When House Republicans huddled at a private retreat two weeks ago, Rep. Raul Labrador offered an unexpected proposal: Let's extend the federal borrowing limit with no strings attached and make Democrats muster the votes.
Coming from one of the House's most conservative members, it was a surprising move. The Idaho lawmaker said he opposed raising the debt ceiling, but wanted his party to skip a protracted fight it was unlikely to win. This week, that's exactly what happened.
"Why go through the theatrics of seeming to fight when you know what the end result is going to be?" Mr. Labrador said in an interview Wednesday.
The vote to suspend the debt ceiling until mid-March 2015—with no policy measures attached—shows how the House GOP has changed after three bruising years of budget brinkmanship, capped by October's partial government shutdown.
Conservative and tea-party groups outside Congress were incensed by the move, orchestrated by Speaker John Boehner of Ohio. But GOP lawmakers defended the strategy, which enabled Mr. Labrador and 198 other Republicans to oppose the debt-ceiling bill—it passed with the votes of Mr. Boehner, 27 other Republicans and 193 Democrats—and clear the way for them to try to redirect attention to the president's health-care law.
Months ago, Mr. Boehner's decision might have amounted to political suicide. Today, conservatives such as Mr. Labrador are increasingly willing to substitute pragmatism for the ideological battles they say have produced diminishing returns from a Democratic-controlled Senate and White House. In recent months, Mr. Boehner also has pushed through his caucus a budget deal, spending bill and farm bill.
Mr. Labrador's comments at the retreat didn't convince everyone, but they carried weight, coming from a lawmaker who hasn't shied away from clashing with GOP leaders in the past.Read the rest of the story HERE.
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9 comments:
House conservatives remain on board with Boehner.
-Martha
If raising the debt ceiling without corresponding spending cuts is such a "brilliant move", then why don't Boehner, Labrador and other FAKE conservatives run on it at election time, instead of promising their constituents the exact opposite.
Far too many Republican officeholders TALK like a conservative when they're up for election or re-election, but in between, GOVERN like a liberal.
That's why they're called "RINOs". Because they say one thing, but do another. Because they are FAKE, PHONY, FRAUDS.
Nobody said it was a brilliant move. But it was a necessary move because there's this little thing in government called math.
acknowledging math doesn't make you a fake conservative. Sheesh you are so dense.
-Martha
Nobody said it was - or may be - "a brilliant move"?!?!?
There's this little thing called "ENGLISH" - READ THE POST - FIRST PARAGRAPH.
And the MATH is this: 232 Republicans, 200 Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Last time I checked the Constitution, THE HOUSE CONTROLS THE PURSE STRINGS.
Math, English, the Constitution - YOU need remedial education in all three.
And BTW, do you LIVE on this website 247? Almost every time I post a comment, you post your idiotic response within minutes. GET A LIFE!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives#End_of_previous_Congress
http://firethespeaker.com/tpp/marklevin
martha, stop it with the common sense! folks like 'cruz' country lives in an alternate reality. Math ain't one of their strong suits.
Nearly $17 trillion of national debt and $100 trillion of unfunded liabilities are NOT "alternate reality" - THEY ARE REALITY.
Perhaps you'll finally understand that when the entire house of cards collapses on our heads like a ton of bricks, and people are rioting in the streets like they were in Greece not too long ago.
In the meantime, keep living on Planet Martha, Planet Anonymous or whatever other planet you're living on - it ain't Planet Earth, that's for damn sure.
Nothing is going to collapse CC. Stop listening to Levin. That idiot is just selling books.
Labrador is Mormon. That's why Martha was all over this thread. Gotta protect her boy.
Rolls eyes.
-Martha
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