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The Congressional Spectator
Class War
The Republican freshmen try to keep the House majority on track.
Will the new Tea Party-influenced, Republican-controlled House live up to its potential? A big part of the answer to that question will depend on the 87 freshmen elected last November, a substantial infusion of young blood. It’s one of the larger freshman classes and the most conservative since the last “Republican revolution” 16 years ago.
“I think we have a greater sense of urgency than the members who have been here a while,” says Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) of his fellow freshmen. The task they see before them is getting federal spending under control and alleviating the debt burden on future generations of Americans. Counting among their ranks such outspoken conservatives as Reps. Allen West (R-FL), Justin Amash (R-MI), and Tim Scott (R-SC), the group isn’t afraid to mix it up with the Democrats who still control the Senate and the White House.
During the spring budget showdown, more than 30 Republican freshmen sent Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the recently reelected Nevada Democrat, a strongly worded letter. Refusing to take the blame for the stalemate, they pointed out that Reid’s Senate failed to pass a budget last year — when the House was still under Nancy Pelosi’s command — and had yet to approve a long-term continuing resolution this year. “Mr. Reid, your record on spending in the Senate is one of failure,” the freshmen wrote. “We do not accept your failure as our own.” They continued: “The House of Representatives is doing our job, Mr. Reid. The Senate needs to start doing theirs.”
Sometimes, the freshmen make things difficult for their own leadership as well. In February, the House Appropriations Committee prepared a continuing resolution that would have cut $58 billion from the president’s languishing 2011 budget proposal. But the Pledge to America promised a full $100 billion in cuts, which many new members had campaigned on. Veteran members replied that the fiscal year was now half-finished, so the smaller number was actually consistent with the Pledge.
Faster than George W. Bush could say “fuzzy math,” the freshmen revolted. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) announced that the conference would stay true to the $100 billion promise. A crisis was averted — temporarily. The House ultimately passed HR 1, which contained $61 billion in cuts. Democrats were balking at much more than $30 billion, starting the fight all over again just as House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) was getting ready to release the 2012 budget, containing a longer-term spending blueprint.
“Paul Ryan’s the moderate on the Budget Committee now,” quips Huelskamp, who agrees with Ryan that entitlement reform is a top priority. Yet despite the mainstream media coverage that suggests major confrontations between the new members and the rest of the conference, none of the freshmen TAS spoke to were particularly critical of House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and the rest of the leadership.
“We may have different strategies for getting there,” says Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD), one of the stars of the freshman class. “But we are united in our desire to cut spending.” Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA), who says “the freshmen have a place at the table,” concurs: “Some of us want to throw a Hail Mary right into the end zone and others want to take a few plays to get there, but we all have the same goal.” Barletta, who was elected last November on his third try for a House seat, had been mayor of the small city of Hazleton. “We had to balance our budget every year,” he says. “That’s something a lot of people in Washington don’t understand, making spending equal revenues.”
Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN) argues that he was able to effectively run Indiana’s secretary of state office on a 1987 budget unadjusted for inflation, so he has little sympathy for claims that federal spending can’t be cut meaningfully. “I was in a meeting with an old bull,” he says. “We discussed a very reasonable plan, one that wouldn’t even have been aggressive enough for me, to reduce the federal workforce. The old bull said, ‘No one at such and such a military installation will go for it.’ Even though we were talking about civilian employees!” Rokita says “there is definitely a line of demarcation in the conference.”
That said, the initial dissents from the bipartisan stopgap spending measures came mainly from longer-serving fiscal conservatives like Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Ron Paul (R-TX), Walter Jones (R-NC), and Steve King (R-IA). When the number of Republican “no” votes exploded from six to 54 between short-term continuing resolutions, forcing the House GOP leadership to rely on Democratic votes to pass it, only 22 of those opponents were freshmen.
STILL, as freshmen disquiet grows many Republicans point to “cultural differences” between the newcomers and the rest of the conference. “We have a large number of people who have never run for office before,” says Noem. “They ran because they were frustrated with government.” Barletta says, “I think we’re different from a lot of other freshman classes because we were sent here with specific instructions from the American people to cut spending, reduce the size of government, and reduce regulations. And that’s what we’re going to do.”
