A political nonprofit that invested $25 million to promote tax reform and is closely aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., made key changes to its strategy after the embarrassing collapse of legislation to repeal Obamacare.
American Action Network was the biggest outside spender on behalf of the historic, $1.5 trillion tax overhaul that cleared Congress on Wednesday and advanced to President Trump’s desk. But perhaps as important as AAN’s financial stake were tactical lessons learned from the GOP’s healthcare failure that guided their efforts on informally named Tax Cuts and Jobs act.
“In reflecting on healthcare and what we could do better — we being an outside conservative group — we had to figure out a way to help groups work together, not against one another,” Corry Bliss, who runs AAN, told the Washington Examiner. “And we started earlier to the lay groundwork.”
He determined that Republicans’ relatively late start in pushing legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act was among the reasons President Barack Obama’s signature law still stands, albeit minus the mandate to purchase health insurance that was eliminated in the tax bill, despite AAN’s $15 million healthcare push.
The group, bolstered by another cash infusion generated by its affiliation with Ryan, began Aug. 1 to make the case for what became the GOP tax reform bill — so early, there’s wasn’t even much of an outline of a tax package. The goal was to lay a foundation for Republicans in Congress to take the tough votes that would be required to pass the first tax overhaul in 31 years.
This included running 25 unique advertising campaigns in 60 House districts, in English and Spanish, via television, radio, digital platforms, robo-calls and mobile billboards. The organization produced newspaper op-eds, conducted focus groups and commissioned polls to fine-tune its approach. AAN said its digital ads were viewed more than 24 million times by nearly 14.5 million people, making close to 52 million impressions.
All sectors of the party coordinated seamlessly, Bliss emphasized — Republicans in Congress, the White House, and other conservative groups — a process he saw unfold in the weekly strategy sessions AAN hosted at its downtown Washington headquarters, that were well attended and usually included a VIP, among them the speaker and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
That was not the case during a haphazard health care effort that was brought down by Republican infighting. The White House, Congress, and influential conservative groups were never able to get on the same page. Ironically, said Rep. Peter Roskam, who helped write the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from his perch on the House Ways and Means Committee, the healthcare failure bred conditions for intraparty compromise on tax.
“People were really sobered by the healthcare experience and realizing that this could be a majority that doesn’t deliver and when that reality struck people they realized that their disposition had to be different,” the Illinois Republican said. “Instead of looking at the reasons not to support something, they were looking at all the reasons to support something.”
The Republicans next project is selling the bill. They face an uphill climb.
Most polls show the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act broadly unpopular. Indeed, core Republican voters in upscale suburbs worry that changes to the tax code that impact individuals and families will raise their taxes. Specifically, these voters don’t like new limits on the amount of state and local taxes they can deduct from their federal returns.
Bliss said AAN is committed to this next step, one he said is necessary even as Republicans insist that voters will come around once they experience tax reform for themselves. The group has budgeted a minimum of $10 million to fund a campaign to convince voters that tax reform will benefit their bottom line. Republicans concede voters are unlikely to embrace the bill without a concerted sales job.
The stock market is booming, unemployment is 4.1 percent, and confidence in the national economy is the highest it’s been in years. Yet, Trump’s approval ratings remain dismally low, and the generic ballot for Congress shows that voters would prefer Democrats in charge by a double-digit margin.
With tax reform possibly serving as their only major legislative achievement before the midterm elections, Republicans have their work cut out for them. Ryan’s promise to his colleagues on Tuesday that rumors of his plans to retire early, after tax reform passes, were untrue should be reassuring. His reputation in Republican donor circles, fundraising prowess will ensure that the party, and groups like AAN, can finance tens of millions of dollars in advertising.
“We as a party have to focus on selling this plan,” Bliss said. “Most Americans are going to be getting a tax cut. Don’t take our word for it; look at your paycheck. That’s the responsibility we have as a party, and AAN will play a role.”
