Real House Members of the Republican Congress: Leadership Drama Edition
…House Republican lawmakers campaigning for leadership slots will now spend the next several weeks intensely lobbying their colleagues – instead of completing any real negotiating work on a budget deal.
"Time that could have been spent on negotiations will now be spent on leadership elections," said one former senior House GOP staffer... [CQ, 9/28]
Rather than getting to work with Democrats to move the country forward on the issues that matter – negotiating a budget deal, reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank, passing comprehensive immigration reform and focusing on creating jobs – Republicans are falling over each other to throw elbows and jockey for position. From POLITICO:
… the leadership aspirants are about to walk into a buzz saw.
The GOP Conference will meet twice Tuesday, including at a rare evening session to try to chart a path forward for its fractured party.
But the candidates are working around the clock to lock up support — and the lawmakers and their allies are throwing behind-the-scenes bombs at each other to advance their own causes..
It gets even worse for the American people: once the dust settles on this reality leadership drama, House Republicans are making it abundantly clear that they'll be even more obstructionist and dysfunctional than they were before.
"We cannot have random government in which a small group hijacks the House," said Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York…
In a letter to his colleagues on Monday, Mr. McCarthy demonstrated what underlies the concerns of many members like Mr. King, taking veiled shots at Mr. Boehner and suggesting that as the next speaker he would take into account the faction whose rabble has been roused. [9/28]
CNN:
Republicans are only pushing the bigger ticket fights until later into the congressional year. It will grow harder to resolve sticky issues, including raising the debt ceiling and finding a long-term budget plan -- particularly as conservatives in the House try to stiffen the spines of their newly elected leadership team, and those new leaders seek to prove their conservative bona fides.
The intraparty fighting is part of a long-running battle between conservative Tea Party groups and the GOP establishment, which have sparred since the 2010 elections over tactics and strategy. Tea Party lawmakers are hailing Boehner's upcoming departure as one of their biggest achievements, saying the party leadership needs to adhere to their principles -- not water down their conservative ideology. [9/29]
"...we're going to be right back into this in a matter of months. You'll see motions to vacate, you'll see inability to pass rules," [Rep. Peter] Roskam added. "The idea that there's a leadership post to run for somehow is an illusion." [9/29]
House Republicans: the American people are tuning in to this latest edition of the GOP reality show. It's time to change the channel and start getting serious about governing.