Scott Brown

GOP Fractures Further Over Payroll Tax Mess

Brian Beutler | December 20, 2011, 3:23PM

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

House GOP aides basically admitted this to reporters yesterday, but it bears repeating. The reason they fashioned a Rube Goldberg-esque procedural device to kill the Senate payroll tax cut compromise is that they know they're now in political free fall on the issue. By doing things the way they did, at least vulnerable House Republicans can say that they didn't vote against a tax cut for the middle class.

This was probably the only way House GOP leaders were ever going to get the minority of their caucus on board with the vote. And if you want proof, look no further than the handful of Republicans who defected from their leadership Tuesday. Or, better yet, vulnerable Senate Republicans who are in cycle in 2012.

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Government Shutdown

Republicans To Go It Alone On Government Funding, Disaster Aid Offsets

Brian Beutler | September 22, 2011, 4:10PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Looks like House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will try to close GOP ranks around existing legislation to fund the government rather than scrap a controversial requirement that disaster relief funds be offset with an unrelated budget cut. And that means they'll be moving ahead without Democratic support -- a risky gamble that could lead to a government shutdown if it fails.

"The Speaker's seeking more Republican votes," Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who led a House conservative rebellion on Wednesday, told reporters after an impromptu Thursday GOP meeting.

According to other Republicans, Boehner will swap out the existing disaster relief offset -- a hybrid vehicle manufacturing incentive -- with new cuts.

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John Boehner

Shutdown Chances Increase Over Disaster Relief, Program Cut Disputes

Brian Beutler | September 15, 2011, 5:43PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Two separate but related Republican efforts are increasing the odds that the government will shut down at the end of September, despite repeated assurances from both GOP and Democratic leaders that neither party has an appetite for another round of brinksmanship.

In a Thursday letter, over 50 House Republicans, led by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), pushed Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to make steep cuts to discretionary spending in the next fiscal year, reneging on the agreement the parties struck to resolve the debt limit standoff. That legislation set a cap on discretionary spending at $1.043 trillion and both Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) are committed to funding the government at that level for the coming year.

But many House conservatives want to go lower, and if they defect then House Democrats will have to pitch in to make sure it passes and avert a shut down.

There's just one problem.

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Debt Ceiling

Tacking Right: How John Boehner Convinced Republicans To Back His Debt Limit Plan

Brian Beutler | July 29, 2011, 12:09PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

After his members dealt him a stunning defeat Thursday, and forced him, for the second time to pull and amend his plan to raise the debt limit, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has figured a way out.

Once-reluctant Republicans -- including Reps. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Jeff Landry (R-LA), and Phil Gingrey (R-GA) -- streamed out of a House GOP caucus meeting Friday morning to announce they'd changed their minds, and will now support Boehner's bill.

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Debt Ceiling

Conservatives Renew Campaign Against Boehner Debt Limit Plan

Brian Beutler | July 27, 2011, 3:37PM

RedState's Erick Erickson

Conservative advocates opposed to House Speaker John Boehner's (R-OH) debt limit plan aren't relenting just because GOP leadership is twisting arms.

Club for Growth president Chris Chocola, and Red State founder Erick Erickson are both continuing to push House Republicans to vote against Boehner's plan when it comes to a vote on Thursday. Indeed, they're opposed to any plan that doesn't guarantee vast spending reductions, and allow conservatives to declare victory in a decades long fight over the propriety of federal safety net programs.

"That's why groups like the Club for Growth and others oppose the Boehner debt reduction plan, the Reid debt reduction plan, the McConnell debt reduction plan (has there been an Obama debt reduction plan?), and any other plan that does not include those basic tenets," Chocola writes in a Wednesday afternoon Politico op-ed. "Even newspapers like the Wall Street Journal that support the Boehner plan point out that 'It's true that the Boehner plan doesn't solve the long-term debt problem.'"

Erickson -- an influential figure among House conservatives -- is taking names.

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John Boehner

No Laughing Matter: GOP Jokes While Heading Home Without a Debt Deal

Susan Crabtree | July 22, 2011, 4:03PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

You know the dizzying array of debt talk drama has gone beyond the state of ridiculous when an announcement from Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) about striking a deal with President Obama is his idea of a joke.

Boehner began a conference meeting Friday morning by deadpanning that Republicans, the White House and Democrats had reached a deal, according to a lawmaker in the room. The response from his conference was nervous silence before Boehner eased the tension by letting them know he was only joking.

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'Obama's Wars'

Boehner Readies Stronger Bill Rebuking Obama On Libya

Susan Crabtree | June 23, 2011, 6:30AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and President Barack Obama (D)

House Republicans leaders have decided to shift gears and hold a vote as early as Friday on a bill to defund U.S. military action in Libya, GOP sources said.

Earlier this week, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) had planned a two-pronged approach, addressing the deep divisions in his party on the Libya issue. One bill, which mirrored a measure Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) offered in the Senate, would authorize the limited use of force in Libya, while another would prevent any more U.S. action in the North African country.

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AZ-SEN

PPP Poll: Giffords Leads In Potential Arizona Senate Race

Eric Kleefeld | May 4, 2011, 11:45AM

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)

A new survey of registered voters in Arizona by Public Policy Polling finds that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D), who has been in physical rehabilitation since she was shot in the head at a district event near Tucson in early January, would lead in the state's open U.S. Senate race if she were able to run.

