Courtesy of Politico:
The simmering feud between House Republicans and movement conservatives is finally an all-out war.
The tension exploded on Wednesday morning when Speaker John Boehner and outside conservative groups traded sharp barbs over the budget deal Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) crafted with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). It only escalated later in the day when the leader of the right-wing Republican Study Committee forced out its long-time executive director for leaking private conversations about strategy to those organizations.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Boehner (R-Ohio) accused outside conservative groups of “using our members and they’re using the American people for their own goals.”
Republican leaders have long accused those outside groups — Heritage Action, Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity, to name a few — of existing solely to oppose them. Many of these organizations accuse Boehner, his leadership team and some Republican members of Congress of being a bunch of squishes willing to abandon their conservative principles in favor of compromises.
More than 50 members of conservative groups signed on to a statement Wednesday evening responding to both Boehner’s remarks and Teller’s dismissal.
“It is clear that the conservative movement has come under attack on Capitol Hill today,” the statement reads.
All of that was private, relegated to fundraisers and K Street lunchroom chatter, until now.
“John Boehner has apparently decided to join Mitch McConnell in the war on conservatives,” Senate Conservatives Fund executive Director Matt Hoskins said. “McConnell called us fringe traitors who should be locked in a bar and punched in the nose, and now Boehner is lashing out at us too. Conservatives everywhere need to understand that the party’s leadership has declared war on them. If they don’t fight back, they will always regret it. We’re going to hang together or hang separately.
I watched Boehner this morning responding to those questions, and I thought he was about to have an aneurism. His face was red, his temples were throbbing, he was clearly pissed!
And already the Right Wing is accusing Paul Ryan of being Judas, the man who up until this point was considered their Messiah.
I think that we are finally seeing the first volleys of what will be a devastating war within the Republican party, that will determine their path forward, and just who is, and who is not, welcome within their ranks.
Pretty sure that the stage is set for a third party to arise. And if that happens the Republicans may find themselves with a debilitating identity crisis moving toward 2016.
Popcorn anyone?
I call false flag........beware the Kracken.....
ReplyDeleteA third party might spring up and wither in one season. I don’t think it has critical mass.
ReplyDeleteI don’t feel sorry for Boner and his ilk, they encouraged the crazies. That’s the thing about crazies; you can’t control them. Now the Republican idiots have to clean up their own steaming pile, kind of like a pit bull (Grizzly?) no one can train, while the rest of us watch and laugh.
Agreed and the only thing the crazies want is President Obama out of the whitehouse - they will scream impeach for the next 3 years - and with luck their selection of fools in the 2014 primaries will guarantee a dem majority in the house.
DeleteBoner has brought this on himself...he's been a horrible Speaker of the House and I hope he loses the position when his time is up. He's a boozer and has not represented the people that elected him in Ohio nor the rest of the population. He's an ass!
DeleteI cannot stand the Republican party and especially dislike Boehner, McConnell, Cantor, McCain, etc. They are a mess and nothing more than obstructionists and racists. May they all rot in hell - with a new party arising!!!
ReplyDeleteBoehner and McCain should be tempering any racism that they have as both of their children married black people. McConnell is married to an Asian woman. I'm thinking basically this sideshow are obstructionist assholes who should all retire.
DeleteAre they skeered of Hillary or WHAT? Fact of the matter is, for every trick they've pulled trying to undermine President Obama at every turn, they have shown they don't care about this country nor its citizenry at ALL.
ReplyDeleteEvery talking point is also on video or in print. They've got no one to blame but themselves and in case they hadn't noticed, the majority of Americans are fed UP.
Hillary in a LANDSLIDE.
It is looking that way, And if we can take back the House, Obama will have two years to get the country really humming along, and make the GOP look like the asses they have turned into.
DeleteHillary immediately came to mind when I watched this exchange earlier today. Especially with Liz Warren's statement that she'll not run next cycle and will stay and finish out her term. Boner looks like he imbibed in quite a bit of liquid courage before declaring War on Conservatives..... crickets chirping from Sarah's Ghostbook writer, RAM's probably crashing from a sugar high.
DeleteWhat shall we call the "third rail" er "turd party"???
If a 3rd party does arise during the 2016 session, it could cause a lot of unrest, as the most extreme groups will throw in with them.
ReplyDeleteI can just see the skinheads, the white power folks, and the KKK having delegations to their convention.
How will Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Louie Gohmert feel about rubbing elbows with David Duke?
The Repubs are going to rue the day that they let the Teaparty militant beast into their midst
Why the KKK in 2016? President Obama will be out of office by then.
DeleteNot a fan of the OG Republicans but I sure don't want to see the TeaParty faction win this battle of the Rs either. I have yet to see any sign of reason or intelligence in any pol with an R behind their name for over 50 years. But, I just gasp and gag at the rise of the TP which would blow a little more air into Palin's deflating gas bag and give us 24Hr Teddy-Sr & Jr. No thanks.
ReplyDeleteBoehner (R-Ohio) accused outside conservative groups of “using our members and they’re using the American people for their own goals.”
ReplyDeleteREALLY? Golly, I had NO IDEA!
Geeze, John, buy a clue, willya?
Tom, in FL
So true. Most guys know when someone's using their members. This guy's a bit slow on the uptake.
DeleteHe is an alcoholic from all reports - and is a total ass as far as I'm concerned. He could care less about the "American" people...I'm so sick of the use of that term by the Republicans. I so, so hope that he loses his position and that Ohio doesn't reelect him!
DeleteI hate this deal. Anything that preserves the bloated and over-funded military complex while taking money from health providers for seniors is BAD. And someone one MSNBC was complaining that progressives have been pretty quiet today. I thin k they are letting the GOP grab all the ugly press themselves, and are waiting for the implosion. Buh buh GOP. Wish I could think of something kind to say about the party, but you are all Satan in my book.
ReplyDeleteI hate the Teabaggers…but…what the hell is Boehner talking about here: "using our members and they’re using the American people for their own goals.”
ReplyDeleteUh…dummie…ALL POLITICIANS AND POLITICAL GROUPS USE PEOPLE TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS!!! Duh?
With loooooooots of butter and a large Coke, and I'd also like boxes of Junior Mints and Milk Duds, please!
ReplyDeleteThe Republicans always eat their own. And where, praytell, was Boehner when the Teabagger Freshman Class was sworn in? Wasn't he in charge of making sure they know a)who's their boss b) how things work in Washington and c) The Three Branches of Government and how they work?
ReplyDeleteThis deal isn't much of a deal, but it's a step in the right direction. What I don't like is the huge funding of the military conglomeration while cutting out the elderly/poor. Guess it was needed to make it "palatable" to the GOP, but aren't we ratcheting down the wars?
Well, anything that causes them to fight among themselves means we're a step closer to a Democratic House. Works for me.
ReplyDeleteLet's see: The old time GOP Conservatives who love their corporate subsidies and tax breaks vs. the rabid TeaPartiers who just think all government is bad, just get rid of it, and BTW, lets keep those colored folks and the women out of the halls of power while we are at it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this ought to be REAL interesting, especially around primary time when the Koch's et al start throwing their money around.