Having seen House Speaker John Boehner’s antics this year at the Republican National Convention, what is taking place now with the fiscal talks issues are not surprising, but neither is his recent initiation of a purge of true fiscal conservatives from committees on Monday.
According to Roll Call:
The decisions were made by the GOP Steering Committee at a Monday meeting, which reviewed a spreadsheet listing each GOP lawmaker and how often he or she had voted with leadership, three sources said.
Reps. David Schweikert of Arizona and Walter Jones of North Carolina were booted from the Financial Services Committee. Reps. Justin Amash of Michigan and Tim Huelskamp of Kansas were removed from the Budget Committee.
According to a source, Schweikert was told that he was ousted in part because his “votes were not in lockstep with leadership.”
This seems par for the course. If you were not in lockstep with the establishment back in the primaries or the convention you were treated like this too.
According to the article, “All of the lawmakers other than Jones were rebellious right-wingers. Huelskamp and Amash, for instance, both voted against the budget proposed by Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin in committee and on the floor, because it did not cut spending fast enough. They also voted against the current continuing resolution that is funding the government through the end of March.”
Well now they don’t have to worry about it do they, since the GOP leadership is caving in all on their own now to Barack Obama and the Democrats.
Justin Amash wrote on Facebook that he had not even been made aware of his removal, except by way of finding out from “news reports.” He said that he looked ” forward to hearing from my party’s leadership about why my principled, conservative voting record offends them. That’s sur
e to be a lively and entertaining conversation.”
Amash then asked,
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.
One GOP leadership aide said, “Changes are made for a variety of reasons, most often at the request of committee chairs.”
Another GOP strategist said, “This is a move that the whip team has been advocating for some time. They are using all of the tools at their disposal.”
Rep. Amash is one that is not to be bullied though. The Michigan Congressman said, “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.”
I agree with Mr. Amash. I have contacted his office with regards to an interview to discuss the matter. As of the writing of this article I have not heard back from them yet. The GOP establishment is scared of the Tea Party and wants it silenced, but what they are doing will only bring a louder outcry against them.
UPDATE: Now the backlash has begun against House Speaker John Boehner to depose him from his post.
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