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‘Stop Hillary’ group ramps up anti-Clinton efforts
By Peter Hamby, July 22, 2013
Hillary Clinton may or may not run for president in 2016, but the conservative effort to derail her potential candidacy is already underway.
The organizers behind Stop Hillary PAC, a political action committee quietly incorporated in May, are stepping into public view this week as they ramp up their efforts to harangue Clinton as she mulls over her political future.
On Monday, the PAC is announcing its leadership team, steered by Ted Harvey, a conservative Colorado state senator who was a vocal opponent of the recent gun control laws passed in the state.
Also coming on board are Garrett Marquis, a media strategist and alumnus of John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign; Alex Shively, a former aide to Georgia Rep. Tom Price; Jacob Leis, a Colorado-based political strategist; and Dan Backer, a Washington attorney and lobbyist.
Those aren’t the most prominent names in Republican politics, but according to Marquis, that’s just fine. The PAC and its messaging are designed to appeal to grassroots conservatives and low dollar contributors, not traditional big donors.
Put another way, the group wants to be a boisterous party-crasher as the 2016 campaign gets underway, ginning up controversy and online contributions with barbed attacks against Clinton. To start, the PAC is releasing a video later this week “that will get a lot of attention,” Marquis promised.
The organization’s plans to “Stop Hillary” are admittedly scattershot in these early stages of the race. Their portfolio could include “bracketing” events at Clinton appearances around the country, or local TV and radio ads, or social media efforts. If Clinton does decide to run for office, the PAC will be in Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina waiting for her.
The point, Marquis said, is “to make noise” wherever Clinton goes.
“We’re supporting anything that is the opposite of Hillary,” he said. “We will play however needed, wherever Hillary is playing. If she endorses in the Virginia governor’s race, we will go there. Assuming she is active in Iowa, we will be there, too, and we will make some considerable noise.”
The group is separate from “Stop Hillary 2016,” a project initiated last month by America Rising, a new opposition research outfit helmed by former Mitt Romney campaign manager Matt Rhoades and a pair of former Republican National Committee officials.
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