[Vision2020] The GOP Cannibalism Begins

[Art Deco]

Booted from plum committee seats, three GOP reps want
answers<http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/08/booted-from-plum-committee-seats-three-gop-reps-want-answers/>
Posted by
CNN's Gregory Wallace<http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/tag/cnns-gregory-wallace/>

*(CNN) * - Three Republican lawmakers who say they were removed from
committee assignments without explanation fired off a letter to House
Speaker John Boehner on Friday demanding answers.

"After learning of our removal, it came to our attention that a scorecard
was presented to the Steering Committee to make the case for our removal
from those committees," the freshmen lawmakers wrote.

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@PoliticalTicker<http://twitter.com/politicalticker>
*

Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona had served on the Financial Services
Committee. His colleagues Reps. Justin Amash of Michigan and Tim Huelskamp
of Kansas sat on the Budget Committee.

They say a scorecard of votes was used to determine whether they would
return to their committee posts in the next legislative session.

"After learning of our removal, it came to our attention that a scorecard
was presented to the Steering Committee to make the case for our removal
from those committees," their letter read. "On Wednesday morning, Mr.
Huelskamp stood before the House Republican Conference and asked to see a
copy of the scorecard used to remove us."

Some have suggested their reassignments were in response to the members'
willingness to buck party leadership.

A request for comment from Boehner's office on Saturday was not immediately
returned.

Amash, Huelskamp and Schweikert also objected to the manner in which they
learned of the news.

"I learned through news reports. So I started to hear the word on Monday
and didn't hear anything from leadership Monday, Tuesday," Amash said
Friday on CNN's "Starting Point," adding that on Wednesday he began to ask
for answers.

Asked if he had been "trying to embarrass" the House Republican leadership
during the past legislative session, Amash insisted "that's totally
ridiculous."

"There are people like me in Congress who are out there representing the
vast majority of Americans who want us to balance our budget. It's not a
matter of who is willing to work with Democrats or Republicans," he said.
"It's about whether people are serious about getting things done to balance
our budget."

Amash wouldn't say whether he would support Boehner's re-election as House
speaker.

"Well right now I'm not very happy with the speaker. So let's see what
happens over the next several weeks," he said.

The three members requested that Boehner provide an explanation for their
removal by Monday.

Huelskamp won the seat of a retiring Republican in 2010 and was previously
in headlines in the final days of December 2011 when he considered
objecting to a last-minute deal to extend the payroll tax cut. At the time,
he described it as the Republican House having "caved yet again to the
president and Senate Democrats."

He and many lawmakers had already returned home for the holidays, and the
measure passed the House by unanimous consent. "Problem was, by the time we
were notified that the unanimous consent agreement would be offered, where
I come from in Kansas, I can't get to Washington quick enough on this short
notice," he said on CNN.

Amash also won the seat of a retiring Republican in 2010, while Schweikert
defeated an incumbent Democrat to win his seat.


-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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