If temporarily deposed House Republican Leader Tom DeLay didn't
like "Operation Offset" and its creators at the Republican Study
Committee, led by Rep. Mike Pence, he surely hates it now.
That's because Pence and his budget-cutting plan probably helped
propel Republican whip Rep. Roy Blunt into the temporary party
leader post late today.
DeLay in meeting earlier in the day with Speaker of the House
Dennis Hastert, had asked that Rep. David Dreier be elevated to the
leadership post. But instead, during a late afternoon caucus
meeting, it was determined by Republicans that Blunt would take the
post.
There is bad blood between DeLay and Blunt, in part due to sheer
power politics, and an attempt by DeLay loyalists to embarrass
Blunt last year by airing dirty laundry from Blunt's personal life
to reporters at the Washington Post. The
reason insiders gave then was that DeLay felt Blunt was getting too
big for his britches as whip and needed to be brought down a few
notches.
So how does "Operation Offset" come into play here? Yesterday,
Blunt and other party leaders met with Pence to discuss how best to
implement some of the Republican Study Committee's spending cut
recommendations. Blunt has previously helped Pence and his fiscal
conservatives beat back budget appropriations issues earlier this
year, a victory that burned DeLay.
Right now up on Capitol Hill, fiscal conservatives are feeling
pretty good about their chances of getting their cuts at least
considered by the full House with Blunt in the leadership
chair.
And Blunt ought to be feeling pretty good, too. "If Roy actually
gets something done that brings these spending bills pulled back a
bit, it isn't far-fetched that we won't see support for him growing
even if Tom comes back free and clear of his problems," says an RSC
member.