Rokita notes that the 1995-96 budget battles with the Clinton administration and the government shutdowns “were seared into the minds” of Republicans who were serving back then. “In 1995, I was more interested in chasing girls than in what Newt Gingrich was doing,” says Rokita. While he fears some freshmen are “peeling off,” he thinks overall newly elected Republicans believe the times are different and the fiscal stakes are even higher. “We bend over backwards to work as a team,” Rokita continues. “But I didn’t leave my one-year-old and three-year-old every week just to go along to get along.”
Some non-freshmen agree that the new class is different. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC), calls it a “great freshman class” that has been “tremendously helpful” in his efforts to cut spending. Jordan hopes they will have significant influence in the upcoming spending fights. “The only budget that was put together last year was the RSC budget,” he says.
“What’s different about these freshmen is that they aren’t concerned about the next election,” says Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA), who came to Congress in a special election last June. “They are concerned about the next generation.” Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) puts it another way. “The people who seem to be afraid of a government shutdown…are worried about getting elected in two more years,” the freshman told the Washington Post. “I’m worried about having to go home and tell the folks that I grew up with, and intend to spend the rest of my life with, that I’m a liar.”
That particular battle was not resolved by the time this article went to press. But there will be plenty more like it over the next year and a half. “We are already changing the spending culture,” Noem maintains. “We need a cutting-spending culture to give our businesses an opportunity to thrive and create jobs.” Barletta frames it in terms of simple arithmetic: “Every day we are spending money that we don’t have.”
Rokita acknowledges that it is difficult with House Republicans being “only one-third of the solution.” But he says there is no alternative: “Leaders lead.”
About the Author
W. James Antle, III, author of the new book Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?, is editor of the Daily Caller News Foundation and a senior editor of The American Spectator. You can follow him on Twitter @jimantle.
Have you considered| 5.18.11 @ 7:31AM
I am sorely disappointed with the GOP, and the ostensibly constitutional Tea Party freshmen class.
Do you really think the Tea Party folks would have voted for you to just "change the conversation"? I think not.
We were promised 100B in cuts, HR 1 contained 61B, but what finally passed was smoke and mirrors 31B, which was actually 300Million.
You reauthorized the 4th Amendment crushing Patriot Act, and thus far, I have seen no real action regarding the EPA, FCC, etc.
I have not been heretofore an advocate of a 3rd party, but I am almost convinced this is the only real alternative of getting back to a Constitutionally CONSTRAINED government.
old white guy| 5.19.11 @ 5:20PM
have you. the new guys know what has to be done and they should scream at the old guys, go to their backers and voters and let the old guys know they will kick their asses out of congress unless they get things right. right as in conservative.
Michael L. Hauschild| 5.18.11 @ 8:25AM
You are the one with the "fuzzy math." This was on Fox late last night. (see below) You are no better than the "non-Freshman" why do you writers continue to lie about Boehner capitulating. You are only deluding yourselves as who is to blame, most of us have caught on. Fuzzy math, agaenda math, call it what you will it is still complicity and it is still lying.
"Remember that budget deal last month between President Obama and congressional Republicans that averted a government shutdown?
The one that would cut the budget?
Only in the long-term, it turns out -- and not by as much as once projected.
The deal will actually cost the government $3.2 billion in the current fiscal year, the Congressional Budget Office reported yesterday."
T H Huxley| 5.18.11 @ 11:41PM
Huh, huh, huh. As if Fox "News" tells the truth about anything. Just follow Paul Ryan over the cliff, and the Democrats will take the House in 2012.
old white guy| 5.19.11 @ 5:23PM
th. there is only one thing the congress can do and that is force the president and senate to stop spending money the taxpayers don't have. they can do it they just have to have the b-lls to do it.
T H Huxley| 5.20.11 @ 12:51AM
Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have b-lls to do it. By the CBO's numbers, both the Democrat's and Republican's budget increase the deficit more than the current budget. In the last 10 years, there were times when each party had the Congress, the Senate, and the White house. In each case the Democrats and the Republicans created more government and greater deficits.
Pecos Pete| 5.18.11 @ 8:29AM
"87 freshmen elected last November"
It is a start. These 87 freshmen joined by some of the "old bulls" are making changes in the House. The House has passed some bills that limit the power of the government and would defund ObamaCare. But, with the Democrats in control of the Senate, Congress can not pass anything that controls spending. Then, there is King O who will veto anything that doesn't maintain his plundering of the treasury. To override King O's veto requires votes from Democrats ... and that ain't gonna happen.
The solution is the elections in November 2012. No more King O. Elect a 60+ Republican Senate and maintain/improve the Republican majority in the House.
