jobs as a U.S. Senator and Texas' Solicitor General don't pay that well.

Anonymous said...

Unnecessary rude comments about Lamlaw and his wife. When commenters depart from discussions germane to a topic and resort to leveling personal attacks of this kind on others, it erodes the overall credibility and standing of which Gary's blog is deserving. The effort and time Gary puts into writing his blog provides valuable information that is useful to citizens. Local media organizations (not enough) often make use of what is found on AI and follow up with their own reports-but never with the depth Gary provides. So much of what is going on in politics merits our disdain, rage, and public derision. However, as a loyal reader and supporter of AI, I suggest that the many other fans of Gary's work consider how we can help AI maintain and increase its influence within the public realm. Unmerited attacks as the one leveled against the Lams feed AI critics attempts to lump all followers of AI as tin foil hat wearing wackos.

Flogger said...

Goldman-Sachs would be the cash register, Hillary was paid $675,000 for speaking engagements to them. It would appear Goldman-Sachs had determined Cruz and Hillary would be good investments.

Pete Boggs said...

Odd Tongue & Err Houchin are boarding a storm seized Titanic to play a game of musical deck chairs... Ain't they brilliant?

LamLawIndy said...

Uh, no, she doesn't go to the hairdresser multiple times per week. We don't have time for that because we run a small business.

Trump DOES offend my sensibilities, though, inasmuch as a Republican Party who accepts a pro-abortion, Kelo-loving, statist as its candidate can no longer claim to be the party of Ronald Reagan...or a party to which I would want to claim affiliation.

I did not attend Wabash; I went to IU.

Anonymous said...

Young's tv commercials show he's out of step with Hoosiers on many issues.

What did we do to deserve a candidate like him?

Eric Morris said...

Why don't these people just admit the truth? They are shills for Israel, nothing less and nothing more. Screw talk for embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. These people really want the HQ of the United State ('s' left off intentionally) moved to Jerusalem, where the real power is. Houchin for Knesset would be more appropriate than Houchin for Congress. Warmongers wrapping themselves in my Prince of Peace.

https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2016/bills/house/1378

LamLawIndy said...

Well, Gary, I'd hazard a guess: They're there to strategize about how to inoculate/distance themselves from Trump if he becomes the GOP nominee. Perhaps it involves supporting a 3d-party run by a real conservative or billing themselves as a necessary bulwark against an HRC Presidency (only Trump's negatives are higher than HRC's). I don't know what their purpose may be, but I doubt it's to create a 2nd Creature From Jekyll Island.

Pete Boggs said...

The "implausible third party" has been outed as the establishment; ever desirous of dividing, manipulating & alienating a now former base.

Anonymous said...

LamLaw, I don't know you but you might want to look up Ronald Reagan's policy positions from his days in California. He wouldn't have passed your conservative purity test. I remember, even if you don't. The problem people like you face is you simply cannot understand just what a small minority you are. Cruz will be lucky to get to double digits in states like WI, MI, IL and OH. Trump can win them. It's as simple as that.

Anonymous said...

I'm surprised Carlos hasn't advised Houchin and Young to devise an attack upon themselves by an ardent Trump supporter. It wouldn't be the first time the perfumed prince has devised such a plan.

Anonymous said...

Re:Anon 9:58


Even if every comment on this blog were to be of the type one could define as rude and of the tin foil hat variety.....This blog and its comments would still have much more merit than anything written by Abdul Hakim Shabazz.

Although I give some Abdul credit,he's never sent a message advocating one to hire thugs to beat oneself up.

Anonymous said...

Lamlawindy, save your breathe. The posters on here seem to be pretty whacked out. Especially the one who called you dainty etc. I've worked with you and I know that none what he wrote is true and I'll give it to you, a conservative, to try to protect the rest of us from an authoritarian(perhaps fascist) like that phony Thrump

Anonymous said...

Eric Morris - Can you wave your Swastika flag any harder? News for you - your Fuhrer was killed in 1946.

LamLawIndy said...

Anon4:20, read my prior posts: it matters not to me if Trump wins or loses the general election (for the record, he is the only candidate with negatives higher than Hillary and who I believe would be crushed by her & her media allies). If the GOP is taken over by a man who does not respect the sanctity of life, loves entitlement spending, & wants to re-establish the equivalent of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, then -- simply put -- the GOP has no purpose policy-wise. It might as well rename itself the Donald J. Trump fan club. My question to you is: what is winning in November worth if one's public policy ideas are never actually put into practice? Unless one is seeking a job or federal contract from a Trump administration...

Anon4:52, touché! I will say, tho, that the alliterative moniker "Perfumed Prince" is rather creative & ironic given my non-royal background & lack of hair- or skin-care product use. I kinda like it.

Anon5:52, I appreciate the kind words.

LamLawIndy said...

Gary, you've credibly made the case for a Woodward connection to the intelligence community in several postings. Given that, what do you make of Woodward basically arguing that -- even if Trump falls short of a majority of delegates -- he should receive the GOP nomination?

