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The GOP establishment gives another chairmanship to a RINO

By: rwersheir (Diary)  |  December 30th, 2010 at 01:08 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

First, the Republicans reward Michigan Rep. Fred Upton for banning the light bulb, by putting him in charge of energy.  Now they reward Illinois Rep. Tim Johnson for voting against farmers’ property rights, by putting him in charge of–-you guessed it–-farming.

Tim Johnson will head the Rural Development Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee.  While this is far from a stellar position, the irony is just as palpable as in Upton’s case.

The bill Johnson voted against, an overhaul of the Endangered Species Act (HR 3824, 109th Congress), would have reimbursed property owners when the ESA infringes on their ability to develop their property.  And as Nancy Marano and Ben Lieberman of the Heritage Foundation point out, the bill also would have done away with “flawed critical habitat designations, strengthening scientific standards, and returning decisions to the state and local governments that are better suited to address them. As well, [the bill] would serve landowners by increasing openness and accountability across ESA processes and improving the protection of private property rights.”  The American Conservative Union listed this legislation among its “top 25″ watershed votes of 2005.

Despite Johnson’s turning his back on such a fundamental liberty as the right to own property, the Republican establishment apparently sees nothing wrong with putting Johnson in charge of a subcommittee that, as stated in Illinois’ News-Gazette,  “deals with issues such as rural development programs…and family farming matters.”

On the surface, it’s mind-boggling that anyone, let alone a Republican, could vote against such an innocuous piece of legislation.  But if you’re looking for motive, here’s an interesting tidbit.  According to Marano and Liberman, one of the many benefits of the legislation is that it would result in fewer lawsuits.

And according to opensecrets.org, guess who was the number one donor to Johnson’s 2004 campaign?  You guessed it.  Lawyers.  $32,458.

So thank you, GOP Establishment, for taking the power of the Tea Party mandate and squandering it on still another hollow-souled, Tuesday-Group moderate.

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  • rwersheir

    Below, you’ll see votes other than those which you mentioned, all of which were between 2005-2008. If you don’t find them troubling, I have no beef with you (actually, I have no beef with you regardless), but there may be some people on this site who do find them troubling. Godspeed, and I do think you and I are ultimately on the same side.

    Voted AGAINST off-shore
    drilling

    Voted FOR the Democrat’s
    2007 Energy Policy that
    mandated reliance on biofuels while
    not allowing oil supplies to increase.
    The policy also stiffened regulations
    and raised taxes $2 billion (ACU-6).

    Voted AGAINST the right of
    workers to a secret ballot
    when voting on whether to
    unionize (ACU-6).

    Voted AGAINST Earmark
    Reform aimed to cut
    runaway spending (See what
    the American Conservative Union has
    to say about HR 1867)Voted AGAINST
    off-shore drilling in 07

    Voted FOR Pelosi’s “light-
    bulb ban” that, as the ACU
    explains, regulates “lights and
    appliances (including a ban on the
    incandescent light bulb), creating new
    programs for alternative energy
    sources, imposing more regulations on
    energy companies and mandating
    vastly increased use of

    • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

      Good choice for a primary; no question there. I just do not personally feel that it is a searing indictment of the Republican system that he got a minor subcommittee chairmanship.

      But I should have been less snarky about it. My apologies.

      • ohiohistorian

        I look at Johnson’s 62% ACU record (lifetime) and it is 158th in the House (there are only about 12 House members LESS conservative). There were (2009) actually 2 Democrats more conservative; Lance from NJ and Bright from AL. And he is the best that we can find for this subcommittee?

        Comparing him to Upton; Upton is only 6 Republicas higher.

        You’d think Boehner, with a 94% lifetime average, (but not even in the top 20) would have picked some who voted more like him. Here are the top 20 conservatives with over 10 years service. The lowest lifetime rating is Barton’s at 94. Don’t you think these guys should be committee and subcommittee chairs somewhere? Yet you probably have not heard of half of them, and I will suspect that most will not even be considered. After all, virtually all of them are more conservative than Boehner (24th ranked).

