Conservative Group Takes Sides in Michigan G.O.P. Primary

The country’s biggest conservative political organization announced Wednesday that it was diving into a bitter Republican primary in Michigan, its first such intervention into the broader battle between GOP-leaning business groups and Tea Party conservatives.

The group, Americans for Prosperity, will spend about $230,000 on advertisements thanking Representative Justin Amash, for fighting against President Obama’s signature health care law, officials there said â€" a shot across the bow of establishment donors who are rallying behind his challenger, Brian Ellis.

The ads do not attack Mr. Ellis, and officials at Americans for Prosperity said the commercial should not be construed as an endorsement of Mr. Amash. But the decision to get into a hotly contested primary on behalf of one of the most aggressive lawmakers hints at the delicate line the group is trying to walk: to maintain its credibility with other conservatives seeking to reshape the Republican Party without committing itself to an expensive internecine struggle that could endanger its chances of retaking the Senate this year.

“Congressman Amash has been a rock-solid vote for free-market issues in the House, and has been a leader on efforts to stop Obamacare,” said Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity. “A.F.P. is well known for holding members accountable when they vote the wrong way; we think it’s also important to thank those who do the right thing and stand up against big-government laws like Obamacare that are hurting so many American families.”

Americans for Prosperity, co-founded by the billionaire David Koch, has spent about $27 million in recent months, most of it attacking Democratic candidates for the Senate over health care. In the process, the group has become the Republican leadership’s most critical ally in the battle to win control of the Senate. And unlike other conservative groups that have criticized the party establishment, like the Senate Conservatives Fund or the Club for Growth, Americans for Prosperity has so far steered clear of contentious Republican primaries in states like Kentucky and Texas.

But in backing Mr. Amash, the group is siding with an outspoken lawmaker who has repeatedly clashed with his own leadership in the House of Representatives. Mr. Amash, whose libertarian politics are often compared to those of former Representative Ron Paul of Texas, has pushed to strip financing for the National Security Agency’s data-mining efforts and restrict the use of drones. He has voted against the most austere budget proposals, arguing that they do not go far enough to restrain government, and last year he voted against a spending bill negotiated by Republican leaders that ended the two-week government shutdown.

In November, a number of prominent donors from Michigan’s business community announced that they would be supporting Mr. Ellis, citing Mr. Amash’s tactics on the shutdown among other issues. Mr. Amash has also drawn criticism from Karl Rove, the Republican strategist.

But Mr. Amash also has prominent allies. Chief among them are member of the DeVos family, Michigan’s most influential Republican donors, who have given generously to Mr. Amash’s congressional campaigns as well as to Americans for Prosperity.

Mr. Amash is also being backed by other right-leaning groups. FreedomWorks has endorsed Mr. Amash through its political action committee and pledged to match money spent by business-oriented groups on behalf of Mr. Ellis. Last month, the Club for Growth began running ads attacking Mr. Ellis as a “big-taxing, big-spending, corporate-welfare-loving politician.”

Pro-Clinton ‘Super PAC’ Sets Event for Donors

The leading Democratic “super PAC” will hold a briefing for potential donors this month, its first such event since reorganizing in January as a vehicle to help elect Hillary Rodham Clinton as president.

The group, Priorities USA Action, is inviting some of the Democratic Party’s top New York City-area donors to an event billed as “an evening reception to discuss the upcoming 2014 and 2016 elections.”

Jennifer Granholm, the former Michigan governor, who joined Priorities USA as co-chairman in January, will headline the event, along with two other officials from the group: the executive director, Buffy Wicks, a former aide to President Obama; and Jonathan Mantz, a lobbyist and Democratic fund-raiser.

Michael W. Kempner, a New Jersey public relations executive who was among Mr. Obama’s leading fund-raisers in 2012, will host the event, according to an invitation obtained by The New York Times.

The event will formally kick off the group’s fund-raising outreach for an election that is still more than two and half years away, in aid of a candidate who has not yet declared she will run. And in a nod to fears that the early start by Priorities could drain money from super PACs seeking to aid Democrats in Congress this year, attendees are not being asked to write checks â€" yet.