As TPM has previously reported, Giffords had been viewed as a potential candidate before she was shot, and many state Democrats believe that she should have a right of first refusal for the race after incumbent Republican Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl announced his retirement in February.

This new poll gives Giffords a lead over the likely Republican nominee, Rep. Jeff Flake, of 48%-41%. The survey of registered voters has a ±3.9% margin of error.

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Jeff Flake

Flake Joins GOP Frosh Fray, Won't Vote for Next CR

Susan Crabtree | March 14, 2011, 6:35PM

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), a longtime fiscal conservative who is running for Senate, is closing ranks with his fellow Tea Party loyalists in rejecting the latest stop-gap spending measure crafted to avoid a government shutdown and which has the backing of the House GOP leadership.

"How are we ever supposed to tackle the grave fiscal challenges before us like the debt ceiling, the debt, and the FY2012 budget when we just keep punting on FY2011 spending?" Flake said in release Monday afternoon.

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Jeff Flake

Rep. Jeff Flake: Birthers Need to "Accept Reality" (Video)

Meena Rupani | February 17, 2011, 2:52PM

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

For Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), people who don't believe President Barack Obama was born in the United States "ought to get off this kick".

On CNN's American Morning, Flake responded to a poll that found that 51% of likely Republican primary voters don't believe President Obama was born in the U.S. Only 28% of people who say they were voting in the primary believe that Barack Obama was born in the United States, while 28 % say they were unsure.

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Jeff Flake

GOPer Flake Takes The High Road On Possible Giffords Senate Run

Susan Crabtree | February 16, 2011, 3:30PM

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who announced his Senate bid this week, is taking the high road when it comes to the possibility of a general election match-up against the rapidly and remarkably recovering Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ).

"The most wonderful thing in the world would be to have her make a Senate run," Flake told TPM in an interview Tuesday.

While Flake declined to discuss whether he could beat her in a head-to-head Senate race, he said a Giffords' Senate run in 2012 would be an incredible and welcome development.

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AZ-SEN

Flake Picks Up Tea Party Group Endorsement In Arizona

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 14, 2011, 6:46PM

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

Hours after Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) announced his campaign for the seat being vacated by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), tea party umbrella group FreedomWorks, best known as the arm of the movement led by former House Republican leader Dick Armey, endorsed Flake in an email blast sent by its PAC.

"Endorsing Jeff Flake is a no-brainer," FreedomWorks president Matt Kibbe said in a statement. "He's principled, he's consistent, and he's fearless in the fight for lower taxes, less government, and more individual freedom. If the Tea Party is going to reduce the size of government, it will need more Jeff Flakes in the United States Senate."

The backing of FreedomWorks helps solidify Flake as the national fiscal conservative choice. He's already got the endorsement of the Club For Growth, which has promised to lend a hand in getting him elected.

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AZ-SEN

Poll: Sheriff Joe Leads AZ-SEN Primary Race

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 14, 2011, 5:50PM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio

It's too soon to crown anyone Arizona's next Senator -- but on the same day Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) announced his intent to run, a new poll of Grand Canyon state Republicans shows Sheriff Joe Arpaio leading the field to replace the retiring Sen. Jon Kyl (R).

Arpaio has not announced his intention to run for the open Senate seat next year, though there's long been speculation that Arpaio -- an absolute rockstar among the anti-immigration set in the GOP -- is interested in higher office. His name has been mentioned among those that might run for Kyl's old seat, and it's certain he'd enter the race with significant financial support from his national allies.

Roll Call's David Drucker breaks the news that Arpaio's statewide Republican support would be strong as well. The poll from Summit Consulting Group shows Arpaio with a narrow lead over Flake, who just made his run for Senate official on Monday.

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AZ-SEN

GOP Budget Hero Aims To Be Arizona's Next Senator

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 14, 2011, 10:50AM

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), whose views on earmarks and government spending have made him a hero of the Republican party's fiscal right, is throwing his hat into the ring to replace retiring Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ).

Flake announced his candidacy at a press conference Monday morning, less than a week after Kyl said he would be retiring after more than two decades in Washington.

Democrats have not yet said what they'll do to contest the open Senate seat, though some have said the recovering Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) could make a run if she fully recovers. With Flake, the Republicans now have an imposing candidate with national credentials, who's sure to please the anti-government crowd.

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Jeff Flake

Jeff Flake's Wise Explanation Of Vote Against Honoring Confucius

Eric Kleefeld | October 28, 2009, 4:45PM

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) released this statement today, giving some precious wisdom in explaining why he voted against honoring the ancient Chinese sage Confucius:

Congressman Flake Releases Statement Regarding His Vote Against Honoring the 2560th Birthday of Confucius

Washington, D.C., Oct 28 - Republican Congressman Jeff Flake, who represents Arizona's Sixth District, today released the following statement regarding his vote against H.Res.784, a bill "honoring the 2560th anniversary of the birth of Confucius and recognizing his invaluable contributions to philosophy and social and political thought."

"He who spends time passing trivial legislation may find himself out of time to read healthcare bill," said Flake.

Heh. Heh.