By Julie Sobel and Jessica Taylor
A three-week stopgap measure passed the House 271-158 Tuesday afternoon, with 54 Republicans voting against the bill. Every House Republican either committed to or publicly considering a Senate run in 2012 voted for the previous two-week government funding bill and then flipped to vote against Tuesday's three-week continuing resolution.
A three-week stopgap measure passed the House 271-158 Tuesday afternoon, with 54 Republicans voting against the bill. Every House Republican either committed to or publicly considering a Senate run in 2012 voted for the previous two-week government funding bill and then flipped to vote against Tuesday's three-week continuing resolution.
Reps. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), andConnie Mack (R-Fla.) all voted for the last CR but voted against the latest one, burnishing their conservative credentials ahead of the 2012 elections.
Some are specifically fighting for the mantle of most conservative in a Republican primary. Akin, if he decides to get in the race, will face off against two other candidates vying for tea party support. Heller may be trying to stave off a primary challenge from 2010 Senate nomineeSharron Angle (R). And if Mack runs, he'll face a crowded Republican primary field with candidates striving for the tea party support that propelled now-Sen. Marco Rubio (R) to victory.
If Chaffetz runs, he'll be challenging Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) -- who is in his own battle to prove himself credible to tea partiers, and already voted against the first CR earlier this month and has already committed to vote against this week's as well.
Meanwhile, freshmen made up just under half of the GOP's votes against the stopgap measure, but for all the talk this week of a split in the caucus led in part by the first-term tea party aligned members, the vast majority of even conservative Republicans still voted for the funding. And most of those who opposed the resolution sit in generally safe districts.
Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), one of the most vulnerable first-term members, had come out early against the CR, saying in a statement after the vote that his position shouldn't be seen as a "willingness for a government shutdown," but instead was a protest that a budget needs to be passed. Just six Republicans opposed the first CR -- and Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) was the only freshman to oppose it twice. With the caucus votes mixed on each side -- 104 Democrats opposed the measure -- even each party's political arm seemed unsure of how to spin the vote. The Democratic leaders in the House split their vote -- with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosivoting against the bill but Minority Whip Steny Hoyer voting for it. The National Republican Congressional Committee sent out a press release hitting 16 vulnerable Democrats who opposed the measure, even as 54 of their own also voted no.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/03/gop-reps-eying-senate-races-flip-on-cr-15
Some are specifically fighting for the mantle of most conservative in a Republican primary. Akin, if he decides to get in the race, will face off against two other candidates vying for tea party support. Heller may be trying to stave off a primary challenge from 2010 Senate nomineeSharron Angle (R). And if Mack runs, he'll face a crowded Republican primary field with candidates striving for the tea party support that propelled now-Sen. Marco Rubio (R) to victory.
If Chaffetz runs, he'll be challenging Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) -- who is in his own battle to prove himself credible to tea partiers, and already voted against the first CR earlier this month and has already committed to vote against this week's as well.
Meanwhile, freshmen made up just under half of the GOP's votes against the stopgap measure, but for all the talk this week of a split in the caucus led in part by the first-term tea party aligned members, the vast majority of even conservative Republicans still voted for the funding. And most of those who opposed the resolution sit in generally safe districts.
Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), one of the most vulnerable first-term members, had come out early against the CR, saying in a statement after the vote that his position shouldn't be seen as a "willingness for a government shutdown," but instead was a protest that a budget needs to be passed. Just six Republicans opposed the first CR -- and Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) was the only freshman to oppose it twice. With the caucus votes mixed on each side -- 104 Democrats opposed the measure -- even each party's political arm seemed unsure of how to spin the vote. The Democratic leaders in the House split their vote -- with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosivoting against the bill but Minority Whip Steny Hoyer voting for it. The National Republican Congressional Committee sent out a press release hitting 16 vulnerable Democrats who opposed the measure, even as 54 of their own also voted no.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/03/gop-reps-eying-senate-races-flip-on-cr-15