GOP lawmaker seeks to oust Boehner

[Brian4Liberty]

GOP lawmaker seeks to oust Boehner
By Scott Wong and Cristina Marcos - 07/28/15


Conservative Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) confirmed Tuesday he introduced a resolution to oust House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) from his leadership post — the latest in a series of attempts by conservatives to strip the gavel from the longtime leader.

But because the so-called "motion to vacate the chair" is not “privileged,” leadership aides said, it will be immediately referred to the Rules Committee, where Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas), a close Boehner ally, could simply ignore it indefinitely.

Sessions, swarmed by reporters in the Speaker’s lobby, said he hadn’t even read the resolution language yet and didn’t know whether he would take it up in his committee.

“I’ve just been given the information about it. I’m going to sit down and think about it, ponder what I’m going to do,” Sessions said.
...
The resolution being referred to the Rules Committee hurts Meadows’ chance for success. Majority-party members of the panel are hand-picked by the Speaker, and the panel itself is often referred to as the "Speaker's committee."

Meadows said he wanted to introduce the resolution to spark a "discussion" about how leaders are running the House, rather than to actually force a vote.

Meadows, one of nine co-founders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, was stripped of his Oversight subcommittee gavel last month for his vote against a procedural measure to bring up the trade package. House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) reinstated Meadows a few days later following an outcry from conservatives.
...
Meadows spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said that the next step for moving it forward will likely be filing a discharge petition. Such a petition would require the signature of 218 members — an unlikely outcome given that most Republicans supported Boehner for Speaker.

Democrats indicated earlier this year that they likely wouldn't support conservatives in a move to oust Boehner.
...
News of Meadows’ attack on Boehner spread quickly through the Capitol. Reporters and lawmakers alike scrambled for more information, and it appeared the genial, well-liked North Carolinian didn’t give anyone a heads-up.

Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), a fellow Freedom Caucus co-founder and close friend of Meadows, said his staff sent him a text message with the news. He was shocked because he hadn’t even heard rumors of Meadows’ plan.

“My first reaction is I’m getting spoofed,” Schweikert told The Hill.
...
More: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/249551-gop-lawmaker-seeks-to-oust-boehner

[Brian4Liberty]

House conservative seeks John Boehner's ouster (http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/house-conservative-john-boehner-ouster-120742.html)
The move by Rep. Mark Meadows represents a new level of opposition to GOP leadership from House's right wing.
By Lauren French and Jake Sherman - 7/28/15


Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) has filed a motion to try to force Speaker John Boehner from his leadership post.

The action, called a motion to vacate the chair, represents a new level of opposition to the Ohio Republican’s speakership from the conservative wing. However the motion, which was filed late Tuesday afternoon, can be easily disregarded by supporters of Boehner in its current form.

Sources say Meadows will circulate a so-called discharge petition to force a vote on the motion. But if he wanted a vote in the next two legislative days, he could simply stand up and ask for one. If he did that, the motion would be considered “privileged,” which would make it the immediate business of the House. In its current form, Meadows’ motion is simply a statement of opposition to Boehner.

Meadows, a second-term Republican, is a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. He often bucks GOP leadership, and a committee chairman — with Boehner’s support — recently tried to strip him of a subcommittee chairmanship. Meadows won that internal party skirmish.

House Republican leadership was completely surprised by Meadows’ move.

Meadows and Boehner have not had a good relationship. GOP leaders consider him an agitator, and Boehner has told colleagues that in 2013, Meadows dropped to his knees to beg the speaker for forgiveness for taking part in discussions about trying to oust the speaker.

A House speaker has never been ousted through a motion to vacate the chair. Still, the move represents a new level of angst between Republican leaders and the conservative rank-and-file. It’s the first time someone has tried to actively oust Boehner in the middle of a a two-year congressional session.

The resolution, obtained by POLITICO, states that Boehner has tried to “consolidate power and centralize decision-making, bypassing the majority of the 435 members of Congress and the people they represent.” It accuses the speaker of using the “legislative calendar to create crises for the American people, in order to compel members to vote for legislation.”

