In a warning shot to outside conservative groups, the National Republican Senatorial Committee this week informed a prominent Republican advertising firm that it would not receive any contracts with the campaign committee because of its work with a group that targets incumbent Senate Republicans.
Even more striking, a senior official at the committee called individual Republican Senate campaigns and other party organizations this week and urged them not to hire the firm, Jamestown Associates, in an effort to punish them for working for the Senate Conservatives Fund, a group founded by Jim DeMint, then a South Carolina senator, that is trying to unseat Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, and some other incumbents up for re-election next year whom it finds insufficiently conservative.
âWeâre not going to do business with people who profit off of attacking Republicans,â said Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for the committee. âPurity for profit is a disease that threatens the Republican Party.â
The committee has conveyed the same message, privately, to 2014 Senate candidates such as Representatives Steve Daines of Montana and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee (the senatorial committeeâs House counterpart), the Republican Governors Association and Mike DuHaime, the chief strategist for Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, for whom Jamestown also does work.
Jamestown declined to respond to the attempt to curtail their business, deferring to the Senate Conservatives Fund, which criticized Mr. McConnell.
âThis is happening because Mitch McConnell is having a complete meltdown,â said Matt Hoskins, executive director of the conservative group. âHe canât defend his record so heâs threatening and attacking everyone who disagrees with him. Heâs so rattled, he has decided to declare war on the entire conservative movement, which represents the very people he needs to win re-election. This isnât the behavior of a confident person. Itâs the irrational reaction of a power-hungry bully who isnât getting his way.â
The National Republican Senatorial Committeeâs power play is part of a larger effort among establishment Republicans after the recent government shutdown to seize control of the party from insurgent forces who want to push Republicans toward a more hard-line posture and aggressive brand of conservatism.
Mr. McConnellâs allies in Washingtonâs lobbying community have been furious for weeks that Jamestown, which also does work for groups like the Republican Jewish Coalition, was on retainer with the Senate Conservatives Fund.
One prominent Republican lobbyist even printed out the records of a Louisville television station detailing the run times of every ad devised by Jamestown for the conservative groupâs campaign against Mr. McConnell and gave it to a reporter.
âThese are not the kind of people we would ever do business with,â said Scott Reed, senior political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
In the wake of the shutdown, Mr. McConnell and his top aides are also becoming more outspoken about wanting to effectively destroy the Senate Conservatives Fund. The senator has told donors that he and other party leaders will take a much more aggressive approach in confronting such conservative groups.
And on Friday, one of Mr. McConnellâs closest aides offered a vivid metaphor about the leaderâs determination.
âS.C.F. has been wandering around the country destroying the Republican Party like a drunk who tears up every bar they walk into,â said Josh Holmes, Mr. McConnellâs chief of staff, now detailed to the National Republican Senatorial Committee through the election. âThe difference this cycle is that they strolled into Mitch McConnellâs bar and he doesnât throw you out, he locks the door.â