Challenger to Speaker John A. Boehner (R.-Ohio) told Human Events that conservatism has been lost due to a lack of resolve by a leader who is at-odds with Republican Party principles and too eager to help President Barack Obama.
???Once again, Speaker Boehner surrendered to the president???this time without the fight we were promised,??? said Joseph D. ???J.D.??? Winteregg a Troy, Ohio schoolteacher and first-time congressional candidate in the 2014 GOP primary.
Boehner, who Winteregg said he criticizes for being a Republican leader complicit with Democrat Party demands, has been a member of the House of Representatives for 29 years and has served as House Speaker since 2011.
Tuesday the Republican-controlled House failed to address rampant spending when they voted to raise the debt ceiling without any cuts to federal spending, said Winteregg, who is a founder of the Ohio Accountability Project, a grassroots organization in Ohio-8, a congressional district bordering Indiana.
The measure, which was weighted with Democratic support is another example of the speaker???s weakness, he said. The vote count to increase the debt ceiling through March 15, 2015 was 221 to 201 with 193 Democrats voting for it.
???This inaction by Republicans will only further incentivize the president and Democrats to continue destroying this country economically.???
Capitulating to Obama???s demand to raise the debt ceiling without including a fiscally conservative counter-point is now common place in Congress, he said. ???There is a congressional culture in D.C. that is beholden to special interests instead of its employers ??? the American people.???
In addition to Winteregg, there are two candidates who have filed paperwork to be on the ballot in the GOP primary race scheduled for May 6: Matthew Ashworth and Eric Gurr.
Candidate Eric Gurr, who is seeking Tea Party support in the area, does not have a history of participating or leading in the tea party, he said. ???Yet Gurr portrays himself as a Tea Party candidate.???
Gurr has formerly identified himself as a Reform Party supporter and advocated for a third-party emergence. Gurr also called for an expansion of Keynesian economics and supported FDR???s social safety net in2008, said Winteregg.
"My focus is getting out there and interacting with the people,??? said the life-long Republican.
Some people worry that the field of candidates will split the vote and the Boehner will remain in office, he said ???However, I am the only conservative in this race prepared to stick to principles.???
Having a career in academia, Winteregg said he is around progressives and understands how they operate. ???I realize they support laws that are wrong for America and I am willing to stand-up to them.???
Boehner does not represent conservative values, said the PhD candidate in foreign language education at Ohio State University. ???I am involved because as a constituent I virtually have no-say in what is happening in congress, but I should.???
