Rep. Boehner Elected
GOP Majority Leader
David Espo, AP from
the washingtonpost.com February 2, 2006
Washington -- Rep. John
Boehner of Ohio was elected House majority leader Thursday to replace indicted
Rep. Tom DeLay.
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Representative John Boehner, R-Ohio
Photo: Dennis Brake/Bloomberg News |
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Boehner defeated fellow Republican
Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, 122-109, after lagging behind his rival in a first,
inconclusive vote of GOP House members. The third contender -- John
Shadegg of Arizona -- withdrew after finishing last in the initial round.
Blunt, who had been the front-runner, remains the GOP whip. "Believe me,
the world goes on," he said.
"We have a great leadership team," Blunt said. "We're going to work to
make the Congress better, more importantly we're going to work to make the
country better, and I look forward to working with John Boehner as majority
leader to make that happen."
Boehner campaigned as a candidate of reform, and said his experience as chairman
of the House Education and Workforce Committee had demonstrated his ability to
pass major legislation.
Blunt had been a temporary stand-in for DeLay, who is charged with campaign
finance violations in Texas.
After the vote, Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., called Boehner "a fresh face."
"It wouldn't be credible for the same leaders to be advocating change," Flake
said, adding he hoped Blunt would stay on as whip, third-ranking in the
leadership.
Republicans are at a political crossroads as they work to avoid the taint of
scandal from investigations that have already led to the conviction and
resignation of Rep. Randy Cunningham, R-Calif. In addition, Rep. Bob Ney,
R-Ohio, faces scrutiny in a wide-ranging congressional corruption investigation
symbolized by lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Blunt's position in leadership had made him the front-runner, but he ended seven
votes short of the necessary majority on a first-round secret ballot. He
had 110 votes and Boehner had 79. Shadegg received 40 and Rep. Jim Ryun of
Kansas, who was not an announced candidate, got two votes.
After Shadegg and Ryun dropped out, Boehner won his second-ballot victory.
It was the most-contested election among House Republicans since the upheaval
that followed ethics allegations and election losses in 1998. Eight years
later, the GOP hopes to avoid political reversals in midterm elections as it
contends with ethics problems anew.
The secret-ballot election capped a 24-day campaign in which Blunt sought to
convert his experience as majority whip and DeLay's temporary stand-in into a
permanent promotion.
"This is not a party stuck in neutral," he said as the race began, dismissing a
claim made by Boehner. "This is an opportunity for reform."
Boehner and Shadegg both cast themselves as outsiders, better positioned to
revive Republican spirits and political fortunes in the wake of the Abramoff
lobbying scandal.
Democrats watched with interest, ready to pounce on the winner.
"No matter who Republicans elect, it's easy to show they're supporting more of
the same ... part of the same pay-to-play system that's made Washington the mess
that it is right now," said Bill Burton, a spokesman for the House Democratic
campaign organization.
The three Republican rivals, all 56, have carved out different careers in the
House.
Blunt, who represents a district in southwestern Missouri, had just won his
second term in 1998 when DeLay, R-Texas, tapped him to take a place at the
leadership table as chief deputy whip.
The two men each moved up one rung on the leadership ladder in 2003 and have
worked closely together for years. Jim Ellis, a consultant who was
indicted with DeLay last year on campaign fundraising charges, also works for
Blunt's political action committee. He has denied all wrongdoing.
Unlike either of his rivals, Boehner came to Congress when Democrats held a
majority, and he joined the Gang of Seven, a group of energetic young lawmakers
eager to draw attention to a scandal involving the House bank and Democrats.
Boehner won a place in leadership when Republicans gained a majority in 1994, a
position that kept him in frequent contact with lobbyists.
But he and DeLay soon clashed, and Boehner lost his leadership post four years
later. Boehner became chairman of the House Education and the Workforce
Committee in 2001, and he helped shepherd President Bush's No Child Left Behind
education bill through the House.
Shadegg came to Congress from the Phoenix area in 1994, part of the large
contingent of newcomers who cemented the first Republican majority in 40 years.
He showed an interest in health care and other policy issues, and won election
in 2000 as head of an organization of House conservatives, now known as the
Republican Study Committee. He later was elected to a junior leadership
post.
DeLay, who has denied any wrongdoing, is awaiting trial in his home state on the
campaign finance charges he has repeatedly denounced as politically inspired.
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