Mr.NoSmile
06-25-2015, 06:49 AM
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/john-boehner-crackdown-conservatives-richard-nugent-gop-119389.html?hp=t1_r
Campaign checks from corporate political action committees have all but dried up. GOP leaders have prohibited him from traveling on congressional trips to Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Bills that Nugent has written have been snatched away and doled out to other members of the House Republican Conference, including one dealing with mental health. And Boehner kicked him — and Webster — off the influential Rules Committee.
Senior GOP leadership figures repeated the same line: The right-wing dissenters want all the perks but none of the the responsibility of being in the majority.
“When we are entrusted by our team with a position of responsibility, we have an obligation to live up to those responsibilities,” Boehner told the Republican Conference at a meeting Wednesday, according to a source in the room. “We are in the majority. Part of being in the majority is advancing an agenda — a conservative agenda. You may not agree with every part of the agenda, and when you don’t, you can vote your conscience. But voting against rules is not a vote of conscience; it is a vote to hand the House floor over to Nancy Pelosi.”
The attitude, those top Republicans argue, reflects the will of the vast majority of the House Republican Conference. They’re tired of 30 or so conservatives — many of whom banded together early this year to form the House Freedom Caucus — throwing a wrench into their plans.
The shift is happening in plain view and behind closed doors. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has privately told committee chairmen they need to ensure their senior members are voting with the party. In a meeting last week, the California Republican insisted those chairmen devise a plan to bring lawmakers in line.
Members of Boehner’s leadership team say they’re not urging Republicans to vote against their conscience, as some conservatives argue; they simply want votes to bring legislation to the floor for a debate. When Republicans vote against rules to bring legislation to the floor, it dilutes the power of the majority and gives Democrats leverage that they lack in their numbers.
Jordan, the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, declined to say it was wrong for GOP leadership to punish lawmakers because of their failure to contribute to the NRCC. He said it was “unfortunate” that Meadows lost his gavel.
Let's lose potential money for races and committee positions, but hey, we've got internet kudos from keyboard types. That's the best kind of reward, right?
Campaign checks from corporate political action committees have all but dried up. GOP leaders have prohibited him from traveling on congressional trips to Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Bills that Nugent has written have been snatched away and doled out to other members of the House Republican Conference, including one dealing with mental health. And Boehner kicked him — and Webster — off the influential Rules Committee.
Senior GOP leadership figures repeated the same line: The right-wing dissenters want all the perks but none of the the responsibility of being in the majority.
“When we are entrusted by our team with a position of responsibility, we have an obligation to live up to those responsibilities,” Boehner told the Republican Conference at a meeting Wednesday, according to a source in the room. “We are in the majority. Part of being in the majority is advancing an agenda — a conservative agenda. You may not agree with every part of the agenda, and when you don’t, you can vote your conscience. But voting against rules is not a vote of conscience; it is a vote to hand the House floor over to Nancy Pelosi.”
The attitude, those top Republicans argue, reflects the will of the vast majority of the House Republican Conference. They’re tired of 30 or so conservatives — many of whom banded together early this year to form the House Freedom Caucus — throwing a wrench into their plans.
The shift is happening in plain view and behind closed doors. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has privately told committee chairmen they need to ensure their senior members are voting with the party. In a meeting last week, the California Republican insisted those chairmen devise a plan to bring lawmakers in line.
Members of Boehner’s leadership team say they’re not urging Republicans to vote against their conscience, as some conservatives argue; they simply want votes to bring legislation to the floor for a debate. When Republicans vote against rules to bring legislation to the floor, it dilutes the power of the majority and gives Democrats leverage that they lack in their numbers.
Jordan, the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, declined to say it was wrong for GOP leadership to punish lawmakers because of their failure to contribute to the NRCC. He said it was “unfortunate” that Meadows lost his gavel.
Let's lose potential money for races and committee positions, but hey, we've got internet kudos from keyboard types. That's the best kind of reward, right?