It’s the first time in 105 years in the House of
Representatives: A Republican congressman filed a motion Tuesday to remove House
Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, from his position.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., filed a “motion to
vacate the chair” Tuesday evening, saying Boehner “has endeavored to
consolidate power and centralize decision-making, by-passing the majority of
the 435 Members of Congress and the people they represent.”
Meadows’ proposal has been referred to a
committee filled with leadership loyalists, making it unlikely to survive, Fox
News reported.
The congressman’s motion accuses Boehner of
weakening the power of Congress, “thereby making Congress subservient to the
Executive and Judicial branches, diminishing the voice of the American People.”
It also charges that Boehner has used his
leadership position in the House to “punish Members who vote according to their
conscience instead of the will of the Speaker.”
In June, GOP leaders fired Meadows from his
subcommittee chairmanship, but outcry from conservatives caused them to restore
it.
Fox News noted that the resolution could place
Democrats in a difficult situation. Should they vote to keep Boehner even after
they’ve clashed with him so many times? Or should they side with conservatives
and help throw him out?
“Much like the Declaration of Independence, he’s
laid a case against the crown,” talk-show host Mark Levin said on his show
Tuesday evening. “He’s showing the institutional corruption of John Boehner.”
He continued, “John Boehner is Nancy Pelosi’s
favorite Republican in the House of Representatives. So, while the Democrats
should vote to remove John Boehner, many will vote to keep him because they
like what he’s doing. They like what he’s doing to advance Obama’s agenda. We
have a very brave member of Congress, Meadows, who has said enough is enough. I
would encourage you to call your members of the House of Representatives and
tell them to support Mark Meadows.”
Levin urged listeners to “overwhelm their phone
lines,” “overwhelm their emails.”
In an interview with Levin, Meadows explained,
“I felt like I had to take action on behalf of the American people. For all the
millions of American who felt like we’re not accomplishing much in Washington,
D.C., I felt like it was a move I had to make.”
Levin pointed out that Meadows would be punished
for his actions.
“I am prepared for it,” Meadows said. “It’s not
something I relish. It’s not something I want. I’ve already had a few
discussions with some of my colleagues. … What it really gets down to, is if
you’re not willing to stand up for the people who send you to Washington, D.C.,
why go? … If we’re allowing three or four people to make all the decisions,
it’s wrong.”
Meadows said he has “an obligation” to make this
move, and the “punishment is surely going to come, but it’s nothing compared to
the sacrifices our Founding Fathers had to make.”
He added, “We have a rule book that has 13,008
pages of rules, and yet since I’ve been in Congress, I don’t know of one time
where we’ve actually followed those rules.”
Meadows said Congress suspends or changes the
rules, but never follows them.
“I couldn’t be silent any longer,” he said.
“Indeed, it’s something that had to be done regardless of consequences. This
particular decision may send me home. It may make sure I don’t get re-elected,
but ultimately it had to be made.”
Levin warned Meadows that GOP elites will likely
attack him in the GOP primary.
But Meadows said he has vowed to make sure his
constituents’ voices are heard in Washington, D.C.
“I want you to know something,” Levin said.
“There are millions of us who agree with you.”
Meadows said he believes Boehner could make a quick
vote of the issue.
“Obviously this is bigger than one vote tomorrow
or next week,” he said. “This is about the future of our country. Will we have
a representative form of government? That’s where we’re at.”
According to Fox News, some GOP members blasted
the resolution, saying it would benefit President Obama by diverting attention
from the issues of the Iran nuclear deal and Planned Parenthood defunding.
Republican Study Chairman Bill Flores of Texas
told Politico the resolution is a “cheap political stunt.”
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., who has a close
relationship with Boehner, told Fox News: “You don’t raise any money, you need
a way to raise money, you do gimmicks like this.”
But Meadows said he hasn’t raised money on this
issue.
Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., said GOP leadership
is “not listening to the American people” – especially by preventing quick
votes against same-sex marriage and federal funding of Planned Parenthood.
Immediately after Levin’s interview with Meadow,
an excited listener called into the show and declared: “Hooray for Mark
Meadows. I’m so frustrated with this Congress!”
On Monday, Levin called for Boehner and Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to resign.
He wrote on his Facebook page:
It is time for Mitch
McConnell and John Boehner to resign for the good of the nation and the
Republican Party. The nation and GOP are both suffering as a result of the
unwillingness or inability of McConnell and Boehner to effectively defend
either. Instead, these politicians are consumed with consolidating their own
power on Capitol Hill and silencing opponents who dare to challenge their
ironfisted rule. Sadly, they rarely act in the best interests of America’s
future. Indeed, time and again they have delivered victory after victory for
Obama and his radical agenda – from spending, borrowing, and Obamacare to
illegal immigration, Iran and “trade” power. Never before has a Congress
controlled by one party been so thoroughly impotent. This is due to the
disastrous leadership of McConnell and Boehner.
It is time for younger,
wiser, and more courageous Republican leadership – constitutional
conservatives who understand the role of a statesman in perilous times –
who are willing to truly lead the nation and the Republican Party based on
America’s enlightened principles, advance the cause of liberty and republican
government, and make the case everyday to the American people.
The following is the full text of Meadows’
resolution:
Whereas the Speaker of
the House of Representatives for the 114th Congress has endeavored to
consolidate power and centralize decision-making, bypassing the majority of the
435 Members of Congress and the people they represent;
Whereas the Speaker has, through inaction,
caused the power of Congress to atrophy, thereby making Congress subservient to
the Executive and Judicial branches, diminishing the voice of the American
People;
Whereas the Speaker uses the power of the office
to punish Members who vote according to their conscience instead of the will of
the Speaker;
Whereas the Speaker has intentionally provided
for voice votes on consequential and controversial legislation to be taken
without notice and with few Members present;
Whereas the Speaker uses the legislative
calendar to create crises for the American People, in order to compel Members
to vote for legislation;
Whereas the Speaker does not comply with the
spirit of the rules of the House of Representatives, which provide that Members
shall have three days to review legislation before voting;
Whereas the Speaker continues to direct the
Rules Committee to limit meaningful amendments, to limit debate on the House
floor, and to subvert a straightforward legislative process; and
Whereas the House of
Representatives, to function effectively in the service of all citizens of this
country, requires the service of a Speaker who will endeavor to follow an
orderly and inclusive process without imposing his or her will upon any Member
thereof: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the office of Speaker of the
House of Representatives is hereby declared to be vacant.
http://www.wnd.com/2015/07/unprecedented-boehner-faces-sudden-mutiny/
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