Former House Republican Leader Richard “Dick” Armey (R-TX) confirmed Monday that he has left his position as chairman of FreedomWorks in what appears to be an acrimonious break from the right-wing group he has lead for nearly a decade. Mother Jones reports he told the Tea Party-linked astroturfing group, in a letter, “I expect that Freedom Works shall remove my name, image, and signature from all its letters, print media, postings, web sites, videos, testimonials, endorsements, fund raising materials, and social media, including but not limited to Facebook and Twitter.” An AP report Tuesday noted that Armey will receive $8 million in severance pay, over 20 years, from a wealthy board member.

Armey, who left Congress in 2003 and became a corporate lobbyist. He also joined the Koch-backed Citizens for a Sound Economy. In 2004, the group split into two: Armey’s FreedomWorks and David Koch’s Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Armey served as chairman of FreedomWorks from 2004 to November 30, 2012, receiving a $500,000 annual salary from the group and its affiliates.

While Armey and FreedomWorks have received a great deal of credit of incubating the Tea Party movement, Armey’s tenure was largely defined by a series of failures:

1. Despite spending millions on independent expenditures, the group failed to elect almost any of its favored candidates in 2012. FreedomWorks and its related entities spent at least $19 million on the 2012 elections. They spent at least $500,000 per race to defeat Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Rep.-Elect Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), Sen.-Elect Tim Kaine (D-VA), and President Obama. All won. They spent more than $2.5 million in Indiana’s Senate race to replace conservative Republican Sen. Dick Lugar with an even more conservative Republican; while their favored candidate won the primary, he was defeated by Democrat Joe Donnelly by more than 5 points in the general. And a nearly $1 million effort to defeat not-conservative-enough Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch in Utah also proved a huge disappointment: Hatch won his primary with two-thirds of the vote. Among the group’s beefs with Hatch: he voted for many of the same-debt limit increases that Armey backed during his House tenure.

2. Armey unsuccessful pushed for an end to federal funding for higher education. FreedomWorks believes the “size and scope of government must be returned to a level that the nation can afford.” In 2010, Armey told CNN that that size and scope should not include any support for higher education. Asked if he would prefer wanted federal funding at all, he said, “No. I don’t think the federal government’s involvement in education has benefited the students of America.” The statement ignored the billions of dollars in federally subsidized loans and grants that enable tens of millions of Americans students to be able to afford to go to college — and the proposal was not embraced by Republicans or Democrats.

3. FreedomWorks unsuccessfully proposed eliminating Medicare and Social Security as we know them. On the FreedomWorks website, the group says the “only true path to reform” on Social Security, Medicare, and entitlements, “is to greatly increase recipients’ ownership and control.”
In a 2010 interview, Armey — who has called Social Security a “corrupt Ponzi scheme” — explained that this means we should make these programs “voluntary.” Such a move would undoubtedly destroy the nation’s vital social safety net. The vast majority of Americans support these programs and have rejected proposals to make less radical changes. Armey even failed in his own bizarre attempt to have federal courts to rule him ineligible for Medicare.

4. FreedomWorks unsuccessfully sought to block the Recovery Act. As part of its opposition to the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the group joined with other conservative organizations to launch ReadTheStimulus.org. The site encouraged people to read the bill, saying “$850 Billion, 1588 pages, and counting… somebody needs to read it!” Armey later conceded that he never read the bill himself. But this wasn’t entirely a failure for Armey — while the bill became law and saved or created hundreds of thousands of jobs, he was able to make money as a lobbyist helping corporate clients seeking stimulus funds.

5. FreedomWorks unsuccessfully tried to protect the right of insurance companies to discriminate against patients based on preexisting conditions. FreedomWorks strongly opposed Obamacare and continues to call the law’s individual mandate unconstitutional even after the Supreme Court rejected that claim. But more surprising was Armey’s argument against the provisions in the bill banning discrimination by insurers against people with pre-existing medical conditions. In a 2009 interview, he said that if people have “diabetes because they eat like a pig,” the government should not force companies to insure them. The wildly popular pre-existing conditions ban is one of the few pieces of Obamacare that even House Republican Leader Eric Cantor (VA) wants to keep.

Explaining his departure, Armey told the AP his “differences with FreedomWorks are a matter of principle.”

