So here is the big question for Sunday morning.
House Republicans seem set on re-election John Boehner as some sort of “Permanent Minority Leader” for the long haul, with some sort of concession to conservatives being that former Republican Study Committee Chairman Mike Pence is going to be the new Conference Chairman, the #3 spot in House Leadership. The question is – if Boehner stays put, meaning that the fundamental structure of House Republicans stays in place, does it even matter that Pence is in Leadership, except maybe at the margins?
Whoever is in leadership – well, it’s rearranging the deck chairs if they aren’t prepared to reign-in the “GOP Cardinals” – the Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee. Isn’t it time for House Republicans to stop glorifying spending by leaving in place the GOP Lard Team?
It’s true that conservatives don’t go to Washington, passionate about spending. So the squishy moderates and non-ideologues end up stacking the Appropriations Committee. Last year, in a rare and rather high profile move, conservative Jeff Flake of Arizona TRIED to get onto Appropriations but was rejected in favor of adding yet another moderate who supports egregious earmarks the pursuit of pork. (One pictures a bunch of alcoholics refusing to let the non-drinker into the bar.)
Remember, each year the Republican Study Committee puts forward a conservative budget alternative, and each year GOP Appropriators, en masse, oppose it saying that they, the “Appropriators” have primacy over spending decisions, and that blanket across the board cuts like those repeatedly offered up by the RSC are counter to what should be their final authority.
There is no real change in the Republican Conference if Boehner’s re-election, even with Pence getting a voice at the leadership table, means that we aren’t dumping Jerry Lewis (whom the Wall Street Journal dubbed “The Minority Maker”) from his position as ranking member of Appropriations and replacing him, not with the next most senior appropriator, but with Republican Study Committee proven anti-spender who will use the bully pulpit of the ranking member position to blast Obey, Murtha and company for their profligate, shameful and egregious spending.
I guess the bottom line is this: Boehner “inherited” the entire structure of leaders (whips, ranking members, etc.) from Hastert. Yes, all of those who overspent us in the majority, like Jerry Lewis, continue to dominate all of the Committees on behalf of the GOP. Boehner, the “nice guy” has demonstrated no willingness whatsoever to bring party discipline into the process (can you name anyone he has bounced from any key position because they voted with the Democrats?).
What good does it do us to have Pence as Conference Chairman, the “spokesman position” for House Republicans, without any change in how we do business? If anything, it will be worse. Now we’ll have a Reagan Republican properly articulating our principles, at the same time that the same, big spending GOP Appropriators go about their business, comfortable knowing that “The Nice Guy” is still in place, protecting their status quo.
Is John Boehner’s re-election as the leader of House Republicans supposed to make me feel good? Because it makes me feel like maybe we haven’t hit rock-bottom yet. Sometimes nice guys do finish last.
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