Jul 31, 2012
Moderate Republicans Flee House Republican Caucus
Speaker Boehner’s own Republicans know how extreme this House Republican Majority has become. Just today, moderate Republican Congressman Steve LaTourette announced he won’t seek re-election saying that Republicans must now hand over “your wallet and your voting card” to the extreme Tea Party wing in order to get ahead. And yesterday, Republican Congressman Richard Hanna trashed the Republican Party saying it is “too willing to accommodate its most extreme members.”
Moderates in Washington are echoing what voters already know: Republicans “no longer encourage the finding of common ground,” and they’re wasting time and taxpayer dollars to push an out of touch agenda ideological agenda instead of creating jobs or strengthening in the middle class. Case in point - House Republicans will again show Americans that the Tea Party wing is in control when they force another vote tonight on women’s reproductive rights.
“The Tea Party Republican Majority now has a sign outside their meeting room - no moderates allowed” said Jesse Ferguson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Even Republicans in Speaker Boehner’s own delegation are jumping ship because of this extreme agenda that forces out moderates, embraces radicalism and bans common sense. From Republicans embracing fringe conspiracy theories to pushing an extremist social agenda, there’s more proof every day that the House Republican agenda is now just the Tea Party gone wild.”
Background
Steve LaTourette blames polarizing climate for departure. “LaTourette was one of the last of a dying breed — a moderate, union-friendly Republican who stood up to the right flank of the House Republican Conference. In the 112th Congress, it put him at odds with a good bulk of his GOP colleagues, including, at times, his longtime friend and ally, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).” [Politico, 7/30/12]
Rep. Hanna: Fellow Republicans indulge the party's extreme members too much. “U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna took his own party to task today, saying the Republican Party is too willing to accommodate its most extreme members. ‘I have to say that I’m frustrated by how much we — I mean the Republican Party — are willing to give deferential treatment to our extremes in this moment in history.’” [The Post Standard, 7/30/12]
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