I disagree with Woodward, believing that falling short of a majority of delegates means that the voters have rejected a candidate in this first round of the selection process. I am, however, interested in your take given your research into Woodward's background.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Carlos, I've come to the conclusion that the Republican establishment wants to elect Hillary Clinton president. They threw an unprecedented, large crowd of candidates at us assuming Jeb Bush would be the last surviving candidate. When that failed, they had no Plan B. Rubio and Cruz both had serious issues. Besides Cruz not being a natural born citizen, his wife has pocketed millions of dollars from Goldman Sachs, which means Republicans can't make an issue of Clinton's ties to Goldman Sachs if he's the nominee. Kasich talks like a lite Bush. He says he wants open borders and favors trade policies designed to keep driving down wages in America. He said the other day he would nominate Garland Merrick for the Supreme Court. What's clear is that the establishment wants a Republican candidate who will agree with Hillary on at least 90% of the issues or one that is sure to lose. At this point it doesn't matter whether Trump gets the nomination because the establishment Republicans will make sure Clinton wins just like our own establishment Republicans made sure that Joe Donnelly beat Richard Mourdock.

Anonymous said...

7:41, that's a whole lot of wacko. Conservative Republicans as an umbrella term just doesn't mean much in the real world. The backers of every R candidate call themselves conservative. Can you pick the conservative out of the crowd? Is it McCain? Is it McConnell? Would Ronald Reagan even make the list? You get Trump because people like the man and the personality. Second place is Cruz who may not be popular but is more traditionally conservative. Beyond that you're just splitting hairs. Conservative Republican just doesn't mean anything substantive. Can't wait to see the party platform. That sounds like something half the party is going to run from. Face it, Republicans have spent their way to ruin and can't claim the mantle of fiscal conservative any longer, so the rest is all just anti-democrat, and then we all come together on the defense budget. Why don't you just give your conspiracy theories a rest and see who has a majority of delegates going into the convention. That person represents the party now. The rest of your silly old Rhino arguments are so tired and vague. Herding all the different factions under one tent is like herding cats. And McConnell as a leader; you really want to salute that guy?

Eric Morris said...

Anon 9:58 PM: Good to know that the only comeback you have is calling me a NAZI. Does the USG bend over backward to financially and militarily support Israel? Does Israel spy on the US? Did Israel shoot up the US spy ship USS Liberty? Did Osama bin Laden list as one of his reasons for killing Americans being USG support for Israel over Palestine? Is every prez candidate, except the best on foreign policy and ironically Jewish, bend over backwards to speak to AIPAC?

Does asking these questions make me a NAZI? BTW, I think Hitler killed himself in 1945.

Gary is right; the neocon cabal that controls this country wants Hillary because despite Trump's many flaws he is somewhat less bellicose and more even handed regarding Israel than the rest, including Clinton.

My intellectual and moral heroes are two Jews, Ludwig von Mises, who escaped the NAZIs, and Murray Rothbard. I guess that also makes me a NAZI, in your Orwellian Dystopia. Also, be humane and use your name. I do.

Anonymous said...

Going back and forth with this argument, when is the last time the State of Indiana sent a NON-Lawyer to Washington as a Senator, Sorry Gary, it seems the Lawyers of America is running the Country, I'm not an attorney, is the anti-Trump a product of not being an attorney? upsetting the apple cart?

Anonymous said...

And who had an opportunity to do something about this? Someone "told you so", Gary.

LamLawIndy said...

Anon8:12, I disagree. I'd say that a conservative party in the US should -- at a minimum:
1) Support the right of states to restrict or ban (or not) the intentional killing of other humans (including the unborn)
2) Propose the gradual (my preference would be immediate, but I'm dealing in MINIMUMS here) dismantling of SS, Medicare, etc. by allowing young people to opt out
3) Push for a federal balanced budget amendment

My dream "bonuses" would be:
* Scale back federal law enforcement to crimes that are malum in se (i.e. interstate theft, fraud, human trafficking) & allow states to deal with malum prohibitum "crimes" like drug possession, etc.
* Allow troops to be deployed overseas ONLY after a formal congressional declaration of war
* Elimination of legal tender laws

And, yeah, I know...some of these ideas aren't "conservative" in the sense that they would shatter the "well-settled expectations" of many Americans, such as those dependent on SS, Medicare, the War on Drugs, etc. Well, we either apply shock therapy now because of the $18 trillion in debt plus trillions more in unfunded liabilities that we have or receive shock therapy later in the form of a urrency crisis. I'd rather take the Red Pill now.

Sir Hailstone said...

"Propose the gradual (my preference would be immediate, but I'm dealing in MINIMUMS here) dismantling of SS, Medicare, etc. by allowing young people to opt out"

That ain't happening. We're already short the number of millenials needed to prop up the ponzi scheme that's currently paying the baby boomers (my parents - who are collecting social security now) and soon to come in about 20 years Generation X'ers (me!). On top of that, these early millenials now coming out of the higher education scheme with more student debt than a mortgage payment are not having children until later, because they are up to the rafters in debt.

LamLawIndy said...

Sir Hailstone, as a fellow X-er -- believe me -- I know! My point is that I'd rather take the shock therapy of slashed entitlements now rather than force my Homeland Generation sons to shoulder that burden.