Attacks by President Barack Obama on Americans for Prosperity for its promotion of limited government and free markets are a signal that these principles are resonating with Americans.
Now AFP has formulated a video response to the president.
While some characterize the president’s remarks as a personal insult to each of AFP’s 1.2 million citizen members, I see it as evidence that AFP has grown to become “America’s leading conservative grassroots organization,” as described in a recent article penned by Richard Viguerie. Obama wouldn’t even bother to mention the name Americans for Prosperity if he wasn’t concerned about the group’s effectiveness.
In his remarks, the president attacked AFP for spending millions on television advertisements against Democratic Party candidates. The president didn’t note that every dollar given to AFP is a voluntary contribution.
This is in contrast to the way the Democrats operate. The Wall Street Journal has noted, for example, that the recent spending bill passed earlier this month is a boon for Democrat campaign funds: “The National Education Association and other unions will thus get as much as $100 million in additional dues from this bill, much of which will flow immediately to endangered Democratic candidates in competitive House and Senate races this year.”
This week AFP is holding its annual Defending the American Dream Summit in Washington. I’ll be there along with probably two thousand other citizen activists from across the country.