Allen West

House Republicans Unprepared For Senate Rejection Of Boehner Debt Limit Plan

Brian Beutler | July 28, 2011, 11:33AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) told his Republican caucus Thursday morning that he doesn't yet have enough committed support to pass his debt limit bill -- a high stakes vote that will take place just hours from the time of this writing.

Most of his members believe he'll get there quickly -- even among the opponents of his bill, it's hard to find anybody who believes with any confidence that Boehner's plan will go down.

Earlier this week, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) -- chair of the conservative Republican Study Committee -- told reporters Boehner lacked the votes to pass his legislation. Today he's not so sure. "[T]hey weren't there at the time, we'll see what happens," he told me.

But if it passes, Republicans will have to grapple with a key question -- one they haven't really considered, and which Boehner hasn't prepared them to answer: What happens when the Senate sends them back a different plan?

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John Boehner

Boehner Is Cautiously Optimistic He Has The Votes

Susan Crabtree | July 28, 2011, 10:30AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is cautiously optimistic that enough GOP members had fallen in line over the last 48 hours to pass his debt bill. The plan would cut nearly $917 billion in spending over the next ten years, raise the debt-ceiling by $900 billion and avoid sending the nation into default.

While he didn't have the magical 217 Republicans votes as of yet, Boehner told his conference in a closed-door meeting Thursday that he is confident he would hit the threshold when the bill reached the floor Thursday evening, according to lawmakers who attended the meeting.

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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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Ron Paul

Rep. Paul Says McConnell Debt Plan Is D.O.A.

Susan Crabtree | July 12, 2011, 7:56PM

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) just announced he's foregoing a run for re-eleection to focus full-time on his long-shot bid for the GOP nomination so maybe he's feeling a little emboldened. Then again, Paul is rarely afraid to state it like is.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Debt Negotiations At The White House]

Paul was the only GOP House member TPM found Tuesday afternoon willing to take a firm stand against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) plan to hand the White House full authority to raise the debt ceiling with Congress only able to disapprove with a two-thirds vote. Conservative groups, Tea Party members outside Congress and activists are reportedly incensed over McConell's fall back plan.

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