Actual Records > Election Year Rhetoric
What do you think Roy Blunt thinks when he hears his GOP colleagues say things like this?
"We are not the same Republican party that was fired in 2006," [Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)] said. "Not only are we dedicated to cleaning up the process, we also want to take the money and put it towards retiring the debt."
I ask, of course, because Blunt was fired in 2006. Literally. He was rejected by his own colleagues in his bid to be permanent House Majority Leader because of "his deep ties to the lobbying effort, his status-quo agenda, and his close relationship with ex-House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay."
Cantor's comments are specifically about the House Republicans' new disdain for Congressional earmarks, and a new proposal shamelessly co-sponsored by Blunt, heretofore a "proud and prolific earmarker."
I can't imagine that anyone who was awake from 2000-2008 is buying this.
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From the Post-Dispatch, February 3, 2006.
FRESH FACE ISN'T BLUNT'S
In a surprise turnabout, House Republicans rejected Roy Blunt's bid for House ajority leader Thursday, opting to put a new face at the leadership table amid a sea of discontent, desire for reform, and election-year jitters.
GOP members picked Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, as their No. 2 leader in a topsy-turvy election that Blunt, R-Mo., had been expected to win. Buffeted by a widening corruption scandal and sagging public approval ratings, GOP lawmakers itching for change rejected Blunt's pitch that he was a proven leader who would provide vital continuity and legislative results at an already tumultuous turning point for the party...
Blunt's downfall was not solely due to his status as an incumbent.
Lawmakers said that his deep ties to the lobbying effort, his status-quo agenda, and his close relationship with ex-House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, helped doom his bid. DeLay was forced to step aside after a Texas grand jury indicted him last year; he also is under scrutiny in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.
When DeLay was the GOP whip, he tapped Blunt -- then just elected to his second term -- to be his deputy. And Blunt had taken over a key DeLay initiative to coordinate the GOP agenda with Washington lobbyists.
Blunt "is part of the team that people wanted a break from," said Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who supported Shadegg. "People were ready for more reform than (Blunt) was offering."
Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo., said Thursday's vote was "an effort to get away fromDeLay and the image" that he brought to the party, which critics said included a very blurry line between legislative favors and political fundraising.
"The fact that DeLay brought Blunt in, I think that worked against him," said Hefley, who was ousted as head of the Ethics Committee last year after that panel had admonished DeLay.
Printed the same day in The Boston Globe:
GOP OUSTS BLUNT AS MAJORITY LEADER; BOEHNER ELECTED TO LEADERSHIP ROLE
In a clear sign that they're worried about the direction of the Republican Party, House GOP members ousted acting majority leader Roy Blunt, the chamber's second in command, and replaced him with Representative John A. Boehner, an Ohio conservative who has promised to crack down on pet projects inserted into bills at the request of lobbyists and lawmakers.
The hand-picked successor of embattled former majority leader Tom DeLay, Blunt was rejected by members who felt he was too closely associated withDeLay, one of Capitol Hill's most powerful politicians. DeLay is under indictment on charges relating to campaign finance irregularities in Texas and is linked to a scandal involving Jack Abramoff, a once influential GOP lobbyist who has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges...
Blunt's defeat reflects the deepening angst within the Republican Party about ethics headaches and soaring federal spending. Members hope that Boehner who helped close the scandal-plagued House Bank during the 1990s and has worked with Democrats as education committee chairman will bring fresh energy and focus to the GOP agenda.
And The Washington Post:
POST-ABRAMOFF MOOD SHAPED VOTE FOR DELAY'S SUCCESSOR
A little over two weeks ago, Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) declared the race for majority leader over. He released a statement announcing that a majority of Republicans had pledged support to him. It was a publicity stunt, of course, an effort to turn an early lead into an invincible stampede. But he honestly believed he was on an unstoppable trajectory to victory.
John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), on the other hand, thought the claim was bogus. Camped out in a smoky office in the basement of the Longworth House Office Building, Boehner was hearing from dozens of disgruntled members of the House Republican Conference who were fed up with the current direction of the GOP and rumors that Blunt was trading favors such as better committee assignments for votes.
Boehner called Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) to privately complain about Blunt's tactics, but he spent the bulk of his time pleading with Republicans to back him on the first or second ballot come election day.
Boehner's come-from-behind victory after two ballots in a closed-door vote on Capitol Hill yesterday was partly a triumph of maneuver -- the kind of deft insider intrigue on which leadership races always hinge. But it was also influenced decisively by outside events, as Boehner tapped into members' election-year anxieties about the GOP's scandal-scuffed leadership.
What Blunt presumed would be his greatest asset -- his links to the current leadership's system of power and favors -- turned out to be a liability. The day's surprise conclusion also positions Boehner as the most likely next speaker of the House, in the event that Hastert steps down after one more election and Republicans retain control of the House.
Here's on Blunt's rise to power is summarize on The Washington Post's WhoRunsGov.com website:
In 1999, DeLay singled Blunt out as a rising star and made him his Chief Deputy Whip, where he was required to count votes and reach out to lobbyists. Blunt said he didn’t realize he was being considered for the job until he read it in the newspaper.
As the Republicans’ official K Street liaison, Blunt helped transform the lobbying community into a vote-winning force for House Republicans. In one instance, he gathered 200 lobbyists for a meeting with top Republicans to discuss the party’s agenda. [link]
That year, Blunt was also appointed to the 10-person presidential exploratory committee for then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush.
In 2000, Blunt officially launched his campaign for Majority Whip. When then-Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) announced that he would retire in 2002, DeLay began running for that position, and Blunt ran to replace DeLay. He was elected handily, despite an early challenge from Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.)...
As Whip, Blunt built a network of whips, organizations and lobbyists that allowed him to deliver over 50 consecutive victories on tough issues like taxes, trade bills and tort reform. [link]
But some Republicans have argued that he was not a consistently effective vote rustler. In 2003, the House GOP leadership was forced
In 2003, Blunt got in trouble when the Washington Post reported that he had included a clause in a homeland security bill that would have benefited Philip Morris. The measure was particularly problematic because Blunt was dating a Philip Morris lobbyist at the time; they’ve since married and adopted a daughter from Russia. [link]
Still, Blunt seemed the inevitable choice for Majority Leader when his close ally DeLay was forced to temporarily step down in 2005 after being indicted on charges of money laundering in Texas. When DeLay permanently resigned after former aides were connected to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, Blunt became acting Majority Leader and was then elected to the permanent job in 2005.
Blunt convinced then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) to allow him to serve as Majority Leader while simultaneously maintaining the Whip post.
And just for fun, here's a interesting 2005 article in The Washington Post:
HOUSE MAJORITY WHIP EXERTS INFLUENCE BY WAY OF K STREET
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the man one step behind Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) in the Republican leadership, has built a political machine of his own that extends from Missouri deep into Washington's K Street lobbying community.
Blunt, who entered politics as a protege of former senator John D. Ashcroft (R-Mo.), has assembled an organization of whips and lobbyist vote counters that has delivered more than 50 consecutive victories for the GOP leadership on tough fights over issues including tax and trade bills, District of Columbia school choice and tort reform -- without a single defeat.
Working outside the glare of public attention, Blunt has maximized the organization's influence by delegating authority to Washington business and trade association lobbyists to help negotiate deals with individual House members to produce majorities on important issues.
Blunt's organization in scope has begun to rival "DeLay Inc." -- the political fundraising committees, extensive favor-giving and alliances with Republican lobbyists that the majority leader has used to become one of the most influential leaders in memory.
