The War Begins Between Republicans And Conservative Groups. This Will Guarantee A Democratic Victory!

Conservative Groups To Boehner: You Want A War? You Got It.

December 13, 2013 by Sam Rolley

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House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) lashed out against “outside” conservative organizations this week for criticizing an $85 billion bipartisan budget compromise that many conservatives feel doesn’t do enough to cut spending. Now, conservative groups are ramping up their criticisms of the Speaker.

The lawmaker didn’t name any specific groups during a critical press conference Thursday, but it is well known that organizations like Heritage Action and Club for Growth have called out Boehner for his willingness to meet Democrats’ demands in the past. The House Speaker said that the “outside” groups, which have strongly supported many Tea Party candidates, have gone too far this time.

In a statement, Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin responded, saying that Boehner has declared war on the American people for trying to hold politicians accountable.

She said:

Speaker Boehner thinks ‘outside groups’ are the problem? Does he really think the American voters who are involved in the tea party, who got him elected, should not demand accountability of their elected representatives?

The Speaker’s anger and ire is misdirected towards the wrong people. President Obama is choosing whether to enforce laws in the country or not by whim. He changes policy through press conferences and tweets. He rewrites law by fiat.  Members of Congress renege on their pledges not to spend more or increases taxes on hardworking Americans.

Martin also issued a stern warning to Boehner, the “ruling class politician” who only pretends to be conservative while remaining a “tax-and-spend liberal”:

Frankly, Mr. Speaker, continuously making promises and then breaking them is how you lose credibility with the American people. Pitting your colleagues against their constituents is how you lose credibility with your conference.  Not upholding conservative principles is how you lose credibility with the voters who will find someone else if you are not willing to do your job.

Meanwhile, Heritage Action said that Boehner is simply trying to pick a fight because a political quarrel will serve to distract Americans from a serious conversation about inadequacies in the budget proposal.

“The Speaker is trying to turn this into a boring fight between outside groups and himself so we are not having a policy debate about whether or not this is a good deal,” Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham said Friday.

Needham added, “This deal increases spending, this deal increases taxes. And that is bad for the county and that is what we want to be focused on.”

Furthermore, according to Needham, Boehner is giving conservatives a taste of what to expect when immigration reform debates begin next year.

Responding to Boehner’s charge that certain conservative groups knew the government shutdown strategy wouldn’t be a success for the GOP in repealing Obamacare, but pushed conservative lawmakers to support it nonetheless, Needham said: “The Speaker is being absurd.”

Needham noted that Heritage hasn’t even been working to totally repeal Obamacare in recent months, which he sees as impossible as long as President Barack Obama is in office.

“If I thought we could repeal Obamacare I would have spent the month of August on a ‘repeal Obamacare’ tour. We spent it on a defund tour,” he said.

Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), one of the authors of the controversial budget deal, sought to soften Boehner’s criticism along with conservative blowback on Friday.

“He was frustrated that these groups came out in opposition to our budget agreement before we reached a budget agreement,” Ryan said, according to The Hill.

Ryan went on to try to distance himself from Boehner’s stance.

“I was frustrated, too,” he said. “But I think these are very important elements of our conservative family. I would prefer to keep those conversations within the family. And I think he was just basically voicing his frustration with their opposition before we had reached our agreement.”

He added: “I think these taxpayer groups are indispensable to keeping taxpayer interest accounted for, keeping people accountable. And we sometimes have difference of opinions on tactics. We all believe the same thing with respect to our ultimate goal.”