The “Speaker has, through inaction, caused the power of Congress to atrophy, thereby making Congress subservient to the Executive and Judicial branches, diminishing the voice of the American People,” it reads. “Whereas the Speaker uses the power of the office to punish Members who vote according to their conscience instead of the will of the Speaker.”
...
But Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), who has repeatedly voted against Boehner, said there’s a lot of “dissatisfaction with the leadership.”
...
More: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/house-conservative-john-boehner-ouster-120742.html

[phill4paul]

He's from the N.C. Western most district.

http://www.nceleventhdems.org/images/nc_11_2012map.GIF

Very interesting. I'd love to see Boehner ousted. I just don't see it happening.

The “Speaker has, through inaction, caused the power of Congress to atrophy, thereby making Congress subservient to the Executive and Judicial branches, diminishing the voice of the American People,” it reads. “Whereas the Speaker uses the power of the office to punish Members who vote according to their conscience instead of the will of the Speaker.”

http://i.imgur.com/29XYmgE.gif

[Dianne]

They are a couple of years too late, but I'll take it !!!! Boehner and McConnell OUT !!!!

[Mr.NoSmile]

What a cute little gesture sure to get Meadows plenty of internet kudos. Have fun with that.

[Brian4Liberty]

626431722956132352

[nobody's_hero]

You'd think as many people as Boehner has kicked off of committees through the years, there'd actually be enough support for this.

[Brian4Liberty]

You'd think as many people as Boehner has kicked off of committees through the years, there'd actually be enough support for this.

I believe the problem is that the Democrats will vote to keep Boehner.

[Occam's Banana]

h/t Lew Rockwell @ Political Theatre: https://www.lewrockwell.com/political-theatre/john-tanning-bed-boehner-in-trouble/

Boehner Embarrassed: His Whip Team Couldn’t Find Votes to Reelect Him Speaker Last Week
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/08/02/exclusive-john-boehner-embarrassed-his-whip-team-couldnt-find-votes-to-reelect-him-speaker-last-week/
Matthew Boyle (02 August 2015)

House Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) had been planning to call up on the House floor last week a measure from Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) that would have removed him as Speaker of the House if it succeeded—intending to embarrass Meadows—but abandoned the plan after his entire leadership structure learned that they did not have the votes to re-elect him as Speaker before the August recess.

“[House Majority Leader Kevin] McCarthy was making phone calls—he was whipping it—and so was [House Majority Whip] Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA),” a senior conservative movement leader who’s had many personal and direct discussions with various House GOP members about this told Breitbart News in an interview last week.

“I know members personally who were called by Steve Scalise. So they had the entire leadership whip team frantically making phone calls to members to whip the vote because they wanted to attempt to embarrass Meadows and call the vote [on Wednesday last week] so it’s not hanging over Boehner’s head.

“What they found out was the exact opposite. They found out bad things would happen, that literally they would be calling the vote without knowing what would happen. Therefore, they did not call the vote and now they have this issue hanging over John Boehner’s head for the next five weeks.”

“Yes, I can confirm at least three members were whipped: Two of whom voted against the Speaker and one of whom voted for the Speaker on Jan. 6,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of the cosponsors of Meadows’ measure, told Breitbart News in a phone interview. “I can confirm three of them were whipped.”

[...]

The strategy from Meadows and his allies goes something like this: They offered the resolution right before the August recess and knew that there is enough dissatisfaction with Boehner that should he try to bring it to the floor immediately–to shut it down as fast as it came up–he’d walk away without his speakership.

There are 25 members who voted for a Republican alternative at the beginning of this Congress, and now there are plenty more who are disaffected with the tactics of Boehner and his allies in leadership. More members, those who want to replace Boehner suspect, will, over the course of the month of August, come out publicly against Boehner at town hall events and in interviews with media. Unless Democrats bail Boehner out in September or October, if and when such a vote for the speakership would occur, by that point there would be enough members opposed to Boehner’s re-election for him to lose his position.

When the August recess is over, if Meadows wants to—or any other member wants to—they could offer the motion to vacate the chair and remove Boehner as Speaker of the House as a privileged resolution, which means it gets a floor vote in full without the consent of Boehner’s leadership team. That means the Speaker is extraordinarily vulnerable, and his conservative opposition could make a move whenever, wherever they want to—and when they have the votes to remove him from office.

[... full article at link: http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/08/02/exclusive-john-boehner-embarrassed-his-whip-team-couldnt-find-votes-to-reelect-him-speaker-last-week/ ...]

[Brian4Liberty]

Not such a "futile" effort after all...

[Brian4Liberty]

What a cute little gesture sure to get Meadows plenty of internet kudos. Have fun with that.

Yes, we are having great fun with it.