Bozell Threatens to Steer Donors Away From GOP If They Vote for Tax Hikes

Brent Bozell, a veteran conservative advocate and fundraiser, says that if Republican legislators agree to a budget deal that raises taxes he will urge donors to refrain from giving to offending Republican congressmen and the party.

Bozell founded Media Research Center, a watchdog group which has an annual budget of more than $10 million. He’s chairman of the advocacy group ForAmerica and says he has generated hundreds of millions of dollars for “an alphabet soup of conservative causes,” The Hill reports.

Bozell sent a letter to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus Wednesday outlining his views.

“Reince, it pains me to say this, but if the Republican Party breaks its word to the American people and goes along with President Obama with tax increases, it will have betrayed conservatives for the final time,” he wrote.

“I will make it my mission to ensure that every conservative donor to the Republican Party that I have worked with for the last three decades — there are many, and they have given tens of millions to Republican causes — gives not one penny more to the Republican Party or any member of Congress that votes for tax increases.”

In recent days, Republicans in Congress have expressed more willingness to compromise with Democrats on taxes. For example, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., has urged his fellow Republican House members to support for now President Barack Obama’s plan to leave taxes unchanged for all but the wealthy and then revisit the issue next year, Politico reports.