Powerful GOP group backs Boehner plan

The big-spending conservative group Crossroads GPS said Wednesday that it supports House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) plan regarding the debt limit, and said it would support those lawmakers who vote for the plan.

Amid battles on the right over the Boehner plan — conservatives complain it doesn’t go far enough — Crossroads threw its considerable political heft behind the plan.

Steven Law, president and CEO of Crossroads GPS, said that even though more spending cuts were necessary, the Boehner plan was the best plan available to cut spending, avoid tax increases and allow for an increase in the debt ceiling.

“Kudos to Speaker Boehner for showing President Obama what leadership is really about,” Law said in a statement. “President Obama may be willing to risk Armageddon to get tax hikes, but Republicans need to be the voice of reason and responsibility.”

Crossroads GPS has the ability to spend and receive virtually unlimited amounts in contributions. In turn, it’s able to spend millions of unrestricted dollars on helping to elect Republicans. Its sister group, American Crossroads, is a more formal political action committee. Karl Rove, the GOP political guru, helped found the groups and serves as their unpaid consultant.

The groups’ ability to shape congressional races gives its endorsement of the Boehner plan more weight. While a number of conservative groups and personalities have come out in opposition to the Speaker’s proposal, few have the kind of financial resources to back up their stance.

GPS’s endorsement provides Boehner’s plan with a significant boon ahead of a closely watched vote expected for Thursday in the House. The Speaker’s team has been working hard to line up support from conservative groups and influential pundits on the right, in tandem with an aggressive whip operation.

“It’s our job to change who’s running the White House and Senate to achieve the spending reforms that will get our country back on track,” Law said. “While President Obama refuses to produce a plan or even a draft of one, the U.S. House is ready to pass one with real reforms.”

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