Blunt to Angry Conservatives: Remember That I Was Only the Second or Third Most Powerful Man in the House

Yesterday on the Allman in the Morning radio program, Roy Blunt was asked about Michael Steele's very loud condemnation of recent GOP leadership.  Predictably, Blunt wasn't too happy with Steele's assessment that Republican leaders (including Blunt) were "enablers for big government" and "screwed up." In responding to a question from host Jamie Allman, Blunt reminded listeners  that he wasn't actually the Speaker or President when he all that 'enabling' and 'screwing up' was happening. 

I think he was critical of the President and the Republican leaders. And, you know, I was one of the Republican leaders. I wasn't the Majority Leader at the time, I wasn't the Speaker at the time, I wasn't the Leader in the Senate at the time, I wasn't the President.

Listen:

Blunt was the acting Majority Leader after Tom DeLay was indicted, and should have been asked to explain what he meant by "I wasn't the Majority Leader at the time."  Regardless, his comments were clearly intended to downplay his role as a key leader for Republicans when they controlled Congress.  Yet any suggestion that Roy Blunt wasn't a key part of all Republican legislation -- good or bad, depending on your perspective -- is absurd. 

From the Kansas City Star archives (11/30/2002):

BLUNT'S ELEVATION TO MAJORITY WHIP IS PROOF OF INSIDER POWER

Powerful and visible committee chairmen play the outside game by shaping legislation. They are the Sunday talk show staples.

The inside players get their power by shaping people. They trade on what they can get lawmakers to do, and what, in turn, they will do for them.

From the moment he first set foot on Capitol Hill as a freshman Republican congressman from southwest Missouri in January 1997, Roy Blunt knew he preferred playing on the inside.

His uncontested election this month as majority whip after just three terms shows he has mastered the game. The whip is the third-highest position in the House GOP leadership behind Speaker Dennis Hastert and newly elected Majority Leader Tom DeLay. As such, Blunt is part of the Republican triumvirate that controls the ebb and flow of business in the often-fractious House of Representatives...

During the 2000 presidential campaign, he was then-Gov. George Bush's liaison to the House. After Bush lost the Michigan primary, Blunt was reportedly a determined enforcer, "twisting arms" to prevent party defections. These days, he has breakfast regularly with presidential strategist Karl Rove.

"There's nothing that happens in Congress that Roy Blunt isn't a major architect of," said White House Political Director Ken Mehlman.

Moreover, on at least two specific pieces of legislation cited by Steele this week, Blunt played very significant roles in passage.  Blunt was the House GOP's lead negotiator in support of the Wall Street bailout, and even convinced some in his caucus to change their votes and pass the bill.  For the 2003 Medicare drug bill, Blunt told the press that he and his fellow leaders would be pushing for a vote before anyone had a chance to read the bill, and was the leader of the very disturbing whip operation to just get the legislation out of the House. 

Here's an extended excerpt of the on-air exchange between Jamie Allman, Dana Loesch and Blunt.

ALLMAN: As you know, you know, people are agitated. And a lot of them are looking back.  And a lot of them are starting to point fingers at people who were in power back in the day.  And every time I had you on, or every time your name pops up, in some circles, people will say, "Yeah, but you know what, he was, he was Whip back in the day, and he had some degree of responsibility for the ballooning of our budget." 

Including some dude who wrote in the Kansas City Star that Michael Steele -- it's kind of interesting, by the way, Michael Steele being elevated to a position higher than you on the conservative scale, which is actually kind of surprising to me considering Steele's track record. I'm not going to put words into your mouth on this, but...

LOESCH: And he's a horrible speaker.

ALLMAN: But I'm just -- It's just kind of odd to me.  But nonetheless, this guy is saying that Roy Blunt during his day was an "enabler of big government." Now, how do you get past that criticism of you?

BLUNT: Well, I don't really think that's what he said. I'm going to read that book one of these days.

ALLMAN: No, it wasn't what Steele said...

BLUNT: I think he was critical of the President and the Republican leaders. And, you know, I was one of the Republican leaders. I wasn't the Majority Leader at the time, I wasn't the Speaker at the time, I wasn't the Leader in the Senate at the time, I wasn't the President.

I don't really -- I'll have to read the book. I'm probably better off not saying much about it...

ALLMAN: Well, no --

BLUNT: ..until I've read it.  I liked his other comments better than that one, I will tell you that.

Blunt went on to suggest that the Republican majorities he helped lead weren't that big of a deal because there weren't ever 60 GOP Senators, and at all times, Arlen Specter was one of the Republicans.

Blunt also continued to describe Democratic health care reform legislation as fiscally irresponsible, even though it reduces the federal deficit.  It's impossible to to quantify the hypocrisy here -- Blunt and the Republican leadership passed a Medicare Part D benefit without even attempting to pay for it, and now they're calling Democratic health care bills fiscally irresponsible.

Listen to the whole interview here.  Be sure to catch the part at the end where Allman and Loesch unironically joke about how Robin Carnahan hasn't debated Blunt yet, even though Blunt has completely ignored the requests of Chuck Purgason.

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