Amash, Huelskamp, Schweikert send letter to Boehner seeking answers

[tsai3904]

December 7, 2012

The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the House of Representatives
232 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner,

We write to request a full and complete written explanation of the rationale for removing us from our current committee assignments, including any "scorecards" presented to the Steering Committee to justify our removals.

On Monday, we learned that we had been removed from our committee assignments. Some of us learned of this news from a member of the Steering Committee; others never were officially informed and heard of the action from press accounts citing anonymous leadership staffers. To this date, no formal explanation has been given for the removal.

After learning of our removal, it came to our attention that a scorecard was presented to the Steering Committee to make the case for our removal from those committees. On Wednesday morning, Mr. Huelskamp stood before the House Republican Conference and asked to see a copy of the scorecard used to remove us.

Through this past term, we were not aware that any such scorecard existed, nor that the scores would cause us to be removed from committee assignments. We believe this would be valuable information for the entire Republican Conference to know, so that each Member can make a full and complete decision when casting votes in the future. It would also allow us to communicate to our constituents which votes caused us to be removed.

Please provide a full and complete written explanation for our removal, including a copy of the scorecard presented to the Steering Committee meeting, by close of business Monday, December 10th.

Sincerely,


Tim Huelskamp
U.S. Representative
Kansas

Justin Amash
U.S. Representative
Michigan

David Schweikert
U.S. Representative
Arizona

http://huelskamp.house.gov/images/st...hmenLetter.pdf

[Michigan11]

Can't wait to see where all of this leads. Future U.S. Senator Amash? I think so.

[itshappening]

Huelskamp will be easier to get into the Senate after Pat Roberts retires.

[jkr]

honorable?

HA!

[kathy88]

It would also allow us to communicate to our constituents which votes caused us to be removed.

Pure. $#@!ing. Gold.

[robert9712000]

`The sad part is though, im pretty sure Boehner will just ignore them and wait for the attention to disappear.

[compromise]

Why wasn't Jones involved? The other three seem to be distancing themselves from him.

[SpreadOfLiberty]

Why wasn't Jones involved? The other three seem to be distancing themselves from him.

Jones actually really isn't a huge fiscal conservative.

All of this focus has been on the budget committee though, and Jones was removed from the banking committee along with Scheikert.

[enrique]

How long before this scorecard is leaked? I'm guessing one week. By Christmas at the latest.

[sailingaway]

Jones actually really isn't a huge fiscal conservative.

All of this focus has been on the budget committee though, and Jones was removed from the banking committee along with Scheikert.

Where he was vice chair of Ron's committee and potentially next in line for it. It isn't a small hit, but isn't being looked at as much. The budget hits give it cover.

[itshappening]

Walter is keeping his head down because he doesn't want to be thrown off the Armed Services committee. The others don't care now.

[tsai3904]

Boehner's response:

December 10, 2012


The Honorable Justin Amash
114 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Tim Huelskamp
129 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable David Schweikert
1205 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515


Dear Mr. Amash, Mr. Huelskamp and Mr. Schweikert:

Thank you for your letter on the decisions made by the Steering Committee.

As has been made clear, there is no scorecard or any other single criteria used to determine committee assignments. The Steering Committee is a deliberative body that reviews all appropriate information. Any member of the Committee may present information. No appointment or decision is made without the assent of a majority of the Steering Committee Members.

If you would like further explanation of why the Steering Committee made the decisions or how to be appointed to committees in the future, I encourage you to meet with Steering Committee Members individually.


Sincerely,

John A. Boehner

Huelskamp's response:

With this letter, Speaker Boehner has confirmed a secret scorecard was used to punish conservative Republican Congressmen. Back in his Pledge to America, then-Minority Leader Boehner decried the fact that 'most important decisions are made behind closed doors, where a flurry of backroom deals has supplanted the will of the people.' This decision by GOP leadership, in a closed-door backroom session, confirms the worst fears of the American people: that promises of transparency were simply an election-year Republican ploy.