Priorities began reaching out to potential donors last month when it announced a new board of directors led by Jim Messina, a Democratic consultant who was Mr. Obama’s campaign manager.

Conservative Group Takes Sides in Michigan G.O.P. Primary

The country’s biggest conservative political organization announced Wednesday that it was diving into a bitter Republican primary in Michigan, its first such intervention into the broader battle between GOP-leaning business groups and Tea Party conservatives.

The group, Americans for Prosperity, will spend about $230,000 on advertisements thanking Representative Justin Amash, for fighting against President Obama’s signature health care law, officials there said â€" a shot across the bow of establishment donors who are rallying behind his challenger, Brian Ellis.

The ads do not attack Mr. Ellis, and officials at Americans for Prosperity said the commercial should not be construed as an endorsement of Mr. Amash. But the decision to get into a hotly contested primary on behalf of one of the most aggressive lawmakers hints at the delicate line the group is trying to walk: to maintain its credibility with other conservatives seeking to reshape the Republican Party without committing itself to an expensive internecine struggle that could endanger its chances of retaking the Senate this year.

“Congressman Amash has been a rock-solid vote for free-market issues in the House, and has been a leader on efforts to stop Obamacare,” said Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity. “A.F.P. is well known for holding members accountable when they vote the wrong way; we think it’s also important to thank those who do the right thing and stand up against big-government laws like Obamacare that are hurting so many American families.”

Americans for Prosperity, co-founded by the billionaire David Koch, has spent about $27 million in recent months, most of it attacking Democratic candidates for the Senate over health care. In the process, the group has become the Republican leadership’s most critical ally in the battle to win control of the Senate. And unlike other conservative groups that have criticized the party establishment, like the Senate Conservatives Fund or the Club for Growth, Americans for Prosperity has so far steered clear of contentious Republican primaries in states like Kentucky and Texas.

But in backing Mr. Amash, the group is siding with an outspoken lawmaker who has repeatedly clashed with his own leadership in the House of Representatives. Mr. Amash, whose libertarian politics are often compared to those of former Representative Ron Paul of Texas, has pushed to strip financing for the National Security Agency’s data-mining efforts and restrict the use of drones. He has voted against the most austere budget proposals, arguing that they do not go far enough to restrain government, and last year he voted against a spending bill negotiated by Republican leaders that ended the two-week government shutdown.

In November, a number of prominent donors from Michigan’s business community announced that they would be supporting Mr. Ellis, citing Mr. Amash’s tactics on the shutdown among other issues. Mr. Amash has also drawn criticism from Karl Rove, the Republican strategist.

But Mr. Amash also has prominent allies. Chief among them are member of the DeVos family, Michigan’s most influential Republican donors, who have given generously to Mr. Amash’s congressional campaigns as well as to Americans for Prosperity.

Mr. Amash is also being backed by other right-leaning groups. FreedomWorks has endorsed Mr. Amash through its political action committee and pledged to match money spent by business-oriented groups on behalf of Mr. Ellis. Last month, the Club for Growth began running ads attacking Mr. Ellis as a “big-taxing, big-spending, corporate-welfare-loving politician.”

Pro-Clinton ‘Super PAC’ Sets Event for Donors

The leading Democratic “super PAC” will hold a briefing for potential donors this month, its first such event since reorganizing in January as a vehicle to help elect Hillary Rodham Clinton as president.

The group, Priorities USA Action, is inviting some of the Democratic Party’s top New York City-area donors to an event billed as “an evening reception to discuss the upcoming 2014 and 2016 elections.”

Jennifer Granholm, the former Michigan governor, who joined Priorities USA as co-chairman in January, will headline the event, along with two other officials from the group: the executive director, Buffy Wicks, a former aide to President Obama; and Jonathan Mantz, a lobbyist and Democratic fund-raiser.

Michael W. Kempner, a New Jersey public relations executive who was among Mr. Obama’s leading fund-raisers in 2012, will host the event, according to an invitation obtained by The New York Times.

