GOP Flake Out

The Wall Street Journal Editorial

January 12, 2007

GOP Flake Out
January 12, 2007; Page A12

One big test of a new minority is to draw the right lesson from its drubbing at the polls. House Republicans have a long way to go, judging by House Minority Leader John Boehner's decision this week to punish Arizona's Jeff Flake by tossing him off the Judiciary Committee. The offense? Porkbusting.

Mr. Flake should be getting a promotion to the leadership, given how prescient he was in warning his colleagues about the perils of their run-amok "earmarking." He and a few comrades sponsored more than 40 House floor amendments last year to strip pork projects from spending bills. The National Taxpayers Union ranked him the most fiscally conservative member of the House. None of that sits very well with his House colleagues, who blame Mr. Flake for shining public attention on their spendthrift ways. They're especially angry that he talked about this with CBS's "60 Minutes," which chose to run the program on election eve weekend.

A spokesman for Mr. Boehner says Mr. Flake's Judiciary ejection isn't punitive, and is merely the bad luck of the draw now that the GOP has fewer seats in the minority. However, that is hard to credit given that Mr. Flake had more seniority on Judiciary than six other Republicans who didn't lose their seats. Mr. Flake retains seats on two lesser committees.

Meanwhile, Mr. Boehner has asked California's Jerry Lewis to remain the ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee. As Chairman, Mr. Lewis allowed 13,997 earmarks in the 2005 budget. He is also under investigation for relationships with lobbyists amid allegations of "pay to play" earmarking. The Duke Cunningham payments-for-pork crimes happened on his watch. If Republicans truly believed in limited government, Mr. Flake would be running Appropriations and Mr. Lewis would be a back-bencher.

Only last year, while making his move to replace Tom DeLay as Republican Majority Leader, Mr. Boehner ran as a budget reformer. He declared that "My Republican colleague, Jeff Flake of Arizona, has bold ideas to solve this problem. . . . I support his efforts." Well, never mind. If Republicans think that punishing their most principled Members is smart politics, their time in exile could be very long indeed.

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a Yow and an Ouch for the smackdown to their buddies - all combined.

WSJ criticizing the GOP?

by the GOP, including the Medicare bill but not tax cuts, of course.

Many conservatives still want small government, meaning cutting or eliminating social programs, leaving the setting of minimum wage, for example, for the "free market."

One thing, though, about the Dow Jones company, that publishes the WSJ: it provides benefits for both spouses and companions of their employees.