Mr. Speaker, the American people are disappointed. Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve to know. The American people demand to see your secret scorecard.

http://huelskamp.house.gov/index.php...press-releases

[NorfolkPCSolutions]

Was there any other possible outcome for this situation? There is no GOP any longer, nor is there a Democratic party. We are under the authority of an elected Oligarchy.

[Brian4Liberty]

As has been made clear, there is no scorecard or any other single criteria used to determine committee assignments. The Steering Committee is a deliberative body that reviews all appropriate information. Any member of the Committee may present information. No appointment or decision is made without the assent of a majority of the Steering Committee Members.

If you would like further explanation of why the Steering Committee made the decisions or how to be appointed to committees in the future, I encourage you to meet with Steering Committee Members individually.

Translation: They have a Star Chamber, and there is no due process, or rights of any kind for the "accused".

This makes sense, as the Star Chamber was abolished in England by the Habeas Corpus Act of 1640. Now that our rulers have abolished Habeas Corpus, it makes sense that they will continue in their backwards progression.

[NorfolkPCSolutions]

Brian, where can we (read, I) learn more about the Star Chamber? I'll google it, of course, but your post merits more discussion among us in this thread.

WikiP link


"The court was set up to ensure the fair enforcement of laws against prominent people, those so powerful that ordinary courts could never convict them of their crimes. Court sessions were held in secret, with no indictments, and no witnesses. Evidence was presented in writing. Over time it evolved into a political weapon, a symbol of the misuse and abuse of power by the English monarchy and courts.

In modern usage, legal or administrative bodies with strict, arbitrary rulings and secretive proceedings are sometimes called, metaphorically or poetically, star chambers. This is a pejorative term and intended to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the proceedings. The inherent lack of objectivity of any politically motivated charges has led to substantial reforms in English law in most jurisdictions since that time."

God damn, I love this place. I learn so much, here.

[LibertyEagle]

Didn't C4L send out an email with the names of the people on the steering committee? I think we should call every freaking one of them and raise hell, along with raising hell with Boehner.

This is something we can work on together with FreedomWorks. It expands our reach.

[Brian4Liberty]

Brian, where can we (read, I) learn more about the Star Chamber? I'll google it, of course, but your post merits more discussion among us in this thread.

WikiP link


"The court was set up to ensure the fair enforcement of laws against prominent people, those so powerful that ordinary courts could never convict them of their crimes. Court sessions were held in secret, with no indictments, and no witnesses. Evidence was presented in writing. Over time it evolved into a political weapon, a symbol of the misuse and abuse of power by the English monarchy and courts.

In modern usage, legal or administrative bodies with strict, arbitrary rulings and secretive proceedings are sometimes called, metaphorically or poetically, star chambers. This is a pejorative term and intended to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the proceedings. The inherent lack of objectivity of any politically motivated charges has led to substantial reforms in English law in most jurisdictions since that time."

God damn, I love this place. I learn so much, here.

First heard about the term as it was the title of a movie. Later learned more about the reality behind it.

Suppressing opposition is Boehner's MO these days. More from the link:

The power of the Court of Star Chamber grew considerably under the House of Stuart, and by the time of King Charles I, it had become synonymous with misuse and abuse of power by the King and his circle. King James I and his son Charles used the court to examine cases of sedition, which meant that the court could be used to suppress opposition to royal policies.
...
In 1641, the Long Parliament, led by John Pym and inflamed by the severe treatment of John Lilburne, as well as that of other religious dissenters such as William Prynne, Alexander Leighton, John Bastwick and Henry Burton, abolished the Star Chamber with an Act of Parliament, the Habeas Corpus Act 1640.
...
The historical abuses of the Star Chamber are considered a primary motivating force behind the protections against compelled self-incrimination embodied in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[11] The meaning of "compelled testimony" under the Fifth Amendment — i.e., the conditions under which a defendant is allowed to "plead the Fifth" to avoid self-incrimination — is thus often interpreted via reference to the inquisitorial methods of the Star Chamber.[12]

As the U.S. Supreme Court described it, "the Star Chamber has, for centuries, symbolized disregard of basic individual rights.
...