Republicans in House Battle Turmoil in Their Ranks

WASHINGTON — Under pressure to make deeper spending cuts and blindsided by embarrassing floor defeats, House Republican leaders are quickly discovering the limits of control over their ideologically driven and independent-minded new majority.

For the second consecutive day, House Republicans on Wednesday lost a floor vote due to a mini-revolt, this time over a plan to demand a repayment from the United Nations. Earlier in the day, members of the party’s conservative bloc used a closed-door party meeting to push the leadership to go well beyond its plans to trim about $40 billion from domestic spending and foreign aid this year, demanding $100 billion or more.

The spending rebellion came after the House on Tuesday rejected what was expected to be a routine temporary extension of anti-terrorism Patriot Act provisions when Democrats and about two dozen conservative Republicans balked at a fast-track procedure. Republicans, still searching for their footing after assuming control in January, were also forced to pull a trade assistance bill from the floor after conservatives raised objections. They found themselves mediating other internal fights as well.

Speaker John A. Boehner conceded that the fledgling majority was encountering turbulence. “We have been in the majority four weeks,” Mr. Boehner said. “We are not going to be perfect every day.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/us/politics/10congress.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print

they have no clue how to handle republicans who won't toe the line

Repubs are just getting carried away with their newly found "power". I think this bunch of newbies are going to be hit hard with reality soon, or, the oldies are going to be hit with the reality of who has actually gotten elected. Fun to watch, but a really sad situation for our country. No progress whatsoever, is what I predict.

It wasn't that long ago that Republicans had the House, Senate, White House, and a Majority on the Supreme Court. And yet they didn't end abortion, they didn't build a wall between here and mexico, they didn't stop Gay Marriage sufficiently. In fairness they did shut down tons of regulation and got massive tax cuts. It's almost as if the Washington Republicans cared more about big business than they did about party activists.

This time around the party activists are on high alert for RINOs; and the Tea Party candidates come from this wing; we'll have to see how they integrate with the old guard. Unfortunately I suspect introductions to some key lobbyists will settle them down.

Bryant

Teabaggers are pubbies who are repressed pubbies who suffered through 8 years of a dumb ass criminal as their president.

All of their problems stem from their party leadership and they are revolting against that leadership.
And this is good news for American politics.

He doesn't know how to act when people won't toe the party line. Whodathunkit? Republicans thinking for themselves? Well, actually, the Koch brothers thinking for a different wing of the party.