Super PACs and other outside groups poured more than $1 billion into the 2012 elections, according to the Center for Public Integrity. But not all of that money proved to be wisely spent.

Here are six of the worst investments right-wing groups made:

– $29,836,729 in the Virginia Senate race (lost by 4.8 points): Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS and American Crossroads ($11,287,908 combined), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($4,494,618), and Independence Virginia PAC ($4,921,410) majorly backed former Sen. George Allen (R-VA) in his race against former Gov. Tim Kaine (D). Independence Virginia PAC, formed especially to elect Allen, received at least $1.5 million in contributions from billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Allen lost the same seat six years ago after his infamous bullying of an Indian-American campaign tracker who he called “macaca.” This time around, he spent much of the campaign complaining about the national debt he helped run up in his first term and advocating for pro-polluter policies to benefit the companies he worked for as an energy consultant. As President Obama won Ohio by 3 points, Kaine beat Allen by a 4.8 point spread (52.4 to 47.6).

– $22,143,479 in the Ohio Senate race (lost by 5.2 points): Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS ($6,363,714), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($4,392,434), former Rep. Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks for America ($2,246,409), and the controversial Government Integrity Fund ($1,300,000) were among the biggest investors in support of Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel (R) in his challenge to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D). Mandel refused to tell voters his position on the automobile bailout that saved thousands of Ohio jobs and advocated for fracking in National Forests. As President Obama won Ohio by less than 2 points, Mandel apparently lost 50.3 to 45.1.

– $15,316,062 in the Florida Senate race (lost by 12.8 points): Karl Rove’s American Crossroads ($4,022,607), former Rep. Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks for America ($2,883,893), and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($3,846,303) all invested millions in support of Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-FL) in his challenge to Sen. Bill Nelson (D). Though the seat was previously held by Mack’s father, former Sen. Connie Mack III (R), the younger Mack’s campaign was forced to contend with headlines about his history of bar fights and was mocked as the “Charlie Sheen of Florida politics.” Mack apparently lost 55.1 to 42.3.

– $5,879,939 in the Illinois 8th District race (lost by 9.4 points): Former Rep. Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks for America ($2,164,046) and Now or Never PAC ($2,789,614) spent big to try to re-elect controversial Tea Party freshman Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL). A leading opponent of raising the debt ceiling, Walsh generated controversy when he said President Obama only won because he is “a black man who was articulate,” yelled at his constituents at a local bar, and he belittled his opponent’s war record and injuries. Though Walsh claimed she was not a “true hero,” Tammy Duckworth, a double amputee who lost both her legs in Iraq when insurgents hit her helicopter with an RPG in 2004, easily beat him Tuesday. Walsh apparently lost 51.5 to 42.9.

– $4,177,208 in the Illinois 12th District race (lost by 8.6 points): Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform ($472,053), Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS ($586,103), and the YG Action Fund and YG Network ($1,184,259 combined) all spent heavily in support of candidate Jason Plummer (R). Plummer, whose painful interview as a 2010 Lieutenant Governor candidate went viral, lost an open seat race to former Illinois National Guard Adjutant General Bill Enyart (D). Plummer apparently lost 51.5 to 42.9.

– $918,789 in the New Jersey 9th District race (lost by more than 48 points): Patriot Prosperity PAC made a massive investment in support of Rabbi Shmuel “Shmuley” Boteach (R) — the host of TLC’s Shalom in the Home — in his challenge to Rep. Bill Pascrell (D). The super PAC was funded almost entirely by $1 million in contributions from billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam. Pascrell’s lone outside support came in the form of a $10 expenditure by the Sierra Club. Even with this massive 91,878-to-1 advantage on outside spending, Boteach lost in a landslide: he apparently lost 73.6 to 25.4 percent.

Federal election law requires candidates to disclose not just the names and addresses of all donors contributing more than $200 to a candidate, but also (where possible) the donor’s employer and occupation. Of the more than 750 donations received by Richard Mourdock’s primary campaign for Indiana Senate to date, one stands out. Earl Pendleton Holt, whose three reported contributions to Mourdock total $1,000, identifies himself as a self-employed “slumlord.”

