There have been several articles the past couple of days about some conservative or libertarian Republican representatives getting stripped of their House committee assignments, purportedly for not toting the party (establishment) line often enough. Here is one of the pieces from the New York Times, and here’s one from The Huffington Post. The most likely suspects here are Speaker of the House John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy. There may be several factors involved here, but surely the anti-establishment voting records of the “offending” members is one of the principal reasons.
So, let’s take a look at the House Republican leadership. First of all, we have Speaker John Boehner. I’m going to give Boehner a pass here, because he is supposed to be the Speaker of the House, meaning the entire body, and not just the Speaker of the Republicans. Don’t get me wrong, here—I’m not a member of the John Boehner fan club. I’d rather stick a baseball bat up my butt than turn my back on a bat-wielding John Boehner!
So, that brings us to Eric Cantor, the Republican leader. Before he became leader, he was the Republican Whip. It seems (just my opinion) that Cantor is more interested in his illusions of power than in sticking to any kind of principles. Wasn’t he supposed to be a Tea Party favorite? You know, the Tea Party, the grassroots movement started by libertarian-leaning Republicans like Ron Paul, but then hijacked by the neo-conservatives, who aren’t conservative at all. Wasn’t the hijacking of that movement around the same time that talk show host Sean Hannity became one of the Tea Party’s biggest cheerleaders? Just saying. Good old Sean, always willing to stick his nose deeply and completely between neo-con butt cheeks.
And then, of course, we have Republican Whip, Kevin McCarthy. Now, since it looks like some Republicans lost their committee assignments for failing to vote with the establishment, shouldn’t Kevin McCarthy lose his job as Whip for failing to sufficiently rally the troops? Instead, we have members like Walter Jones of North Carolina, a libertarian (sane) Republican, who lost his financial services committee assignment. Yes, we certainly can’t have anyone as dangerous as Walter Jones on the financial services committee, now, can we? He thinks with his BRAIN, for God’s sakes!!
Just a few random thoughts there. If the November elections weren’t enough to convince true conservatives, constitutionalists and libertarians that the Republican party has gone completely over the edge, this lame duck period should do the job. The Republicans are in the twilight zone, folks.
So, put that in your pipe and smoke it!
Filed under: Congress, Republicans | Tagged: Eric Cantor, John Boehner, Kevin McCarthy, Republican leader, Republican Whip, Ron Paul, Speaker of the House, Walter Jones | Leave a comment »