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'The Majority of the Minority'

By Bluey Posted in Congress | Featured Stories — Comments (1) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

I’m spending the day in Baltimore at the Heritage Foundation’s House Conservative Members Retreat, where several Republicans rotated in and out of the media room this morning. So far all of them have been impressive with their devotion to core conservative values in spite of the circumstances facing them in Washington.

Three freshmen -- Representatives Michele Bachmann (Minn.), Bill Sali (Idaho) and Tim Walberg (Mich.) -- stood out as rising stars in the movement. They’re three of just 13 new Republican members of the House and the only ones to make the trek to Baltimore for the weekend meeting.

What impressed me most was their upbeat attitude yet realistic approach to the political environment. The three were elected in an extremely tough climate for Republicans and will most likely be targeted when they run for re-election in 2008. Therefore, defining themselves quickly is important.

Read on...

Matt Lewis of Townhall, who has pictures on his blog, notes how the freshmen emphasized their “independent” mindset, whereas the other Republicans who spoke to us -- Representatives Phil Gingrey (Ga.), Steve King (Iowa), Louie Gohmert (Tex.), John Campbell (Calif.) and Mike Pence (Ind.) -- stressed the importance of fixing the Republican brand.

King made perhaps the most notable comment of the day when he suggested that a number of Republicans haven’t yet realized they’re in the minority. He described them as “in denial.” King also said he will push his colleagues to be more combative with Democrats rather than willing to compromise.

Immigration and fiscal issues were the two big topics members wanted to talk about. King said he expects the Senate to begin the debate on immigration reform in April when Sen. Teddy Kennedy (Mass.) teams up with a Republican -- King predicted it would be Sen. Mel Martinez (Fla.), the newly elected Republican National Committee general chairman -- to sponsor a bill granting amnesty to illegal aliens.

On fiscal issues, Campbell, the new chairman of the Republican Study Committee’s Budget and Spending Taskforce, said conservatives will continue to push the envelope. He said after White House releases its budget on Monday and Democrats offer theirs, House conservatives will most likely unveil a proposal of their own.

So what role do conservatives have in the House? Most members who spoke to us emphasized that conservatives were the “majority of the minority” in terms of their size and clout within the Republican conference. Pence, the former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, said he expects conservatives to have a new role. Instead of keeping the Republican leadership true to its principles, conservatives will now be responsible for making sure those ideas remain an important factor in policy debates.

UPDATE -- 12:35 p.m.: Human Events' John Gizzi is also here in Baltimore covering the retreat. Stay tuned to the Gizz-ette for complete coverage. Gizzi's first dispatch is an interview with Rep. Pete Hoekstra, who railed against reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Mitt Romney speaks in about 25 minutes, and judging from the growing crowd in the press room, he'll have a captive audience. We'll be in the room with him for his address. Afterward, he's going to spend some time with bloggers. I'll report back later.