Paul Ryan

Senate Republicans Vote Overwhelmingly For Controversial GOP Budget

Brian Beutler | May 16, 2012, 5:09PM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

Nearly all Senate Republicans joined their House colleagues in risky territory Wednesday by voting in support of the controversial GOP budget, authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) -- a blueprint for the country's future that has become a political lightning rod and a defining document for the 2012 elections.

Among its most contentious features, the plan would phase out the existing Medicare program and replace it with a subsidized private insurance system for seniors; dramatically slash Medicaid spending and hand the program over to the states; cut food and nutrition programs for poor people; and allow interest rates on student loans to double; all while dramatically reducing taxes, particularly on wealthy Americans.

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Default

Who's Really Responsible For U.S. Debt Downgrade

Brian Beutler | August 17, 2011, 10:00AM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

This article was updated at 10:00am Eastern on August 17, 2011 to include additional names pointed out by TPM readers.

Now that Standard & Poors has confirmed that the chorus of default doubters in the GOP was part of what spooked them into downgrading the U.S. credit rating, Republicans will do all they can to pretend that they never questioned the risk of missing payment obligations, or allowing borrowing authority to lapse. But they sure did! Here's a long, partial timeline of influential Republicans either vouchsafing default, or downplaying the consequences of passing the August 2 deadline without raising the debt limit.

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Debt ceiling

Tea Party Rally Against Boehner Plan Draws Big Crowd Next To Nobody

Benjy Sarlin | July 27, 2011, 3:40PM

Tea Party Rally In Washington DC

During the health care debate, Tea Party groups mobilized thousands of members to rally against the bill right on lawmakers' doorsteps in Washington, DC. Now the movement is again at a crossroads as Republicans struggle over how far they're willing to push Democrats on spending cuts before raising the debt ceiling.

You wouldn't know it, however, from their rally on Wednesday.

Despite featuring Tea Party icons Sens. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Rand Paul (R-KY), among others, a gathering outside the Senate organized by the Tea Party Express to urge Republicans to stand firm against a compromise bill drew only a handful of attendees.

Reporters, many of whom came to interview presidential candidate Herman Cain, appeared to easily outnumber protesters. And despite being the most prominent attendee, Cain ended up not addressing the crowd and instead watching from the sidelines.

The dismal showing comes as Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations are waging an aggressive campaign against a plan by Republican leaders to raise the debt ceiling with a two-tiered set of cuts and no promise of a balanced budget amendment.

While the proposal by Speaker Boehner looked to be in serious jeopardy on Tuesday, especially after the CBO found it reduced the deficit less than its backers hoped, the bill appears to be gaining some momentum Wednesday as rank and file members push back against the hardline insurgents.

Mike Lee

GOP Freshman To McConnell: Dude, You Gave Our Debt Hostage to Obama!

Brian Beutler | July 13, 2011, 3:34PM

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)

So after acceding Tuesday that they'll raise the debt limit one way or another, Republicans are now accusing President Obama of holding the debt limit hostage. Fine. It's pretty clumsy as rhetorical jiu jitsu goes, but fine.

For this argument to be persuasive, though, these same Republicans must omit the fact that they were using the debt limit as a weapon in an ideological fight just 24 hours ago.

But that's exactly what Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) -- an articulate freshman, beloved by conservatives -- just did. Specifically, he told a scrum of reporters outside a GOP steering committee meeting that President Obama's the mustache-twirling villain of the debt limit wars...just after lamenting the GOP's loss of leverage in its pursuit of a Balanced Budget Amendment.

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Mitt Romney

Sen. Mike Lee, Ex-Huntsman Aide, Says Former Governor Is 'Unknown Quantity' In Utah

Benjy Sarlin | July 8, 2011, 1:05PM

Jon Huntsman

Utah's elected officials are rallying around Mitt Romney instead of former Governor Jon Huntsman because Huntsman is an "unknown quantity" even in his own state, according to Senator Mike Lee (R-UT).

Lee, who worked as Huntsman's chief counsel, told TPM that even he wasn't sure yet where his former boss stood on the big issues as a presidential contender.

"He's such a new entry that a lot of people -- including me -- have not yet had an opportunity to review his platform," he said. "He's something of an unknown quantity as a presidential candidate."

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Social Security

Growing Chorus Of Republicans Demand Social Security Cuts In Deficit Deal

Benjy Sarlin | June 21, 2011, 12:11PM

Add Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) to the list of Republican lawmakers unsatisfied with the party's reluctance to back Social Security cuts.

