July 22nd, 2013
06:00 AM ET
10 years ago

‘Stop Hillary’ group ramps up anti-Clinton efforts

Washington (CNN) - Hillary Clinton may or may not run for president in 2016, but the conservative effort to derail her potential candidacy is already underway.

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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.

Former top Obama campaign aides to advise Clinton effort

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.”

Clinton opponents plan donor meeting in New York

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.


Filed under: 2016 • Hillary Clinton
soundoff (639 Responses)
  1. Kevin B

    Straw man argument alert! This is classic left behaviour.....Before she even decided to run, the media run a bunch of THE GOP HATES HILLARY stories, cherry picking some obscure group that will have absolutely no impact on the election. Wake up people, and CNN, stop this practice now. It's beneath you, and not real journalism.

    July 22, 2013 10:34 pm at 10:34 pm |
  2. Jeb Bush

    If Republicans were as good at governing as they are at spreading hatred and fear, they'd have someone in the White House.

    July 22, 2013 10:50 pm at 10:50 pm |
  3. JFKman

    Good luck with that, Republiclowns! She's !0 x stronger than any other candidate in existence, in either party.

    July 22, 2013 10:50 pm at 10:50 pm |
  4. Biff Omney

    It might help if you find somebody who can beat her in the election.

    July 22, 2013 10:56 pm at 10:56 pm |
  5. twalk

    well if the right are rallying against her then you know she is right for the country. The right is scared of a smart, outspoken woman like Hillary.

    July 22, 2013 11:05 pm at 11:05 pm |
  6. stormbrew2

    Gee an all male GOP group formed to hate on women, what else is new. GOP, they marginalize themselves, watch them hate themselves into oblivion. Also, since the GOP is against the Dept of Ed, its easy to see why their supporters can't spell or even write a coherent sentence, but come on, if you are going to take on Hillary, you gotta get it together...right!

    July 22, 2013 11:13 pm at 11:13 pm |
  7. Melissa

    The GOP are going to destroy this country.

    July 22, 2013 11:19 pm at 11:19 pm |
  8. pjoe

    All you have to do is play the "What possible difference does it make" clip over and over.

    Hillary is the queen of false-choices ... it's time for her to retire.

    July 22, 2013 11:24 pm at 11:24 pm |
  9. BADGUY

    Sad....The Republican Party's ONLY "future".... is on museum shelves...next to the stuffed, Dodo birds.

    July 22, 2013 11:40 pm at 11:40 pm |
  10. lannistercurator

    If Hillary said "Don't eat the yellow snow", there would be a 5-part special on fox news about how yellow snow is actually good for you.

    That sums up the current republican party.

    July 22, 2013 11:46 pm at 11:46 pm |
  11. john

    If the regressive right had really cared for the American People and done what is right instead of always what is wrong, They wouldn't be paranoid and sweating now. And they continue to do America wrong. They just seem incapable of getting it. They are so focused on how everything they do or say is right, that they don't see how awful their policies are. They are the major problem we now face. Blind, that's what they are. completely in lala land.

    July 23, 2013 12:05 am at 12:05 am |
  12. Anonymous

    Let's blame the state of the nation, on the Republicans. If this is the case, are you telling me that a liberal can't get a grasp of the Presidency, with TWO terms in office ?

    July 23, 2013 12:08 am at 12:08 am |
  13. J G

    Good.. The way she lied and covered up the Benghazi thing is exactly how she would run this country... following on Obama's 8 years of lies and race-baiting, this country would break apart at the seams.

    July 23, 2013 12:23 am at 12:23 am |
  14. J G

    I would like to thank this PAC for doing our country a favor.

    July 23, 2013 12:24 am at 12:24 am |
  15. David

    This anti-Hillary campaign by the right-wingers seems strange. Wouldn't most other Democrat nominees be more liberal than Hillary?

    July 23, 2013 12:36 am at 12:36 am |
  16. TruthandConsequence

    Hillary's road to high office is on the tails of her husband's coat. No Governor, no President, no First Lady. No First Lady, no Senator. No Senator, no Presidential candidate. Her senatorship was a sinecure for an empty seat in a state which she only moved to for the purpose of winning a Senatorship. Her performance in elective and appointive office is open season...just as any candidate becomes a target.

    July 23, 2013 12:51 am at 12:51 am |
  17. Michael

    Gotta love those arrogant GOPers with their "low information voters" comments... some time ago, a poll showed that people who watch Fox News know less than people who watch no news at all, and such GOPers are a good example of that. When they say "low information," they really mean that you aren't brainwashed enough by their propaganda.

    Anyway, it's hilarious how terrified they are of Hillary. If they actually had a viable candidate, they'd have no reason to wet their pants with the election still so far away. But that's just it, they don't have a candidate and they know they won't be able to find one in time, so they have no chances. All they can do is to sling mud at this point and hope that something sticks.

    July 23, 2013 01:01 am at 1:01 am |
  18. 3gghead

    Hey, all you miserable, hateful neocon republithugs: KEEP IT UP. Just keep on doing what you've been doing. Hillary WILL be President in 2016 AND in 2020. For every pathetic smear ad I see about Hillary, I'm going to donate $10 to the DNC and then directly to her PAC when it gets started. The GOP is FINISHED.

    July 23, 2013 01:08 am at 1:08 am |
  19. Stick to issues

    I have nothing against Hillary except her incompetence. Our foreign policy is in shambles and her disregard for anything or anyone who gets in her way is showcased with the handling of Benghazi. Enough said.

    July 23, 2013 01:38 am at 1:38 am |
  20. just wondering

    Funny watching a party beat itself ,,,, kind of Amusing.... go you fools go

    July 23, 2013 01:38 am at 1:38 am |
  21. Behjat

    She hasn't announced that she is going to run for the office, and these people have already started their negative campaigning and name calling. Go Hilary.

    July 23, 2013 01:42 am at 1:42 am |
  22. just wondering

    The Republican Party uses Racism, Bigotry, and Hate as their main political line... Keep it up boys....
    You're just digging your own graves.....

    July 23, 2013 01:42 am at 1:42 am |
  23. Tracy

    “We’re supporting anything that is the opposite of Hillary,”....that right there is the state of politics today.

    July 23, 2013 01:55 am at 1:55 am |
  24. MB

    I wish that we could get rid of all of the Super Pacs

    July 23, 2013 02:05 am at 2:05 am |
  25. Obamanation to Hillaggeddon

    After seeing the devastation to the rights and pockets of the citizens that Obama has pushed so hard for, its no wonder that there are people that feel this one needs to be nipped early.

    July 23, 2013 02:16 am at 2:16 am |
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