Until then, the best we can hope for is stalemate.
Clint| 5.18.11 @ 8:52AM
"Two House Republicans weighing 2012 presidential campaigns voted against a long-term budget deal Thursday that has garnered opposition from grassroots conservatives.
Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Ron Paul (Texas) were among the 59 House Republicans to vote against the deal that cuts $39.9 billion (????... ) from current spending. The level of Republican opposition was slightly higher than the 54 members who voted against a three-week spending resolution last month. "
Tea Party Candidates Are Our Tea Party Patriots "Hired Help".
If They Don't Do Their Job,We Will Fire Their Sell Out Asses.
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates.
Carpe Diem.
Occam's Tool| 5.18.11 @ 10:34AM
I believe they voted against because they wanted more cuts.
You're right, Clint---they are the hired help.
Clint| 5.18.11 @ 11:10AM
Duuuuuuhhhhh !
Of course Dr. Ron Paul & Michelle Bachmann & the other 57 wanted greater cuts.
The question marks are because even The $39.9 Billion was a Myth.
Al Adab| 5.18.11 @ 11:26AM
Class warfare and racism is about all The Left has in its' quiver. Time for the Freshmen, and the rest, to stand up and take this fight where it belongs. Stop funding private agencies, stop subsidizing favored businesses, stop growing agencies, stop financing lethargy and sloth. This is the moment and this is the hill on which to fight. If it doesn't happen now, the chance of another opportunity to return monetary sense to this country is very poor.
Doctor Right| 5.18.11 @ 10:19AM
We purged the House of lots of Liberal-Democrat hacks in 2010, but that was only the start.
In 2012, we need to clean-out the Senate, AND finish the job in the House. That includes getting rid of recalcitrant, entrenched, establishment-type GOP hacks, up to and including the current "leadership".
This is a peaceful revolution, but it is a revolution nonetheless.
Mike Gabel| 5.18.11 @ 12:02PM
I stand with the conservative Tea Party freshmen.
However, I was disappointed to hear Todd Rokita express his favor towards means testing as one way to reform Social Security.
Means testing, raising the retirement age, rasing the SS tax, or taxing SS benefits are false reforms. These measures kick the can down the road and they turn Social Security into more of a wealth re-distribution scheme than it already is.
What's more, they represent broken promises of the government; promises that could never be kept as the current system is a government run Ponzi scheme.
Private Social Security accounts are the only true and sustainable reform.
I urge all to work with Paul Ryan to educate of public regarding the benefits and logistics of privatization.
Al Adab| 5.18.11 @ 12:19PM
Mike,
You are right about private accounts. Just imagine if I had put all those "contributions" into my own 401 or IRA or mutual fund. First, my net worth would be around 1MM and so I could pay for my medical needs. Two, the money would be mine to use as I see fit and not just dribbled out to me through a psuedo anuity. Third, think what that kind of capital formation would do for the capitalization of the national economy. There is undoubtedly an actuarial age at which this approach becomes viable. Let's do it.
wodiej| 5.19.11 @ 2:13PM
I agree on the SS issue as well. People should take some responsibility for their own retirement. With the many lucrative ways to do this such as 401k's and IRA's, it is lazy and irresponsible to not do so.
Ore Gone| 5.19.11 @ 3:31PM
I think the freshmen are doing their jobs! The first person to bitch should run for election. I would have loved to have my money put into a private account which is what I thought SS was. The government perpetuates myths like that when it suits them and then when they raid the fund it becomes something else. While working in a local government we had a fund that was legislated for a sole purpose and it was a full time job trying to keep other agencies from getting their hands on it. The feds are even worse they just rewrite the legislation and bingo they are in the money. I am proud of the freshmen class!
Nunya| 5.18.11 @ 1:02PM
I am certainly hopeful that the new Republican blood can make some substantial changes, but let's face it--Boehner's capitulation to Obozo over the "budget cuts" isn't a great example of leadership. His statement about (paraphrased) 'next time we're talking about trillions' in cuts is preposterous. He folds in half like a paper doll and gets essentially nothing with these initial "cuts", and he's going to force Obozo to cut trillions out of the budget? Right. And I'm the tooth fairy.
Part of the problem is we don't have ENOUGH new Republican blood in Congress, we still have too many lifelong politicians who just want to get along with their fellow politicians instead of demanding REAL change. I'm not hopeful that this ship can be turned around before we hit the iceberg, we may have already started sinking and don't know it yet.
