Online attacks on Republicans which appear to be the work of Democratic troublemakers are in reality being fired off by conservative political action committees hoping to oust politicians they consider the GOP mainstream,
The New York Times reports.
And it's paying off for the groups, which solicit small donations.
Larry Ward, founder of the Constitutional Rights PAC, which hopes to torpedo Rep. Paul Ryan's chance to become House Speaker, told the newspaper:
"Politics is supposed to be bloody. It is supposed to be a battle of will. And the one who can get the American people siding with them is the one who wins."
The Times cites incendiary petitions that have shown up on the Web with names like "Fire Paul Ryan," "Dump McConnell," "Boot Boehner," and "Drop a Truth-Bomb on Kevin McCarthy."
Ward's group, in its anti-Ryan rant, shouted: "Conservatives forced John Boehner to resign, Kevin McCarthy to forsake his run for speaker, and we have got to stop the establishment's latest pick: Paul Ryan."
But, as The Times reports, Constitutional Rights PAC, and other such groups like the Tea Party Leadership Fund, the Madison Project and the Tea Party Patriots also use their attacks — paid for through donations — as a tool to make money.
"This is clearly an organized effort and an attempt by these groups to raise money for themselves," said Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, told the newspaper. "They hurt our party, they hurt our Congress and they hurt our country."