http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/boehners-future-on-the-line-this-fall-say-conservatives/article/2571697Boehner's future on the line this fall, say conservatives
By Susan Ferrechio (@susanferrechio) • 9/9/15 4:10 PM
Conservatives "are waiting to see what happens this month" before deciding whether they will try a third time to oust Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who they have frequently criticized for failing to champion conservative issues.
Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, and a group of other conservatives told reporters at a roundtable event on Wednesday that critical legislation this fall could decide Boehner's fate if he ignores their input.
Conservatives tried unsuccessfully to unseat him in 2012 and 2014. They could try again when Congress reconvenes for the 115th session on Jan. 3, 2017.
"I'm really waiting to see what happens this month," Labrador said. "We have a lot of big issues before us."
Labrador said a move earlier this summer by Rep. John Fleming, R-La., to try to oust Boehner with a floor procedure was premature. "But I do think it's pretty important to note what is happening in America," he said.
Labrador pointed to the rise in the polls of Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson, who are outsiders embracing conservative viewpoints on immigration, trade, the Iran nuclear deal and other issues.
While Labrador said Trump and Carson lack "substantive answers" to the nation's problems, their popularity points to a frustration among voters with current elected officials, in particular Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Labrador criticized McConnell for refusing to change the Senate rules so that important conservative legislation, including a vote to kill the Iran nuclear deal, can pass with just 51 votes, instead of 60.
"If the Senate majority leader cannot stand up for the vast majority of the American people, then we do need new leadership," Labrador said.
Conservatives are also monitoring how their leadership writes a government funding bill, which Congress must approve and the president must sign by the end of the month in order to avoid a government shutdown.
Conservatives want any bill funding the government to exclude money for Planned Parenthood, which has been the subject of undercover videos that appear to show organization officials discussing the sale of fetal body parts.
Republican leaders have signaled they want to avoid spending gridlock and a government shutdown, which would likely result from including a defunding provision in a government spending deal because Obama would veto it.
Conservatives, many of them elected in recent swing elections with the help of the Tea Party, said they are waiting to see how GOP leaders will act on that issue and others, including a resolution of approval or disapproval of the Iran nuclear deal, as well as a multi-year bill authorizing highway funding. Conservatives are also eager to ensure Republican leaders don't provide a path to revive the Export-Import Bank, an entity that those on the right pushed not to reauthorize earlier this year.
"Everyone is watching," said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. "Are we going to do what we told our constituents we were going to do when we ran for office?"
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., said the conservative base is "hungry" for Republican leadership that presents a vision.
"The American people are frustrated, they are very frustrated with Congress," Loudermilk said. "The general feeling across the board is the president is running the entire country, including the Congress, because we are always just reacting."
Boehner has not yet revealed how or if he will allow a vote on the funding of Planned Parenthood. The House is holding hearings this month on the videos.