Al Adab| 5.18.11 @ 1:16PM
Nunya:
Too many Republicans, not enough Conservatives.
Nunya| 5.18.11 @ 1:25PM
Yes, you are correct.
Oldefarte| 5.18.11 @ 1:05PM
Dr Right above is absolutely correct, and although we mostly applaud the noble/courageous work of these young Republican guns concerning spending reductions, the fact remains that they only control 1/3 of our government, with liberals/Democrats in charge of the other 2/3. It impossible for these Republicans to accompolish much anything until they receive more Republican reimforcements and are able to obtain control of the Senate and the WH. Our job of November 2010 is unfinished and incomplete and can only become effective if/when success is achieved in November of next year!!!!
big bob| 5.18.11 @ 2:43PM
Fine. But how did they vote? NO one cares about their quotes and comments. No more than 1/2 of this class voted together on the CR. Michele Bachmann was unable to generate any interest or support from this class when it came to shutting down the $105 billion annually required by Obamacare legislation. I called my own, (Barletta) and they were clueless about this effort. I told his office to stop sending me anything until he got serious about voting for conservative issues and stopping this communist in the White House. Talk is cheap, but votes seem to be hard to come by. Show me the money.
W. James Antle III | 5.18.11 @ 2:59PM
This article ran in the print magazine. It was filed before the CR vote. I noted today on the blog that Huelskamp was the only freshman Republican quoted in the piece to vote against the CR. (The non-freshmen quoted voted against it.)
A little less than a third of freshmen voted against the CR. About a quarter of the House Republican Conference overall also voted no.
dcd| 5.18.11 @ 3:05PM
Rep. Noem is hot. Just saying. Needs to eat more, though, she's too thin. Maybe if she spent less energy trying to whip the non-freshmen GOP cowards into shape...
At least she and more than the historically normal number of other Reps understand that the money in DC is OURS, not theirs, and that they have a duty to try to be careful with it. This understanding and its policy implications are a (small and inadequate) start but at least the terms of the debate are changing and moving, painfully slowly, and admittedly maybe too late, in the right direction.
wodiej| 5.19.11 @ 2:14PM
what the hell does her looks have to do with her qualifications? What a moronic, sexist remark.
David| 5.18.11 @ 7:28PM
Why is it acceptable for the Right/Conservatives to use the term "class war" (as in this article) or "culture war" (Pat Robertson) or just plain "war" (any number of Right Wing luminaries) and this is acceptable?
But recently when Michael Moore used the word on a morning TV show, it would seem the Rightist cosmos came unglued. A bit of even-handedness seems to be in order here, people. A bit of fairness and a lot less hypocrisy.
IB Wright| 5.18.11 @ 9:14PM
MICHAEL MOORE???
What's it feel like to be so stupid? Always wondered how you libs can be so ignorant and survive the day.
David| 5.20.11 @ 1:51PM
That's the best you have? An immature insult and a pointless question?
Address the issue or shut up.
Bob Grant| 5.18.11 @ 9:34PM
Wow...What a way to start the day by turning on your television set and looking at Michael Moore.
To what war was Michael Moore referring? ...The one he waged against those 16 Egg McMuffins on the set?
David| 5.20.11 @ 2:06PM
Perfect. Thanks for validating every stereotype of the Right. Instead of engaging in the question, you trivialize the situation and avoid an answer.
Ya know, namecalling does not substitute for reasonable discussion.
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Dee See| 5.18.11 @ 11:18PM
---This weak tea is ALLLL water ---and Fukishima
fallout saturated water at that.
HUAC meets NUREMBERG 2012 is the ONLY
way
THE SOONER THE BETTER
wodiej| 5.19.11 @ 2:18PM
We need a common sense conservative like Gov. Palin to lead and that's the bottom line. She's got rock solid principles, wants to allow citizens to do what they do best and that is make this country innovative and productive. She's not part of the establishment and that is what we need. Put away your preconceived sexist notions of what a leader is and open your friggin' eyes. She's standing right in front of you.
jgo| 5.19.11 @ 6:31PM
The federal government is running about $14.3T in debt, plus tens of trillions in unfunded mandates, an annual deficit of about $1.75T, so they need to cut at least $1.8T in spending, but the staunch or "hard-line" or "extreme" conservatives are proposing only $0.1T in cuts?
It's time to kick some behinds until they get those cuts to the required levels.