Reps. Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Tom Latham (R-IA) both serve on the House Appropriations Committee, and both of them announced their retirement today. Maybe this shouldn’t be surprising, but the deal that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) cut with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) actually made appropriators relevant again. Under sequestration, the appropriators had no discretion about how money was spent, which made being a Republican appropriator a very lonely and fruitless experience. So, I am a little surprised to see these two gentlemen hang up their congressional careers at the exact moment that they’ve regained an agenda to pursue.
I think the problem is that the Conservative Movement has become so implacably hostile to the federal government that it is pretty much impossible to be a Republican appropriator without running afoul of conservative ideology.
It used to be that a seat on the Appropriations Committee was a real asset for a politician seeking reelection because their constituents knew that they could bring home the bacon. But, lately, the Republican base hates appropriators and seeks to primary them out of existence.
Even the end of the budget-by-crisis era isn’t enough to make veteran GOP appropriators want to stick around and fight for their careers.
Does this mean that who gets sent to replace them won’t have a shot of getting on that committee?
well, that’s a funny thing. Old habits die hard. Most Republicans probably want to avoid a seat on the Appropriations Committee these days, but they don’t hand seats out to freshmen. You have to earn a seat by proving yourself as a great fundraiser for the party.
Wolf’s home district of Northern Virginia contains the Pentagon and countless government contractors. The contradiction between a home district that owes its continuing existence to government spending, and a party implacably opposed to the very concept, simply can’t be reconciled. And it’s a highly educated district, too – facile lies shouldn’t cut it.
Any Republican challenger to replace Wolf should have to either pledge to try to throw many of his constituents out of work, or pledge to become deeply irrelevant in his own party. Any competent Democrat should be able to take full advantage.
Don’t be silly; according to my sister’s wingnut boyfriend, the gun nut defense contractor, it’s easy to cut waste, fraud and abuse out of the system without touching the defense budget — just clear away all that socialist crap for the takers. Problem solved!
I was living in Northern Virginia when Frank Wolf first ran for Congress.
He was a jerk then.
Nothing has changed.
.
In most recent interview [start @ 9:00] Burke was at a loss of the renewal by Pope Francis, he never saw it coming. A signal to the American conservative bishops like Timothy Dolan and Spadero. Both mentioned in your article.
○ C & L – Pope Shakes Up Vatican Panel, Drops Activist Bishop Burke
○ In Rome, an American rises and another American fades
○ Archbishop T. Dolan, Paul Ryan and Catholic Teachings Apr. 10, 2012
○ Love it when proven right within my lifetime – 🙂
Cross-posted from my diary – Conservative Limbaugh Lashes Out At Pope Francis.
I’m sure it’s been in the cards for a while but you can’t go on EWTN and trash the Pope, like he did a week or three ago, and expect to remain in his good graces.
I wonder if the end of budgeting by crisis didn’t cause these retirements. Sure, before this deal, being on the committee is pointless, but now they have to make decisions, and those decisions will inevitably rile the Teahadis, or key interests in their districts, or both.
I’ve been away from blogging for a bit, so can I ask an innocent question: Has the Ryan/Murray budget become law, and is it, from a progressive point of view, preferable to sequestration?
Even the end of the budget-by-crisis era isn’t enough to make veteran GOP appropriators want to stick around and fight for their careers.
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