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Politico…
Republican House
freshmen have their moment
By Marin Cogan
4/7/11
Editor’s Note: There was (literally) an 11th hour deal to keep the
government from shutting down Friday night. It involved moving riders –
such as defunding Planned Parenthood – into separate issues to be dealt
with outside of the budget process; and a reported $38.5 billion cut in
spending.
Photo: Jay Wescott
This is why the freshmen came to Washington.
A promise to cut spending is what animated their campaigns, it’s what
caused them to revolt when their own leaders originally proposed $33
billion in cuts, and it’s why they’ve protested on the Senate steps for
the past seven days to put political pressure on Democrats to pass a
funding bill that cuts $61 billion from the government.
And while they insist they didn’t come here to shut down the
government, the landmark freshman class of Republicans did promise to
shake up the old order on Capitol Hill, and their resistance to deal
making will certainly be a key factor when the government runs out of
money at midnight Friday.
“We were not sent here to go along and compromise,” Rep. Stephen
Fincher (R-Tenn.) told reporters at a Wednesday protest. “We were sent
to come up here and lead.”
In organizing the protests, Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas, a
first-time legislator and former radio announcer, has emerged as a de
facto leader of his large freshman class — the first to translate its
size and the strength of its symbolism into real political power in the
elaborate standoff over spending cuts.
The freshmen have mostly refused to commit themselves for or against
the compromise figures that have been floated.
“We can’t speculate on hypotheticals,” Crawford told reporters several
times over the past week. “We’ve been clear on that from the outset.
What we’d like to see is some action from Majority Leader [Harry] Reid
to bring something to the floor that we can work with.”
Freshman lawmakers said they’re trying not to undercut their lead
negotiator, Speaker John Boehner. But they’re certainly using the
spotlight to keep political pressure on Democrats.
As the countdown to a shutdown drew closer this week, freshmen
increased the partisan sniping, drawing crowds of television cameras
and onlookers to the Capitol steps as White House and congressional
leaders emerged from meeting after meeting frustrated and without a
deal.
“I’m not calling for Sen. Reid’s resignation; I’m calling for him to
step aside and find a willing leader to lead,” Crawford said this week,
after writing a letter signed by roughly 90 of his colleagues asking
the majority leader to give up his position in leadership.
Though their anger has been largely directed at Senate Democrats, the
freshmen increasingly target the man responsible for jump-starting many
of their congressional careers: President Barack Obama, whose
leadership, work ethic and national security policy they impugn.
Read the rest of the story at Politico
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