
House Republicans aren't all sold on Rep. Paul Ryan's new budget.
Seven conservative House Republicans hosted a panel late Tuesday afternoon at the Heritage Foundation, none of whom committed to voting for the blueprint unveiled earlier in the day. One of them -- a member of the House Budget Committee -- said he's unequivocally opposed.
"I will be voting no," said Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS). "It's not good enough."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Rep. Walt Minnick (D-ID), a conservative Democrat who was elected in a deep-red district in 2008, has employed a new maneuver we don't normally see: A Democrat coming out with an ad attacking his Republican opponent, who is Latino, for working as an immigration lawyer.
"Illegal immigration's good business for Raul Labrador," the announcer says. "Over half of his work is helping illegal immigrants stay in the United States. He even ran RapidImmigration.com, with 'easy to understand' advice for illegal immigrants seeking amnesty.
"What does Raul think of our broken immigration system?" the announcer asks, followed by a quick sound-byte of Labrador speaking: "Now I like it because I make a good living because of it."
As the Idaho Statesman reports, the full context of Labrador's comment shows some clear sarcasm: "Our system is broken and this is where I work with the system all the time. I'm trying to get people to go through the legal immigration system. They have to pay me thousands of dollars just to bring somebody to the United States. That's ridiculous. Now I like it because I make a good living because of it."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Vaughn Ward, dubbed the "worst candidate ever" by TPMDC, has lost the Republican contest to take on Rep. Walt Minnick (D-ID) in the state's first Congressional district.
Ward was the Republican establishment's pick for the seat. The National Republican Congressional Committee had named Ward a "Young Gun," and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin stumped for Ward at a rally last week.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
