Next month the Republicans will hold an additional 63 seats in the House of Representatives because of the support of different grass-roots groups, who came together to drum up votes in support of lower spending, tax cuts and repeal of Obamacare. On Dec. 7, the Republican Steering Committee will meet to choose committee chairmen, who will determine the direction of legislation. Reasonable people would agree that it would be wise to listen to the groups responsible for the historic power shift when it comes to the selection.
One of the most important choices is the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, whose jurisdiction includes health care, energy, the environment and telecommunications.
Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, a fiscal conservative, is now the ranking Republican on the committee. Under current rules, unless he gets a waiver, he’s required to step down, because he has already led the committee for three terms, once as chairman and twice as ranking member.
Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., is next in seniority, but his voting record is closer to that of Democrats than Republicans, making him a puzzling choice for Republican leaders who won their majority through grass-roots activists.
Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., and Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., are also under consideration for chairmanship.
More than 30,600 people have signed an online petition against Upton organized by FreedomWorks, chaired by former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey.
On Monday the Tea Party Patriots held a “town hall” phone conference to interview potential committee chairmen. About 16,000 people participated and later voted.
Barton and Stearns were on the call and answered questions. Barton received 53 percent of the vote; Stearns, 34 percent; Shimkus, 10 percent; and Upton, 3 percent.
One reason that Upton received so few votes is his voting record. It’s hard to make the case that he can be a strong chairman when his votes clearly label him as against smaller government and in favor of more regulation. He has consistently voted against tax cuts and in favor of more government spending and regulation.
Consider that in 2004, he was one of 11 Republicans who voted with Democrats to make tax cuts subject to a 60-vote standard in the Senate, so it’s harder to cut taxes. And in 2005, he voted against extending the Bush tax cuts on capital gains and dividends.
In 2007, he co-wrote the amendment with Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., that will ban incandescent light bulbs, forcing consumers to use fluorescents.
In 2009, Upton voted to block millions of acres from new oil and gas leasing, logging, and mining, eliminating 1.2 million acres from leasing and exploration in Wyoming, and designating 2 million more acres as wilderness.
Later that year, Upton voted against cutting fiscal 2010 funding for the Environmental Protection Agency to 2008 levels. If he wanted to expand the scope of the EPA just last year, how can he be serious about reining the EPA in as chairman?
Republican leaders are surprised about the grass-roots activism, but this is the new reality. These days people don’t believe they can leave politicians to their own devices. They want to stay engaged.
Debbie Dooley, Tea Party Patriots national coordinator, based in Atlanta, told me in a telephone conversation on Thursday, “Our job is just beginning. We’re a force to be reckoned with. We have a 40-year plan.”
Debbie can help leadership move along legislation, ensuring the success of the House Republican agenda. Her next step is to help form coalitions around different pieces of legislation.
This is good for Republicans because involving new voters means they’ll be there in 2012. In contrast, many voters who turned out in 2008 for Democrats stayed home in 2010.
It’s up to the Republican leadership to keep people like Debbie engaged — which is why the chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee is so important.
Examiner Columnist Diana Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.
