It’s funny, but those with whom I have been close have heard me saying that Tom Feeney has been my favorite Republican Member of Congress since before he was even elected in 2002. Trust me, it is a total (and very cool) coincidence that Congressman Feeney hired my good friend Jason Roe to be his Chief of Staff! Of course, now Jason is the Washington, D.C., correspondent for the FlashReport, very funny.
Anyways, back to Tom Feeney. Back in 1994, Jeb Bush, then the GOP nominee for Governor of Florida, tapped Orlando area attorney Tom Feeney to be his Lieutenant Governor running mate. (In Florida, like at the national level, the candidates for the top two executive positions run as a slate – a great idea which, like with so many other things, needs to be fixed here in California where the Governor and LG can be, often are, and currently are political adversaries instead of team-mates). That year, the Bush-Feeney team lost, but things worked out okay for both of them. Jeb, of course, spent the next four years criss-crossing Florida, and brushing up on his Spanish, and came back in 1998 to win the Governorship! Feeney’s political career turned to the State House of Representatives, which is dominated by Republicans. Ultimately, in the 2000 election cycle, Feeney was the Speaker of the House, and was able to serve in a much more meaningful and influential way with Governor Bush.
As the Speaker of the Florida House, Feeney quickly showed that you can lead a large and powerful legislative body with principle, commitment to conservative values, and do so while earning the respect of colleagues on both sides of the political isle. Feeney’s accomplishments are too many for this Commentary, but suffice it to say that his time as Speaker was marked by decreases in regulation, and reductions in tax burdens. Talk about an exact opposite of our legislature here in California!
Until his election to Congress, Feeney’s ‘claim to fame’ (though probably not asked for, and he would tell you he was just doing what was right) was when he, as Speaker, led the charge for having the State of Florida certify the slate of electors from Florida committed to voting for George W. Bush as President of the United States.
Of course, his performance in just his firs two terms in Congress have been stellar. Feeney has already established himself as one of the foremost conservative leaders of the entire Congress (not just his freshman class). He is looked to by many as an ‘ideological compass’ as he is always pointing out the direction to "true liberty" in the GOP Caucus.
I have spent time in early Commentaries expressing my concerns about the growth in the size and scope of the federal government under a President and Congress that are led by the GOP. The GOP mantle of espousing limited government, and federalism is being eroded on a daily basis. I can tell you as someone who receives a lot of emails from grassroots activists and donors — that there is large-scale dismay with what is (and isn’t happening) on the Hill. The goal of a political party is not simply to control the government, but it is to enact the policy agenda of that party. Clearly the job for the Grand Old Party is not done, because when we have a ‘technical’ majority in the Congress – we don’t have an ‘ideological’ majority. And this President, whom I respect greatly as a statesmen and a leader, has been less than stellar in efforts to trim government spending (I read that he has yet to veto ANY legislation, regardless of how pork-laden it may be).
Right now, there is a dialogue (read: battle) going on nationally about the identity of the Republican Party. The Republican Study Committee (the conservatives within the GOP Caucus) have been pushing hard for the GOP majority to trim federal government spending. But there has been resistance from many within the party – unfortunately this includes many of our California Republican Members of Congress. It seems that to some, a Republican majority means "we will run government more effectively" (which is a dubious premise) as opposed to a Republican majority meaning "we will scale back the decades of growth in Washington, and try to restore our government to something that more clearly resembles the limited government envisioned by the founders of this country."
Okay, once again, back to Tom Feeney. If there is anyone who is on the front lines of this battle to define what a GOP majority should mean in Congress, it has been Tom Feeney. I will close my sharing with you a quotes from Feeney today:
From Congressional Daily (subscription based, so not linked in the FR today):
Let me close with three thoughts:
First – I would like to praise and commend Tom Feeney for his leadership. If we had 218 Tom Feeney’s in the House of Representatives, and 51 Feeney’s in the U.S. Senate, America would truly have a limited government of which we could be proud. Keep up the great work, Congressman, and know that your support spans this country!
Second – Our California Congressional Delegation has many great conservatives on it – so don’t let my praise for a Florida Representative in any way diminish the fine record of many of our California GOP Congressmen (they aren’t all like the "King of Pork," Congressman Bill Thomas of Bakersfield).
Finally – Jason Roe did not put me up this Commentary. He will be as surprised as you are to be reading it — though he may try to take credit with his boss.
Jon
P.S. Because of so many requests to be able to easily refer to previous Commentaries lof the Day, you can now access the Commentary Library here.