The longtime Senator, who will retire at the end of her term in 2012, called on both parties to include the program in debt ceiling talks on Tuesday in a speech at the Heritage Foundation. She's releasing her own legislation to spur talks, a bill that would raise the retirement age gradually to 69 and reduce benefits by trillions over the next several decades by pegging the annual cost-of-living- adjustment (COLA) to one percent below inflation every year.

"We could have waited and let things settle after the debt increase vote," she said. "I'm introducing my legislation because I don't think we can wait and I do think it should be part of the overall debate on raising the debt limit."

Hutchison told the audience that the move was necessary, because without changes to the system, recipients would receive a 23% cut to their core benefits in 2036. But an audience member noted to Hutchison that a 1% cut in benefit increases over a similar period of time could produce comparable decreases. Hutchison responded that a key part of her plan was gradually introducing seniors to lower benefits.

"You're right that as you accumulate the cuts it's like anything else over time, it does get to be more," she said. "But if you take it one year at a time, it's a very small lowering of the increase. I don't think at any point would you go into core benefits."

House Republicans avoided Social Security in their budget, which most of the caucus voted for in the Senate as well, and Hutchison isn't the only member of her party annoyed at its exclusion. Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Mike Lee (R-UT) have introduced a bill that would means-test benefits while also raising the retirement age. A group of House members led by Pete Sessions (R-TX) recently introduced legislation that would create an optional privatized Social Security program.

Government Shutdown

Conservatives To Defect On Stopgap Funding Measure -- But It's Still Likely To Pass

Brian Beutler | March 15, 2011, 9:23AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

House Republicans will face noticeable defections from the right flank of their party when they vote Tuesday to fund the government for three more weeks -- a stopgap measure meant to buy time while leaders of both parties work out a longer-term solution.

But the mini-revolt won't throw the government into turmoil. The last "continuing resolution" passed the House two weeks ago with almost 340 votes, including over 100 Democrats, and barring major, unexpected defections from both parties, should pass again handily.

"I think in the end the Speaker will work out their differences," said Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) -- a freshman, and former House member, who Monday night told reporters he is inclined to support the spending measure. "He is very used to how the House ran under previous Republican speakers, of walking on the floor 20 votes short and picking them up on the floor."

If anything, today's situation is significantly less dire than that. "Everything is a lot less dramatic than it looks," Kirk said.

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UT-SEN

Mike Lee: 'Not My Intention To Support Any Candidate' In Hatch's Primary (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | February 11, 2011, 1:00PM

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who effectively won his Senate seat when he defeated incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett for the Republican nomination, now says he won't take any position in the next GOP Senate contest in Utah -- where his senior Senator, Orrin Hatch will likely face a primary challenge of his own.

It is widely expected that Hatch will face a stiff challenge from Rep. Jason Chaffetz, already leading in recent polls . Hatch has recently gone out of his way to impress the Tea Partiers, most notably appearing at the Tea Party Express town hall in Washington this week. TPMDC's own Evan McMorris-Santoro asked Lee at that event whether he would endorse Hatch -- and got no answer.

Lee appeared this morning on The Daily Rundown on MSNBC, where Chuck Todd asked him: "Senator Lee, does your colleague in Utah, Senator Orrin Hatch, deserve re-election?"

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Orrin Hatch

Utah's Tea Party Senator Not Ready To Endorse Orrin Hatch

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 9, 2011, 10:50AM

Senator Mike Lee (R-UT)

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) spent more than a few minutes on stage together last night at a Tea Party Express town hall in Washington. But for some strange reason, Hatch's impending reelection fight -- which will pit him against frustrated home-state tea partiers and could cost him his party's nomination -- didn't come up. It's especially odd because Lee is intimately familiar with how important it is for an incumbent Utah Republican senator to reach out to the tea party these days. He got his current job largely because the man who held it before him, Sen. Bob Bennett (R), was on the wrong side of angry tea party conventioneers.

After the town hall, I caught up with Lee and found out why Hatch's 2012 prospects weren't a topic of discussion on stage: Lee is not interested in discussing them. Not only was he unwilling to call Hatch a tea party Republican, but he was also not interested in talking about endorsing the fellow Republican he represents Utah with.

"He is--uh--well, he was here tonight," Lee told TPM when asked if Hatch is a tea partier. "I look forward to welcoming him into the tea party caucus."

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Government Shutdown

Dems To McConnell: What About All Those Republicans Talking About A Government Shutdown! (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | February 4, 2011, 3:07PM

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says the only people talking about shutting down the government are a handful of Democrats.

So, Dems are asking, what about all those Republicans who've threatened a shutdown?

They're rounding up examples, and have put a few together in the below video.

