And another GOP scalp (chalk this one up to Foleygate): Dennis Hastert — who’s inexplicably the longest-serving Republican Speaker in US history (Joe Cannon is 2nd) — is leaving the Republican congressional leadership. Current contenders for his position include former Majority Leader John Boehner, Mike Pence, Eric Cantor, and Joe Barton.
Tag: John Boehner
Junket Dogs.
“The forms show that about 2,300 trips cost $5,000 or more. At least 500 cost $10,000 or more, 16 cost $25,000 or more, and the cost of one exceeded $30,000. There were $500-a-night hotel rooms, $25,000 corporate jet rides and other extravagant perks. Almost three-quarters of all trips were taken by aides, who often influence how their bosses vote, negotiate in committee and interact with other government officials. All told, the travelers were away from Washington for a minimum of 81,000 days — a combined 222 years.” A new report by the Center for Public Integrity scrutinizes the massive epidemic of congressional boondoggles, and, folks, it ain’t pretty: “Offices that accepted more than $300,000 worth of trips include (in alphabetical order), Rep. Barton (R-TX), Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Miss) Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX), and Speaker Hastert (R-IL).“
Dubai Dare.
“‘Listen, this is a very big political problem,’ said House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), explaining that he had to give his rank-and-file members a chance to vote. ‘There are two things that go on in this town. We do public policy, and we do politics. And you know, most bills at the end of the day, the politics and the policy kind of come together, but not always. And we are into one of these situations where this has become a very hot political potato.’” Content to curl up like lapdogs when civil liberties are on the table, Republicans remain livid over Dubaigate, with House leaders setting up a voice vote to kill the port deal in the next few days. Update: It has begun — the House Appropriations Committee votes 62-2 to add a block of the deal to a war funding measure.
Boehner bides his time.
Surprise, surprise: When it comes to cleaning the money out of Congress, the GOP are playing to form. “The rush to revise ethics laws in the wake of the Jack Abramoff political corruption scandal has turned into more of a saunter…The primary holdup is in the House…[where] progress was slowed by the election two weeks ago of a new majority leader, Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), who has a different notion of what ‘reform’ should entail.”
Schisms aplenty.
“‘I can’t believe I’m in a conservative hall listening to him say [Bush] is off course trying to defend the United States,’ Sorcinelli fumed.” As a result of his questioning Dubya’s NSA powergrab, right-wing civil libertarian Bob Barr finds himself persona non grata at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. Similarly in the doghouse with the powers-that-be is right-wing pollster Frank Luntz, due to a longstanding feud with John Boehner — Luntz backed the wrong horse in ’98. And, speaking of Boehner, the new Majority Leader is apparently causing mild tremors along another GOP faultline, the one between evangelicals and pro-business stooges. (Boehner numbers among the latter.) Could this all be the prelude to a ’06 crack-up of ’94 proportions?
A Deluxe Apartment in the Sky.
My, what a coincidence. New majority leader John A. Boehner is “renting his Capitol Hill apartment from a veteran lobbyist whose clients have direct stakes in legislation Boehner has co-written and that he has overseen as chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee.” That’s Strike 3: Coupled with his stonewalling on lobbying reform and his passing out Big Tobacco checks on the House floor in 1995, it’s becoming abundantly clear that Boehner is just another corrupt GOP party boss in the DeLay mold. I wonder, will that sword of righteousness, John McCain, have anything to say about Boehner’s behavior?
Boehner’s Boys, Boehner’s Boondoggles.
“In the past, when these scandals have erupted, what’s happened is Congress has overreacted, and two days later nobody knew what happened…taking actions to ban this and ban that, when there’s no appearance of a problem, there’s no foundation of a problem, I think, in fact, does not serve the institution well.” No appearance of a problem?(!) New GOP Majority Leader John Boehner may have brought a new cadre of GOP leaders to the fore, but, when it comes to lobbying reform, they may as well be the Old Guard. And with Boehner, who has his own corporate masters, now actively working to prevent any real changes in lobbying practices, the fate of real reform may now lie in the hands of none other than Casino Jack: “If disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff drops the dime on a bunch of lawmakers and several of them are indicted, Congress won’t be able to say no to even the harshest anti-lobbying measures…But if Abramoff dawdles and not much happens, lawmakers will take their sweet time moving legislation through committee.”
Casino Jack vs. the Gym Rats / The Boehner Blitz.
Behind closed doors, the Republicans talk amongst themselves about lobbying reform, with the status quo beating back a challenge by reformers to vote on new GOP leadership across the board (except for Hastert.) “‘All we were doing was asking us to look in the mirror,’ Rep. Daniel E. Lungren (R-Calif.), a co-sponsor of the motion, said after the vote. ‘The shadow of [Jack] Abramoff is not a mere distraction but a serious problem to address.’” Meanwhile, in the race for Majority Leader, while Blunt might be on the threshold of maintaining the DeLay ring’s hold over the House GOP, Boehner apparently proved himself no friend to reform either. Speaking on the GOP’s anti-lobbying package, he “scoffed that Congress knows how to do just two things well — nothing and overreact, according to witnesses.” And Boehner leads the candidates in former-staffers-turned-lobbyists.
But, give ’em credit — the GOP have at least succeeded in kicking lobbyists out of the House gym. “The rule change passed overwhelmingly, 379 to 50, but not before Democrats — and some Republicans — ridiculed it as meaningless. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) suggested that lawmakers compromise and change the rules so that lobbyists must yield to lawmakers who want to use the gym equipment they are on. ‘I’m a gym guy; I’ve never seen anybody lobbied there,’ said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.). ‘I’ve never seen any nefarious plots hatched on the treadmill.'” Just in case, though, Boss DeLay voted against the change.
Update: It’s Boehner on the second ballot over Blunt, 122-109. (Looks like the Shadegg-Boehner deal went through — On the first ballot, Blunt, who will remain Majority Whip, was only 7 votes shy of winning.)
Blunt talk.
“‘Clearly, Blunt has demonstrated great leadership; Cantor has, too,’ Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) said. ‘Are we saying we don’t trust anyone in our leadership? That makes the case that everybody in Washington is on the take, that we’re all corrupt.'” Yeah, that sounds about right…Sensing electoral doom in the growing public perception that the GOP is rife with corruption, Boehner and Shadegg contemplate joining forces to knock off Boss DeLay’s heir apparent, Roy Blunt, in the House leadership race.
Bad Ney / Shadegg v. the Shadies?
“‘The Ney situation has changed after the plea agreement,’ said a House Republican insider close to the talks. ‘There are people that have pled guilty who have conspired to bribe him.’” As part of the post-Abramoff GOP clean-up/cover-up, Speaker Hastert pressures DeLay flunky Bob Ney to resign as chairman of the House Administration Committee. And conservative Arizona Republican John Shadegg joins the House Leadership race, hoping to benefit from his lack of lobbying ties compared to Blunt and Boehner, the two frontrunners.