In the latest blowout between conservatives and establishment Republicans in Washington, John Boehner has punished key leaders who voted against the Fast-Tract Authority deal with demotions or removal from key committee assignments.
Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina shared with The Daily Signal:
A conservative House lawmaker angry at “a culture of punishment and fear” created by Speaker John Boehner and his leadership team has had enough.
“For the last six months they have doled out small punishments in a variety of forms,” said Rep. Mark Meadows of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
Mark Levin has declared war against Boehner for this retaliation. He has also targeted Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz:
The shrimp I guess would be Jason Chaffetz,” Levin said. “Jason Chaffetz is a fraud. Jason Chaffetz pretends to be conservative but is John Boehner’s boy. He’s his lap dog.
Those are some very pointed remarks from a controversial conservative radio host.
Has Chaffetz allowed his new chairmanship to get to his head?
One would have to consider this terrible transformation.
First he took this unappealing picture with a prior Democratic Chairman, Henry Waxman:
![""]("https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10616376_686840121431274_2171010152869168944_n.jpg?oh=7b08da4030e2cc518ea2d0f0403cfb37&oe=562F2D0F") |
| Chaffetz posing with Waxman the Taxman |
He then commented on Facebook:
"Moving offices, but I was honored to have Rep Henry Waxman stop by for a visit."
Granted, National Review entitled Chaffetz as "Henry Waxman's Republican heir".
Chaffetz openly admitted his admiration for Waxman's Oversight tactics from 2007-2009, if nothing else:
Chaffetz, who is now entering his fourth term in Congress, says he sought out Waxman when he arrived in Washington in 2009. “I just proactively went up and shook his hand and said I care about this and I admire what he’s done,” Chaffetz says. “Although I disagree with him on just about everything,” Chaffetz says, Waxman is “passionate about [Congress as an] institution, the process by which you do oversight, and the elements and keys to success.”
Should Waxman's oversight legacy serve as a guiding example for any principled conservative, however? Aside from inane investigations in steroid abuse in baseball, as well as adding "Oversight" to the House Committee title, Waxman was viewed by many as a shill for the lawyer lobby opening up easy avenues for class action lawsuits.
He was in many respects ill-prepared for investigations, like his embarrassing interview with a constituent in the documentary "Bigger, Faster, Stronger". (He also admitted in a budget committee hearing that he did not know that General Motors went bankrupt).
So one has to wonder: Chaffetz Honored?
The comments on his Facebook page under this photo rebuffed this "honor":
and
and also
Worse, Waxman's lack of decorum in committee hearings was also well-known, not just with his fireworks against Ed Whitifield of Kentucky, but against former ranking member then chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA).
Breitbart's Rich Tucker reports:
The Republican from Utah recently took the gavel as head of the House Oversight Committee. One of the first things he did, news reports say, is remove portraits of previous chairmen from the walls of the committee hearing room.
That includes the portrait of
Now, Daily Signal reports that Chaffetz presented a bad-worse option for Subcommittee Chairman Mark Meadows for voting against Obamatrade:
"The leadership team wants to create a culture of punishment and fear without a culture of debate and dialogue. But there is no honor in bowing to a bully. There is only honor in fighting a good fight—win or lose. This is not a fight I will back down from.”
Meadows, R-N.C., was greeted in his Capitol Hill office last Thursday by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the House Oversight and Government Reform chairman, and given a lose-lose choice.
He could resign as chair of the Government Operations subcommittee or be removed from the role.
So, these are the tactics which Chaffetz learned from Waxman: "I will have you removed if you do not stop fighting our agenda." This past week, Chaffetz followed through on his threat.
The Republican Congressman has turned into Henry Waxman Jr., a bully who bulldozes anyone who doesn't agree with his views, who removes any challenge to his authority, and blasts dissent to his lock-step agreement with out-of-step House leadership. This intra-party shove-match does not match up with his remarks about taking away the personalities and conflicts from his investigations, either.
And for what other purpose but to advance a Big Government agenda? His constituents wanted more, and our country deserve better.
It's time for real oversight, which holds all members of Congress accountable, especially the President, and requires open debate and dissent within party ranks, so that conservatives in Washington can speak for the concerns of all Americans.