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State Of The Union

Tea Party Newcomers Not Expecting Much From Obama After SOTU

Evan McMorris-Santoro | January 26, 2011, 10:34AM

Rep. Allen West (R-FL)

President Obama spent a little more than an hour last night trying to reach out to the new divided Congress in a State Of The Union that was long on centrism and, seemingly, short on division. But it's not clear Obama made the connection he was hoping to. Two high-profile members of the tea party freshman class on Capitol Hill told TPM after the speech that, while they appreciated the shift in rhetoric, they don't expect much to come from Obama's efforts to reach out to the right.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: 'Win The Future': President Obama's State Of The Union]

"Well, we'll see. We'll see," Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said when I asked him if Obama had heard the message delivered by the voters in November. "Happy to hear him enforcing an earmark ban. Happy to hear about the possibility of simplifying the tax code and reducing the corporate tax rate. I was a little bit troubled and perplexed by what he means when he says all that and yet talks about new investment, investment, investment."

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Earmarks

McConnell Caves On Earmarks, Pledges To Vote For Moratorium

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 15, 2010, 2:36PM

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Chalk up one win for the tea party movement over the establishment. In a speech on the Senate floor just now, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he'll be voting for the Republican moratorium on earmarks pushed by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and many incoming tea party freshmen.

"Nearly every day that the Senate's been in session for the past two years, I've come down to this very spot, and said that Democrats were ignoring the wishes of the American people," McConnell said. "When it comes to earmarks, I won't be guilty of the same thing."

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Earmarks

Earmark Fight In Senate Pits Tea Partiers Against Establishment GOP

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 12, 2010, 8:50AM

Jim DeMint

Total opposition to earmarking is a key tea party tenet, and the battle to get Republicans to voluntarily ban it in their ranks is already raging. Establishment leaders like Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- who favor earmarking for its time-honored electoral implications -- are clashing with pro-ban Senators led by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), the body's tea party hero.

Lining up behind DeMint in the push to end earmarks are Sens. Jim Coburn (R-OK), John Cornyn (R-TX), John Ensign (R-NV) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) -- along with Senators-elect Pat Toomey (R-PA), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Ron Johnson (R-WI).

McConnell has reportedly been fighting behind the scenes to squash the proposed ban, and Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) -- one of the Senate's most conservative members -- is publicly blasting his anti-earmark colleagues for hypocrisy.

Who wins the scrum could have broad implications in 2012.

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UT-SEN

AP: Mike Lee Wins Utah GOP Senate Primary To Replace Bob Bennett

Eric Kleefeld | June 23, 2010, 12:57AM

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)

Attorney Mike Lee has won the Republican Senate primary in Utah, the Associated Press projects, defeating businessman Tim Bridgewater after they had jointly knocked out incumbent GOP Sen. Bob Bennett last month.

With 84% of precincts reporting, Lee leads Bridgewater by 52%-48%. Bennett was eliminated at his state Republican convention in May, due in part to anger among the regular grassroots over his vote for TARP, combined with the new rise of anti-incumbent Tea Party activism. Lee and Bridgewater then went on to face each other in a primary, as neither received the 60% delegate vote needed to clinch the nomination outright. Bridgewater very nearly took the nomination with 57% of the delegates, but Lee was able to win tonight.

After the convention, Bennett subsequently endorsed Bridgewater, choosing from among the two opponents who had previously defeated him, while groups such as the Tea Party Express backed Lee -- with the latter winning out. Lee is heavily favored to win election in this deep-red state, which voted for John McCain by a 63%-34% margin in 2008, and last voted for a Democratic Senator in 1970.

UT-SEN

Poll: GOP Sen. Bennett On Brink Of Defeat For Renomination At State Convention

Eric Kleefeld | April 27, 2010, 11:24AM

Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT)

A new Mason-Dixon poll commissioned by the Salt Lake Tribune suggests that Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT) could be doomed to defeat at his state GOP's convention in May -- which would defeat him for renomination without even having a primary.

The poll of convention delegates gave attorney Mike Lee 37%, followed by businessman Tim Bridgewater with 20%, the incumbent Bennett at only 16%, and businesswoman Cherilyn Eagar with 11%. In addition, a whopping 61% of delegates view Bennett unfavorably, with only 28% giving him a favorable rating.

Under the rules of the Utah GOP, a candidate with 60% of the convention vote will be nominated outright, with no primary. If the super-majority is not reached, then the final two contenders will have a primary -- meaning that a candidate must receive at least 40% of the convention vote in order to make it to the primary. With the incumbent Bennett at only 16%, it is seems highly unlikely that he could make it out of the convention.

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