Boehner Panders to Tea Party

If the stakes weren’t so high, this would be laughable.  The GOP leadership can’t control the Tea Party movement and seem to be scared to death.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) simply doesn’t know what to do.  Commenting after the first meeting of the House Tea Party Caucus, organized by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN):

Mr. Boehner, who said he has attended several tea party events throughout the country, acknowledged the gatherings typically include smatterings of "disaffected Republicans," Democrats and "a couple of anarchists who want to kill all of us in public office."

But "75 percent of these people who show up at these events are the most average, everyday Americans you’ve ever met," he said. "None of them have ever been involved in the political process, and I would guess half of them have never voted."

Mr. Boehner added that tea party activists represent "the tip of the iceberg" of Americans disenchanted with their government.

"They represent the same values, concerns, frustration, anger and fear that you see from tens of millions of other Americans who aren’t in the streets yet," he said. "They should not be dismissed, they shouldn’t be mocked."

75%?  The Tea Party movement is far more independent than Boehner believes.  Sure, the vast majority will vote for Republicans this fall, but that has nothing to do with the GOP’s lack of a genuine conservative message and everything to do with what they’ve witnessed since Barack Obama was sworn in.

Boehner and his buddies better understand that this fall is like a free pass.  If the GOP can’t show that they can actually lead, it’s game over.  Either it’s back to the minority or conservatives and libertarians in the GOP will be demanding that Republican candidates pledge to purge themselves of a leadership that simply cares more about power than philosophy and policy.

The time for pandering is over John.

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Rangel to Face Ethics Charges

IT’S ABOUT TIME!

Former House Ways and Means chair Charles Rangel (D-NY) will finally face ethics charges for myriad offenses.  Rangel, who was forced to step down as committee chair earlier this year over other charges, is being investigated for filing false financial disclosures and income tax evasions.  The details of the charges will be made public next week.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington called on Mr. Rangel to resign.

"Today’s action demonstrates that the notoriously lax ethics committee has found substantial reason to believe that Rep. Rangel has violated federal law, House rules, or both. Now the question is whether Rep. Rangel will resign or endure a public trial that promises to be filled with detailed and undoubtedly embarrassing revelations of wrongdoing," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the watchdog organization. "The time clearly has come for him to resign."

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Support Conservatives – Not Republicans

Former New York Gov. George Pataki has endorsed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman over GOP candidate Dierdre Scozzafava in the race for New York’s 23rd Congressional District.  Principle over party is now the cry!

As Hoffman narrowly moves into first place in a three way race, we are fast seeing who is willing to take a stand:

• George Pataki
• Sarah Palin
• Tim Pawlenty
• Sen. Jim DeMint
• Fred Thompson
• Steve Forbes
• Dick Armey
• Tom Cole (former RNCC chair)
• Ed Meese
• David Keene
• Al Regnery
• David McIntosh
• Brent Bozell
• Jim Miller
• Richard Viguerie
• Tony Perkins
• Tom Winter
• Ken Blackwell
• Craig Shirley

Who is supporting Scozzafava?

• Michael Steele
• Newt Gingrich
• The RNCC

Gingrich has ceded all ties to the conservative movement with this move.  Steele never had any.  Their support of liberal Wayne Gilchrest merely made them look foolish.  However, this race has the potential to be as meaningful to conservatives as the 1976 GOP presidential primaries.  Assuming Hoffman pulls off a victory, Steele’s resignation should be demanded immediately.  Those on the RNC who voted for Steele over Ken Blackwell should be ashamed!  As for the RNCC, no conservative should donate a dime as long as the House GOP caucus is led by the likes of Boehner and Cantor (see below).

Worst of all – Who is standing on the sidelines?

• John Boehner
• Eric Cantor
• Mike Huckabee
• Mitt Romney

This is merely a warm-up for next year.  We are witnessing the GOP elite support statist candidates over true conservatives.  We need to support people like Marco Rubio in Florida and Chuck DeVore in California.  As Neil Stevens recently reminded us, there are two kinds of Republicans.  We know which kind our country needs.

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Roy Blunt for Senate ????

I often read with amusement that the GOP is dead.  I’ve heard all of this before, only to see the GOP come back bigger and stronger than ever.  Given that Barack Obama is fast becoming a younger, more charming version of Jimmy Carter I’m not too worried.   However …every so often we do something so completely stupid that I question whether we deserve to win or not.

Case in point – former House Minority Whip Roy Blunt’s (R-MO) candidacy to succeed Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO).  If Blunt is the type of candidate we’ll be running in 2010 I fully expect the Dems to trounce us again.

How can we expect the average voter to take us seriously if we are running guys who personify the reasons that the voters threw us out to begin with.  In his video Blunt says that we can’t “borrow and spend our way to prosperity”.  Guess what guys, Blunt was part of the leadership that turned the Congressional Republican majority from a bunch of fiscally responsible conservatives to a bunch of mealy-mouthed spendthrifts.

