Four Million Reasons Why Roy Blunt Isn't The Consummate Washington Insider

Roy Blunt shouldn't really be considered a consummate Washington insider because he inaccurately predicted he'd be elected to replace Tom DeLay as Majority Leader in February 2006.  That's the argument made by columnist Bill McClellan in today's Post-Dispatch. He writes:  

When DeLay announced he would not seek to regain the position, Blunt announced he would run for the job. He issued a press release saying he had the support of the majority of the caucus, but when the secret ballots were counted, Blunt had lost.

That does not sound like an insider to me.

This doesn't make any sense, and completely ignores the actual reasons why Blunt lost the confidence of the GOP Caucus in 2006, and why they chose John Boehner of Ohio instead.  It also ignores that Blunt campaigned for the job by emphasizing his many years in the GOP leadership and "links to the [existing] leadership's system of power and favors." 

From McClellan's own 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 from DeLay 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 with DeLay, 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.

McClellan's assessment that Roy Blunt "does not sound like an insider" based on the Majority Leader elections also completely ignores the seven previous years in which Blunt served as a top Republican leader.  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. 

There's also this 2002 article in the Kansas City Star:

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...

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

And this 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.

But apart from all these stories, the "Republican Kingmakers" and "Power Lobbyists" supporting his Senate bid, his status as one of the one of the "Top Congressional Partiers," his frequent appearances in the DC style pages, his Georgetown mansion, there's really no reason for people to think Blunt's the consummate Washington insider.