The event will formally kick off the group’s fund-raising outreach for an election that is still more than two and half years away, in aid of a candidate who has not yet declared she will run. And in a nod to fears that the early start by Priorities could drain money from super PACs seeking to aid Democrats in Congress this year, attendees are not being asked to write checks â€" yet.

Priorities began reaching out to potential donors last month when it announced a new board of directors led by Jim Messina, a Democratic consultant who was Mr. Obama’s campaign manager.

Hastings Joins Roster of Retiring House Members

Representative Doc Hastings, a Republican who has represented Washington State for 20 years and who is chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, announced Thursday that he would retire at the end of the year, joining a growing number of veterans heading for the congressional exits.

Mr. Hastings’s conservative district in central Washington is not expected to be a battleground in the fight for control of the House, but his departure accelerates the brain drain on Capitol Hill. Other Republicans who have announced their departures, or have already left, include Representative Howard “Buck” McKeon of California, chairman of the Armed Services Committee; Representative Jo Bonner of Alabama, chairman of the Ethics Committee; Representatives Frank R. Wolf of Virginia and Tom Latham of Iowa, senior leaders of the Appropriations Committee; and Representative Jim Gerlach of Pennsylvania, a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee.

“Last Friday, I celebrated my 73rd birthday, and while I have the ability and seniority to continue serving central Washington, it is time for the voters to choose a new person with new energy to represent them in the people’s House,” Mr. Hastings said in a statement.

The rash of retirements in both parties reflects disillusion with the dysfunction in Washington, growing partisanship and the flow of outside money into congressional races that has eroded lawmakers’ independence. The retirements have slightly expanded the playing field for the midterm elections, and in some cases have all but assured that control of a district will switch parties. Republicans are virtually assured seats held by Democrats in Utah and North Carolina. Democrats are likely to pick up the seat of Representative Gary G. Miller, Republican of California.

Mr. Hastings â€" like Representatives Henry A. Waxman and George Miller, both Democrats of California who are leaving Congress â€" is a legislative veteran who has increasingly been stymied in efforts to work across party lines.

Clintons Introduce New Women’s Global Initiative

It’s been almost 20 years since Hillary Rodham Clinton solidified her feminist credentials and declared, wearing a pale pink suit in Beijing, “Women’s rights are human rights and human rights are women’s rights.”

Now, as Mrs. Clinton contemplates another run for the presidency, that 1995 speech and her work on women have become central to her post-State Department life. On Thursday, Chelsea Clinton moderated a discussion on women and girls with Mrs. Clinton and Melinda Gates at New York University.

The event introduced a new partnership between the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and the Gates Foundation that will track the development of women globally from 1995 until today using data from a variety of sources including the World Bank and Google.

Mrs. Clinton called the event on women in Beijing “historic and transformational” and said the issue has been “one of the great causes of my life.”

She said she noticed the lack of comprehensive data to track development of women and girls while she was at the State Department, where she tried to apply a feminist approach to development. “I wanted to make that part of our foreign policy and I ran into that same problem all these years later,” Mrs. Clinton said.

The program, “No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project,” is the latest collaboration between the Gates and Clinton Foundations, and will be one of the central initiatives in Mrs. Clinton’s philanthropic work.

“It was rooted in what was accomplished in Beijing in 1995, before some of you were born, but not all of you,” Mrs. Clinton told the crowd of more than 500 N.Y.U. students.

As Mrs. Clinton completes a memoir about her tenure at the State Department, her legacy has been closely examined. Part of the challenge for Mrs. Clinton and her team will be to communicate that her focus on women’s rights has deeper diplomatic, geopolitical and national security implications, and is not a politically safe or soft issue as some critics have alleged.

Despite the poor weather, which caused cancellations throughout Washington and up the East Coast, Mrs. Clinton stayed on schedule. Mrs. Gates said she and her husband were “data geeks” and the event was peppered with a mix of wonky data and warm, mother-daughter moments â€" the kind that some pundits have said could bolster Mrs. Clinton’s image and presidential prospects.

The panel took questions from the crowd and Mrs. Clinton delivered some advice to the young women in the audience. “Learn how to take criticism seriously, but not personally,” she said.