Posted on 09/28/2015 5:05:58 AM PDT by 1010RD
September 16, 2015
Congressman Jim Jordan Chairman, House Freedom Caucus 1524 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515
HAND DELIVERED
Dear Jim:
When the House Freedom Caucus formed in January, I fervently hoped that it would provide responsible and effective leadership to advance conservative principles in the House of Representatives.
I know that every member of the HFC sincerely supports these principles, but as I have expressed on many occasions during our meetings, I believe the tactics the HFC has employed have repeatedly undermined the House’s ability to advance them. Allow me to review a few examples.
On February 27th, we faced the imminent shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security over the funding of Obama’s unlawful amnesty orders for illegal immigrants. Although the American people overwhelmingly opposed these orders, they also overwhelmingly opposed shutting down DHS. House Republicans attempted to pass a three-week stop gap bill so we could avoid a catastrophic shutdown of our security agencies while continuing to bring public opinion to bear to de-fund the orders. At the behest of its board, most HFC members combined with House Democrats to defeat this effort, resulting in the full funding of these illegal orders for the fiscal year.
In May, the House had the opportunity to adopt the most important free trade bill in nearly two decades, restoring the long-standing and essential process that has made it possible for our nation to negotiate free trade agreements with other nations. At the behest of its board, most HFC members combined with the vast majority of House Democrats in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat this legislation.
Last week, the House was scheduled to adopt the Resolution of Disapproval of the disastrous Iran nuclear agreement – the only legally binding action available to Congress under the Corker Act. Once again, the House Freedom Caucus leadership threatened to combine with House Democrats to defeat the Resolution, forcing the House leadership to abandon it in favor of a symbolic and legally meaningless vote. Ironically, while Harry Reid and Senate Democrats blocked a vote on the Resolution of Disapproval in the Senate, the House Freedom Caucus leadership was instrumental in blocking its consideration in the House.
For several months, Harry Reid and Senate Democrats have threatened to shut down the government on October 1st unless Congress unleashes another unsustainable cycle of tax increases and borrowing. Last week, the House Freedom Caucus formally vowed to shut down the government over funding Planned Parenthood.
I have strongly opposed the public funding of abortions throughout my 29 years in public office, but this tactic promises only to shield Senate Democrats from their responsibility for a government shutdown and to alienate the public from the pro-life cause at precisely the time when undercover videos of Planned Parenthood’s barbaric practices are turning public opinion in our favor. I suspect this is why the leading pro-life organizations have been conspicuously unwilling to endorse the HFC position.
A common theme through each of these incidents is a willingness – indeed, an eagerness – to strip the House Republican majority of its ability to set the House agenda by combining with House Democrats on procedural motions. As a result, it has thwarted vital conservative policy objectives and unwittingly become Nancy Pelosi’s tactical ally.
I feel honored to know and work with every member of the House Freedom Caucus. I have never served with a group of patriots more devoted to our country and dedicated to restoring American founding principles. However, I feel that the HFC’s many missteps have made it counterproductive to its stated goals and I no longer wish to be associated with it.
Accordingly, I resign.
We're moving the ball forward and with a real conservative as President it will roll forward faster. Too often the demand for immediacy leads to serious tactical and strategic errors.
I hadn't heard about this. What was the rationale for the HFC blocking consideration of this in the House?
McClintock is waxing poetic about Kevin McCarthy as Boehner’s replacement—saying that he listens more than Boehner did.
(Those RINO California delegation ties must be tight.
I like McClintock. If only he’d won the Governorship of CA way back when.
Yeah, he has been one of the few sane individuals left in Ca.
McClintock really turned out to be just another self-absorbed, lying GOP-E loser. Good riddance!
Some conservative members felt it was weak sauce.
Maybe McClintock knows something you don’t.
Yep, California wouldn’t be the toilet it is today.
The rationale was that there should be no vote on the Disapproval until after congress had seen all the deals involved as the Corker bill required.
And Obama still refuses to turn over what he calls “side deals”.
Also the Disapproval would be vetoed and fail.
Really???? You actually believe that?
A common theme of the right wing crazies, Rep McClintock, is a willingness, indeed a desire, to engage the left.
Wait till the next election and then we’ll really do something .... isn’t going to work anymore.
Planned Parenthood defunding is the perfect issue. Let the President shut down the government over it. Let the media blame Republicans. And then, let the weeks pass.
As time tinges the debate, it will be the President who must answer for shutting down the government over an ideological fight. A half billion dollar dispute in a hundreds of billion funding bill where one side holds core beliefs vs. holding the gov’t hostage? Mr. President, you can end this tomorrow. Sign the bill.
Now, don’t get me wrong. This strategy won’t work for the GOP, just like it didn’t work in 2013. It won’t work because the establishment has no fight in them; they will cave. That’s the problem.
The solution then isn’t to give up the fight.
The solution is to bring down the establishment.
This is the defining moment for the Grand Ole Party. They can make the political calculation that they must now yield to their voters, or they can continue to obey their money class masters and die as a party.
This is the Whig moment for the GOP.
If Boehner pushes through his agenda in the next month with full democrat sponsorship, the party dies here.
Last week, the House Freedom Caucus formally vowed to shut down the government over funding Planned Parenthood. I have strongly opposed the public funding of abortions throughout my 29 years in public office, but this tactic promises only to shield Senate Democrats from their responsibility for a government shutdown and to alienate the public from the pro-life cause at precisely the time when undercover videos of Planned Parenthood's barbaric practices are turning public opinion in our favor... A common theme through each of these incidents is a willingness -- indeed, an eagerness -- to strip the House Republican majority of its ability to set the House agenda by combining with House Democrats on procedural motions. As a result, it has thwarted vital conservative policy objectives and unwittingly become Nancy Pelosi's tactical ally.
Yeah—tell yourself that.
The TPP is a disaster and does have Amnesty included it.
There is NO free trade in TPP .
Its a huge Crony capitalist birthday cake !
McCarthy is worse than Bonehead .
This crook wants those Silicon Valley cheap labor express funds sent to himself too.
PS I see from your comments page that you’ve backed Boehner and trashed Trump as well.
I had not heard of this either. I suspect McClintock is using a sentence uttered somewhere, sometime by one the HFC members as an excuse. Common liberal tactic used to divert attention. You know, kinda like; “Oh look over there, A Confederate Flag”.
At this stage of the game, I trust Jim Jordan a hell of a lot more than I would anyone in the California delegation. Republican or Democrat.
How do you see it that way? Please explain what you mean by this statement.
There is an important difference between free trade and fair trade.
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