http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/rebels-with-a-cause-115806.html?hp=t2_rRebels with a cause
A new group of far-right House Republicans tries to show they’re not just a band of demagogues.
By Jake Sherman and Lauren French
3/6/15 5:34 AM EST
Updated 3/6/15 9:57 AM EST
Sitting in a room on the fourth floor of the Cannon building, sipping soda and beer minutes after they helped defeat a three-week extension of Homeland Security funding, the roughly two dozen House conservatives who in January declared themselves the Freedom Caucus were looking to flex their muscles again.
They made the House Republican leaders an offer — a one-week funding bill, with the option for another two weeks if formal negotiations with the Senate were launched. After breaking for dinner, and scrolling through news on their iPhones and BlackBerrys, the group walked back to the House floor together to watch leadership’s machinations firsthand.
Ultimately, the House leaders rejected the offer from the Freedom Caucus and, in a further rebuke, eventually gave in to Democratic demands for a floor vote on a bill funding DHS through September. But that defeat looked almost like a victory to many members of the Freedom Caucus, who insist they have established themselves as a unified force. They didn’t try to oust Speaker John Boehner, as some in Boehner’s circle feared, but rather came away prepared to be a constant counterweight to the embattled speaker.
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http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/rebels-with-a-cause-115806.html#ixzz3TcWisaQW
