Only a few hours after being sworn in to Congress, Rod Blum solidified his Tea Party loyalties when his very first vote in Congress for Congressman Steve King’s candidate for Speaker of the House. Blum voted with an extreme minority of the House Republican Congress and backed an alternative lead for the House of Representatives preferred by Tea Party leader Steve King.
“By voting for Congressman Steve King’s Speaker pick, Congressman Rod Blum is shining a spotlight on his true Tea Party values” said Emily Bolton of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Iowans want someone who will get results in Washington, reform the broken Congress and stand up for the middle class. The deserve better than Tea Party Allies Rod Blum and Steve King – who choose the extreme and cater to the dysfunction. One thing is certain: with the click of the first vote, Rod Blum has made his bed with the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party.”
BACKGROUND:
Rep. Blum Sided with Steve King in Leadership Vote. “Newly sworn-in congressman Rod Blum used his very first vote to reject John Boehner, despite the fact that the U.S. House speaker had campaigned for him in the Cedar Rapids area in October. Blum instead followed the lead of fellow Iowa GOP congressman Steve King, who nominated Florida U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster as speaker on Tuesday.” [Des Moines Register, 1/06/15]