What’s next?  Tom DeLay for Senate?  How about John Boehner for President?  How about a new party?

If the Missouri GOP can’t find some young DA or state legislator to run, give the seat up before putting someone like Blunt into the Senate.  I know that Blunt comes from a politically powerful family, and is powerful in his own right.  However, if the NRSC or RNC is willing to throw conservative principles so far down a well then the wishful thinking of the left could just become a reality.

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Faux-Cons Sieze House Leadership …

… Disco and Leisure Suits Coming Back

The only thing left to prove that the 1970′s are back is to see if President-Elect Barack Obama governs like Jimmy Carter.  As far as the House GOP is concerned, the Bee Gees are back at the top of the charts.  As Rep. John Boehner cements his control over the House GOP caucus, Republicans can be assured that the Wilderness Years are just beginning.

Boehner’s overwhelming re-election as Minority Leader provides yet more evidence that the House GOP caucus is only fit for the minority.  Coupled with the elevation of Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) to Whip, and Boehner loyalist Rep. Cathy Rodgers (R-WA) to Conference Vice-Chair conservatives can be reassured that there is no place for them in the House leadership structure.

While leading House conservative Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) was elected Conference chair, expect this to be mere window dressing by Boehner and Cantor.  Both, former conservatives, have become too attached to power and have proven themselves unable to provide genuine conservative leadership.

While unfortunate, it appears that we must go back to the days of primary battles to elect true conservative leaders before we will be able to launch a genuine fight for the majority.  It is unlikely that a majority of Americans will be willing to accept promises of fiscal responsibility from the likes of Boehner and Cantor.  Merely pandering on social issues while promoting corporate welfare will not be sufficient for the GOP to retake the House.

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US House – Principle or More of the Same?

Are the Republican members of the US House serious about taking back the majority? … or saving their own skins and egos?

It’s obvious that Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) is more worried about his ego.  Leadership under Boehner has been little better than that under disgraced former leader Tom DeLay.

If Boehner were half as principled as he claimed he would resign his leadership post.  Any attempt to move the GOP caucus to a principled position on the political spectrum will simply not be possible under Boehner.  His past willingness to sell out fiscal conservatives means that the public won’t trust a House caucus lead by him.

It is ironic that Boehner has jumped on the bandwagon endorsing Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) for Conference Chair.  I guess that Boehner believes that backing a real, live, principled conservative for the number three spot in the leadership will somehow make up for his betrayal of the principles that brought us to the majority in 1994.
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Bailout – Leadership Absent, Hypocrisy Abounds

Where was the leadership during yesterday’s bailout debacle in the Congress?  It surely wasn’t wasn’t coming from either the Democrat or GOP camps.  Unfortunately, hypocrisy – the life’s blood of Washington – seemed to be in ample supply on both sides of the aisle.  With claims that the world economy will collapse without action by the US Congress, it’s been politics as usual – except the players are getting more air time.

It’s the Democrats fault.  No, all of the blame lies with Republicans.  Let’s blame it all on President Bush.  Your head will literally spin watching the players pass the buck.

While everyone spoke prior to yesterday’s vote, if you were a Democrat you seemed to parrot the same speech:

We need to all come together because this is the nation’s problem.  It’s the world’s problem.  And of course we all know that this is due to the failed economic policies of the Republicans.

Republicans used a similar tack; simply claiming that this debacle lays at the feet of Dems.

You’ll seldom here me say this, but the truth is somewhere in the middle.  It is absolutely true that we can trace the root of SOME of these problems to the Clinton administration … even the administration of Jimmy Carter.  It is equally true that too many Republicans approved of a system bereft of reasonable regulation and allowing institutions to merge to the point that they were too big too fail.

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Bold Colors

Jokers to the Right posted an interesting piece tying in the Delaware races with our national party defeat and it reminded me of something Ronald Reagan said at the 1975 CPAC:

Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a revitalized party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?

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Boehner Pulls Off Victory on Second Ballot

The Hill reports on John Boehner’s surprise victory for House Majority Leader. The man is no John Shaddegg, but is beats Blunt by a mile.

Boehner has long been considered DeLay’s chief rival, and he pledged during his campaign to renew many of the ideals that characterized the so-called Republican Revolution spear-headed by Gingrich.

Will Boehner bring back the days of a true conservative majority in the House? We’ll see.

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Will the House GOP Hear Us?

A Club for Growth polls shows 77% of voters in 20 swing Republican districts believe that the new Majority Leader should come from outside the current House leadership.

Will the GOP Caucus hear the voters who put them in office and give us John Shaddeg? We can only hope. We’ll find out today.

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