Holt’s candor — be it serious or self-deprecating — is refreshing. Indeed, he has listed the same occupation on contributions this cycle to Senate hopeful Ted Cruz (R-TX), Congressional hopeful and former Rep. Charles Djou (R-HI), and unsuccessful Presidential hopeful Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN). But the interests of scores of other donors to Mourdock’s campaign — and its “independent” supporters — may be less obvious.

Tuesday’s closely watched Indiana Senate Republican primary will not just determine whether six-term Sen. Dick Lugar or state Treasurer Mourdock will face Rep. Joe Donnelly (D) this November. It will also mean the end of a $4.4 million independent expenditure war between a wide array of Super PACs and 501(c)(4)s — the largest amount of any non-presidential race so far this cycle. Though Lugar’s campaign, at of the last reporting period, had outspent Mourdock’s $6.6 million to $2 million, Murdock’s haul fundraising is impressive for a primary challenger and the gap has been partially made up by the $2.6 million to $1.8 million advantage he’s enjoyed in outside group spending.

Among the biggest forces backing Mourdock:

• The Club for Growth — led by former Rep. Chris Chocola (R-IN), the Club’s 501(c)(4), traditional PAC, and its Club for Growth Action Super PAC have spent at least $1.6 million on ads backing Mourdock and blasting Lugar. The group calls Lugar a “R.I.N.O.” (Republican In Name Only) despite his 63 percent lifetime record of voting with the group’s anti-government agenda.
• FreedomWorks for America — former Rep. Dick Armey’s (R-TX) “astroturf” group has done mailings and run ads saying Lugar has “lost touch with Indiana values,” spending over $545,000.
• Gun rights groups — The National Rifle Association has spent more than $322,000 on independent expenditures, criticizing Lugar’s votes to confirm President Obama’s Supreme Court appointments. A trio of pro-gun political action committees have donated about $10,000 to Mourdock’s campaign.
• The financial sector — although Lugar voted against the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform bill, political action committees for banks and related interests contributed over $17,500 to Moudorck’s campaign and individuals listed as working in the industry kicked in another $35,000-plus.
• Wealthy investors — About $20,000 of Mourdock’s donations came from wealthy investors and investment management executives.
• Big polluters — Mourock, himself a former coal company executive, got $5,000 from Murray Energy’s PAC (representing the nation’s largest privately-owned coal company) and more than $18,000 in individual contributions from employees and executives at Murray and other coal, oil, and gas companies.

With one of the key pro-Lugar groups pulling its ads over the weekend, it is quite possible that the man tied with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) for the longest tenure of any current Senate Republican may see his political career ended by the man backed by those groups — and a self-described “slumlord.”

Evan Feinberg, a 28-year-old former aide to Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Rand Paul (R-KY), is challenging Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) in the April 24 Republican primary. Although Murphy is a fifth-term incumbent, Feinberg has received significant support from Tea Party groups and the far-right wing on the Republican Party.

Yesterday, former Rep. Dick Armey’s (R-TX) FreedomWorks for America Super PAC reported that it has spent $26,500 on a media buy in support of Feinberg. The group has endorsed him, calling him a “strong supporter of a smaller, limited, and more fiscally responsible government,” and labeling the occasionally moderate incumbent as “big government Republican Tim Murphy.”

But an examination of Feinberg’s 23-page fiscal proposal, “Turning the Lights Back On: Restoring the Shining City,” reveals a candidate who not only wants to eliminate the Departments of Energy and Education, but also wants to do away with some of the most important federal programs to our nation’s security.

Some of his controversial policies show how the anti-government Tea Party agenda’s goes:

Complete elimination of the Strategic Peteroleum Reserve. As part of his plan to eliminate the entire Department of Energy, he proposes we eliminate the emergency supply of crude oil stocked by the nation to protect our energy supply in a time of crisis. Without this supply, foreign countries could exert unimaginable influence over our by threatening to disrupt the supply of crude oil — or actually doing so.

Elimination of several key parts of the Department of Homeland Security. Among the things he wants to eliminate: the Emergency Operation Centers, the Office of Bombing Prevention, and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.

Elimination of federal anti-gang efforts from the Department of Justice. He proposes to eliminate National Gang Intelligence Center and the National Gang Targeting, Enforcement, and Coordination Center.

Feinberg’s more than $9 trillion in proposed cuts, over ten years, would not only decimate the federal government as we know it, they would destroy vital programs needed to keep America safe and secure.