        State District Member
        Arizona 3 SHADEGG
        California 40 ROYCE
        Texas 3 JOHNSON Sam
        Texas 32 SESSIONS
        Indiana 5 BURTON
        Pennsylvania 16 PITTS
        Georgia 1 KINGSTON
        California 2 HERGER
        Illinois 16 MANZULLO
        Georgia 7 LINDER
        Kansas 4 TIAHRT
        Texas 8 BRADY
        Texas 13 THORNBERRY
        California 46 ROHRABACHER
        Virginia 6 GOODLATTE
        Washington 4 HASTINGS Doc
        North Carolina 9 MYRICK
        Florida 6 STEARNS
        California 19 RADANOVICH
        Texas 6 BARTON

  • rwersheir

    You kick rear….and your boldness is the reason.

    • rwersheir

      I appreciate your feedback, Mr. Warrior, but I’m not sure I have the stomach for committee meetings. No, I didn’t know so many were vacant. But you propose a good strategy.

      Bob

      • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

        the fight.

        If you are mad at the RINOs, don’t just get mad, get even.

        The BEST place for conservatives to make a change to the Republican Party is where they live. In their own precinct and at their local Republican Party committee meetings.

        We conservatives, if we unite there, all across the country, in sufficient numbers (we have the numbers), at our local meetings, in 2011 and 2012, and learn how to become voting members of the Party — precinct committeemen (it’s not hard) — we can take over the Republican Party. No more complaining about “the Republican Party” — we’d BE the Republican Party.

        Don’t take my word for it. This fellow stumbled upon what I wrote over at ResistNet.com (now call Patriot Action Network) and carried out The Neighborhood Precinct Committeeman Strategy down in Pinal County, AZ. (He explains it in less than six minutes.) Now conservatives are in the leadership slots there:

        Here’s the link to what Darla Dawald had let me post over at ResistNet/Patriot Action Network to which Jeff refers to in his video:

        http://www.patriotactionnetwork.com/group/invadethegop?xg_source=activity

        What this fellow and his cohorts did, we can do all over the country in the upcoming 2012 election cycle. If we act.

        Thank you.

        For Liberty,

        ColdWarrior

  • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

    (which is pretty much common knowledge) and embarking on building an anti-RINO web site, www.RemoveRinos.com, which you wrote about here, http://www.redstate.com/rwersheir/2009/12/12/ceding-defeat-in-the-name-of-victory-the-case-against-blue-state-rinos/, which in my humble opinion will not actually change either the leadership of the Party or the outcome of the 2012 primary elections, have you considered the possibility of actually getting involved locally in your Republican Party committee? Have you considered actually becoming a voting member of the Party? A precinct committeeman? And encouraging your anti-RINO cohorts to do the same? Especially in light of the fact that, nationwide, on average, in every county, about half of these slots are vacant? And because if conservatives fill up all the empty slots, we can wrest control of the Party leadership from the entrenched RINOs who permeate it at present?

    If you haven’t already become a precinct committeeman, I hope you will.

    Sincerely,

    ColdWarrior

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    NT

  • rwersheir

    Sorry, Moe, just quick clarification….are you saying, “And this surprises you, why?” If so…you’re point is well taken.

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    You’re seriously making the argument that a five year old vote on a bill that never made it out of the Senate should invalidate a Congressman’s appointment to an Agriculture subcommittee chairmanship? And that this vote makes him a quote-unquote “RiNO?”

    Look, if you don’t have anything better to do with your time I can put you in contact with folks that will be happy for any help that you can give. Just tell me your state and county.

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    …I’ve already read through your site on the guy, which seems to be mostly a litany of stupid-to-offensive stuff he did before Congress flipped in 2007. Seriously, if you don’t like the guy for Cash for Clunkers, being anti-surge, and that impeachment garbage, write that up. Trying to ding the entire party for a second-tier subcommittee chairmanship assignment is kind of obnoxious, though.