Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Tuesday that she thinks House Speaker John Boehner’s purge of conservatives from powerful committees is a sign the GOP establishment is out of touch with America. “We send good conservatives to D.C. to fulfill the promises they made to the electorate, and yet when they stay true to their word the permanent political class in their own party punishes them,” Palin said in a Facebook comment. “This won't be forgotten come 2014. Right now the GOP establishment is more concerned about the opinion of the media and the Georgetown cocktail circuit than they are ‘we the people’ who hired them.
For all this new talk of how the GOP needs a ‘populist movement,’ it would do them good to remember they already have one; it’s called the Tea Party movement, and it won for them the majority they now enjoy in the House.”
On Monday, Boehner pulled conservative GOP Reps. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas and Justin Amash of Michigan from the House Budget Committee. The Speaker also removed conservative Republican Reps. David Schweikert of Arizona and Walter Jones of North Carolina from the House Financial Services Committee.
The members believe they were pulled from those committee assignments – from which they would be able to influence fiscal policy – because they have solid conservative voting records.
Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith scoffed at the concerns Monday night in a statement to Breitbart News, saying: “The Steering Committee makes decisions based on a range of factors."
But in a story on the matter, Roll Call quoted an anonymous GOP leadership aide who said the moves were indeed retaliation for member not being in lockstep with Boehner. “You want good things in Congress and to have a good career? Better play along nicely,” the aide said.
Roll Call also quoted another anonymous GOP leadership aide who suggested that the committee chairmen requested the changes. “Changes are made for a variety of reasons, most often at the request of committee chairs,” the aide said.
A spokesman for House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan – the Republican Party’s recent vice presidential candidate – didn’t immediately respond to a request from Breitbart News about whether Ryan agrees with Boehner’s move. Huelskamp and Amash both voted against the Ryan budget in committee and on the House floor, arguing it didn’t cut spending fast enough.
A spokesman for the House Financial Services committee didn’t respond to a request for comment on where its chairman stands with regards to this purge.
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