Posted on 12/05/2012 5:21:47 PM PST by VitacoreVision
Conservative groups are attacking Speaker of the House John Boehner for his decision to boot constitutionalist representatives off the Budget Committee.
Heritage Action accused Boehner of trying to find “creative ways to fund” President Barack Obama’s “big-government agenda.” The group also compared Boehner with someone who notoriously broke his no-tax pledge: the nation’s 41st president.
“In 1990, President George H.W. Bush broke his solemn pledge: ‘read my lips: no new taxes,’” Heritage Action wrote in the email to supporters. “It cost him the election. In more than 20 years since, congressional Republicans have avoided making the same mistake. And now, as our nation’s economy is struggling to produce growth, our leaders in Congress are about to make precisely the wrong decision.”
Yesterday the three of them purged fiscal conservatives from committees as punishment for being authentically fiscal conservatives.
On the same day John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and Kevin McCarthy punished fiscal conservatives for standing up for their convictions, they sold out their own convictions by agreeing to raise taxes by $800 billion. They intend to seem reasonable to the press in negotiations with the White House. They’re going through an elaborate kabuki dance, but they’ll get blamed nonetheless.
Pointing their fingers as fiscal conservatives now punished, casting them out as scape goats, will do nothing to woo the media or the White House, but we should be thankful. We should absolutely be thankful for these three men.
As the sun rises this morning we can look at John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and Kevin McCarthy and know the opposition is not just across the aisle, but in charge of our own side in the House of Representatives. All the time and energy I would otherwise have to spend to convince conservatives that these gentlemen would be a problem for the GOP has been spared. They’ve proven it themselves.
Rumor has it that I’ve been removed from the House Committee on the Budget. Remarkably, I still have not received a single call, e-mail, or text from Republican leadership confirming this story. In fact, I wouldn’t even have learned about it if not for the news reports. I look forward to hearing from my party’s leadership about why my principled, conservative voting record offends them. That’s sure to be a lively and entertaining conversation.
In the meantime, I can only speculate as to what specifically would make Republican leadership punish several of its party’s most principled members. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, who was kicked off of both Budget and the Committee on Agriculture, voted with me against the 2013 House budget resolution because it does not sufficiently address the federal government’s debt crisis. That was one of only three times during this Congress that I voted against the Chairman’s recommendations in committee. In fact, I voted with the Republican Chairman more than 95% of the time, and I have voted with my party’s leadership more than three-quarters of the time on the House floor.
What message does leadership’s heavy-handedness send? It says that independent thinking won’t be tolerated, not even 5% of the time. It says that voting your conscience won’t be respected. It says that fulfilling your commitment to your constituents to work with both Republicans and Democrats to reduce our debt takes a back seat to the desires of corporate special interests. And, most troubling for our party, it says to the growing number of young believers in liberty that their views are not welcome here.
I’ll miss working with my colleagues on Budget. I don’t relish this situation, but if one thing is clear based on the response from the grassroots, it’s that leadership’s actions will backfire. If they think kicking me off of a committee will lead me to abandon my principles or stifle my bipartisan work toward a balanced budget, I have a message for them: You’re dead wrong.
Kansans who sent me to Washington did so to change the way things are done — not to provide cover for Establishment Republicans who only give lip service to conservative principles. If the rest of America is anything like the 700,000 Kansans I represent, then they know that the fiscal and cultural crises facing our nation require drastic changes to the way things are done in Washington — not just symbolic gestures or more of the same.
I bet he likes those interns.
Time for him to go.
Change we can believe in.
Hows does that sniveling Stump get to be the Speaker? Its become all so unbearable what goes on in DC. A bit like torture I dare say!
If some among you fear taking a stand because you are afraid of reprisals from customers, clients, or even government, recognize that you are just feeding the crocodile hoping he’ll eat you last.
- Ronald Reagan
but what'll you all say about kicking Boner out in primary....???
Some world-class pastry chef should create a festive holiday confection in honor of John Boehner called the orange bendover.
With slugs like Boehner representing us we don’t need enemies like Obama....but....we’ve got both. What a pathetic shame.
Supposedly, Retraeus’ and Allen’s e-mails came from the place in Utah. Leaked to put Benghazi out of the picture.
Which means the dirt on whoever is hip deep and rising. There at the NSA. And 0ba/Jarrett’s office.
You NEED IT!
If the GOP won’t vote him out of leadership, scandal his sorry a$$ out.
The headline writer clearly displays a gift for understatement.
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Absolutely - Time for Boehner to go.
Conservatives in the house should make a stand. Pick a conservative for Speaker (I say Alan West) and inform him the X votes will be cast for that conservative for speaker.
Boehner can either get on board, or the Dems will elect Speaker Pelosi.
Hardball - Conservatives in the House need to play it now. Boehner tried to play hardball against conservatives first. He needs to be sent to the dugout.
It appears that Boehner listened to too many reports of the demise of the Tea party.
We aint quite dead yet John.
I’ll tell you what, the GOP had better not be calling me begging for a donation any time soon...this bunch of back-stabbing sob’s aren’t getting a red cent from me...
It was his turn. That's how the GOPe operates. You pick the fleas off the butts from the ones ahead of the pecking order, until you're on top and others are picking them off YOUR butt.
It is past time to dump that miserable coward, drunk, and crybaby. We need Newt Gingrich for the next speaker of the house.
Hey wait a minute, does this mean that there are Democrats, Republicans...and yet conservatives? How can that be? I thought and have always heard that Republicans WERE conservative. I thought that the Democrats say all the ills of the universe are because of Republican conservative ideals? How is it possible that Republicans are blaming conservatives for the problems if they are one in the same?
And now no one is deceived anymore and must choose sides, follow the ungodly crowd or actively fight against this coalition that wants to destroy every vestige of Godliness from the land.
Alan West ?
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