Some Conservatives Livid Over House GOP Chairmanship Choices

Guy Benson | December 08, 2010 3:19 PM

Mark Tapscott at the Washington Examiner synthesizes conservative anger over House Republicans' decision to elevate Fred Upton and Hal Rogers to the chairmanships of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and the Appropriations Committee, respectively:

These are the two worst picks House Speaker-to-be John Boehner could make as Rogers is an earmark-happy Old Bull and Upton is an moderate liberal - aka RINO. It appears House GOP leaders still have not learned that talking the talk but not walking it stopped working in 2006.

The steering committee's recommendations must be approved by the full House GOP caucus. Normally that would be a formality. Perhaps with a bunch of Tea Partiers elected as freshmen last month, we will see Boehner's first leadership crisis if the new blood rebels, as they should.
For why Rogers and Upton are the wrong choices, go here.

On the positive side, fiscal hawk and earmarks enemy Rep. Jeff Flake will finally be granted a seat on the House Appropriations Committee, a slot he's been denied by Republican leadership in the past. Stay tuned for my piece on Flake, which will appear on the main page tomorrow morning.