As I reported earlier tonight, House conservatives are not pleased with Majority Leader John Boehner (R.-Ohio) after establishment Republicans thwarted a plan to offset nearly $100 billion in emergency funding.
Tim Chapman at Townhall.com was following the story, too, and reports on the Republican Study Committee’s plea earlier today to oppose the measure. Chapman writes:
“Leadership has demonstrated yet again to the rank and file conservatives that their principles don't matter. Conservatives who object to never-ending spending for the Gulf Coast region without offsets are now in a pickle. To register their opposition to fiscal irresponsibility they must now vote against defense funding.”
This has left at least 29 conservatives—all RSC members who voted “no”—wondering why the honeymoon with Boehner ended so soon. As one senior House aide told me, “He cut off the hand that fed him.”
Also interesting about this story is the fact that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.), who has been so good at keeping her troops in line, couldn’t do so on today’s vote for the supplemental. Had the 22 Democrats not defected from their party’s leadership, conservatives would have emerged victories.
