BOEHNER DESPERATION: Threatens Joe Barton To Force Him Out (of House leadership race)

Red State ^ | November 15, 2006

[Clintonfatigued]

Sources tell RedState that Congressman Joe Barton has withdrawn from the House Leadership race after John Boehner had it made clear to Barton that should Boehner win he would strip Barton of his ranking position on the Energy & Commerce Committee.

Boehner's statement announcing Barton's withdrawal came ten minutes before Barton announced his withdrawal.

Clearly Boehner is feeling threatened. Keep the heat on, folks. Call your congressman and let him know to back Pence and Shadegg.

[samadams2000]

Grandpa said never trust a man that values a good sun tan. Seems true in this case as well.

[Clintonfatigued]

The conservative grass roots needs to jam the House GOP causus's phone lines and e-mail with support for John Shadegg and Mike Pence.

Supporting John Boehner and Roy Blunt would simply be more of the same, and we already know what that got us.

[lesser_satan]

The fights over leadership in both parties may prove more interesting than the election itself. Get the popcorn.

[Jrabbit]

Well....then Barton should have said, "If I win, I'll etc. etc. etc."

Did Joe run to the media to report this "threat"...?????

[McGavin999]

Barton should have turned around and said "fine, but if I win, your office will be located in the parking lot". I hate bullies.

[Torie]

Boehner is another ahole that I dislike.

[DeusExMachina05]

Boehner stinks...and his ilk are the reason we are where we are now. Pence is the man!

[red meat conservative]

Bohener is a total jerk and should be thrown out. I can't imagine why anyone would pick him over Pence.

[NonValueAdded]

I understand that the Constitution gives Congress wide latitude as to how they organize themselves but that does not give them the right to ignore the rest of the Constitution. I think this leadership and committee assignment scheme comes close to undermining the equal representation concept. After all, isn't that the push behind term limits, to stop the power building and the corruption that almost inevitably comes? Term limits are a blunt instrument and have Constitutional problems of their own. After all, if the good people of Massachusetts want to send an alcoholic murderer back again and again, that is their privilege. But it should confer on their choice no more power than a freshman Representative or Senator. And if a majority of newly elected and 2 or 3 termers want to get together and relegate the old and senile members to the back bench, why not? Seniority is not a Constitutional right.

[Clintonfatigued]

I agree with that. It's a choice between reform conservativism and perks/pork/big government conservativism.

[red meat conservative]

Here is a great Human Events article detailing his liberal votes in the past.

[rottndog]

If I ever had a doubt that John Boehner was unfit for leadership, it has now been completely removed. Not only is Boehner devoid of ethics, he is a thug as well.

[padre35]

Bohener is a total jerk and should be thrown out. I can't imagine why anyone would pick him over Pence

---

Money, plain and simple, the next election is going to make this one seem like a High School Glee club election.

Lott won because he can raise the dollars, the only reason why Boehner is in the running is he can raise tons of money.

This last mid term election cost 2.3 billion dollars, how much will the next one cost with trying to win back the House (keep in mind those districts that the Dhims won are in red areas, we can win them back)

Defending 12 competitive Senate seats

And oh yeah, there is that pesky Presidential election as well. The last one cost 1 billion.

Figure 5 billion in campaign expenditures?

(I cannot believe that 5 billion dollars will be spent but trends are trends)

[Torie]

Pence would have been a creative move, assuming that he has the discipline to avoid the sand traps, and keep on message, and not seem like some threatening demonizable right winger. I think he has those qualities, but I am not sure. I don't know him well enough.

[Torie]

In the end ideas and effective presentation triumph over money. If you have those, the money will follow. If not, money is useless. JMO.

[Clintonfatigued]

You're partly right. They CAN triumph over money, given the right circumstances. That's another reason why Mike Pence is the right choice.

[Torie]

I wonder if this dude who chimed in with a comment on Redstate is the real deal Bill Buckley. Probably not, but the last paragraph has a certain Buckleyesque cadence:

"I'm optimistic that Pence and Shadegg will win, a lot of the RINO's and Pork-Barrel Republicans (i.e. Boehner's and Blunt's Base) were defeated in the election.

Make a friendly call to your local Republican representative, and let them know we want new leadership for a new direction.

Pence and Shadegg represent the bright future of the Republican Party, Bohner and Blunt represent the failed past.

"Back in the thirties we were told we must collectivize the nation because the people were so poor. Now we are told we must collectivize the nation because the people are so rich."

William F. Buckley, Jr.

[padre35]

In the end ideas and effective presentation triumph over money. If you have those, the money will follow. If not, money is useless. JMO.

---

I agree, but without the tools (money) to get the message out, it won't matter how great the idea is. The MSM spends hundreds of thousands of dollars everyday offering purely Democratic issues and talking points. Every story that they do could sold for advertising time.

In a years time, how much would all of those Abramoff stories be worth?

If we really were in the political wilderness, then go with Pence, we aren't there yet, we can still block legislation from passing through the Senate, and we still have a veto in the Oval Office.

Most of the races we lost by were in a polls margin of error, there weren't a whole lot of blowouts.

If we lose in 2008, we will lose everything.

For me the stakes are too high to not give ourselves the chance to win by not having enough money.

(Sorry to be so windy)

[tennmountainman]

Is Boehor , the kind of man who threatens another republican over power, the man we need to lead us? I don't think so. Out with Boehior and Blunt.