Outside of Kalamazoo, few people have heard of Michigan Rep. Fred Upton — and they all work inside the Beltway. In Washington, Upton has become a lightning rod since the GOP takeover put him in line to chair the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.
To many Capitol Hill liberals, Upton is an island of sanity in a Republican sea of Tea Partiers and oil industry shills. To the conservative movement, Upton is an unreliable squish.
But to Speaker-in-waiting John Boehner and his leadership team, Upton is a team player who may stray on many votes but can be counted on to throw roadblocks in front of President Obama’s plans for health care and climate change.
Conservatives on the Hill, in think tanks and on K Street are fighting to keep Upton from the chair, but Upton’s closeness with Boehner — including his record of raising funds for GOP candidates and coming to heel when Boehner has snapped the whip — could ensure he gets the gavel.
Upton earned conservative ire with his liberal voting record, including votes on energy and health policy, which are under E&C’s jurisdiction. Out of 158 returning Republican congressmen, Upton ranks as the 10th most liberal, judging by lifetime American Conservative Union ratings.
Americans for Limited Government, a nonprofit group committed to free markets, has begun circulating a 23-page compilation of Upton’s worst votes. In 2009, for instance, Upton backed the Democrats’ expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program from poor children to middle-class young adults. On energy, Upton was the Republican sponsor of the “light-bulb law” — the 2007 measure that effectively outlaws the traditional incandescent bulb — and earlier he has supported drilling bans in the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes. An Examiner editorial called him “wholly unsuited for the job.”
“The job” of E&C chairman for the 112th Congress has two main elements: First, craft a measure repealing Obamacare — and after that dies in the Senate, compel Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to testify before Congress to make sure Democrats keep paying a political price for “reform.” Second, resist Obama’s attempt to circumvent Congress and create climate change regulations through the Environmental Protection Agency.
Upton emphatically says he’s ready for these fights, and leadership staffers tell me they believe him. But the Right doesn’t buy it, fearing he’ll sell out, or be an ineffective advocate. “He’s never fought for anything on our side in his life,” one activist told me. “Since he doesn’t believe what we believe, how is he going to get out the message?”
“Anybody but Upton” is the conservative battle cry, but they don’t necessarily have a good alternative. Option 1 is to allow senior Republican Joe Barton to stay on as chairman. That would require a waiver of the party’s rules, which set a maximum of six years as committee head. Barton served two years as E&C chairman and four as ranking member. Hill sources tell me Barton’s asking for a two-year waiver, after which he would retire.
But Republicans have never waived these term limits. Also, Barton’s remarks earlier this year defending BP after the oil spill would make him an ideal foil for the White House, especially on climate change. Finally, Barton and Boehner do not get along.
Conservatives suggest giving the gavel to John Shimkus of Illinois or Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania. Shimkus backers and Upton backers agree, however, that Shimkus hasn’t been aggressively whipping up support. Pitts isn’t visibly running yet, either.
While outsiders focus on Upton’s ideology, Republican House staffers know that a lawmaker’s voting record isn’t how party loyalty is measured on the Hill. Leadership staffers and K Street lobbyists emphasized to me how much Upton has raised for other Republican candidates — through his TRUST PAC, by hosting fundraisers, and by transferring funds from his campaign.
A few sources cited Upton’s work as co-host of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s fundraising dinner in March, when he helped the NRCC raise a record $7.2 million. Since his SCHIP vote, industry lobbyists say, Upton has followed the leadership on all the big votes, including those that pertain to E&C’s jurisdiction.
Chairmen are elected by the whole Republican conference (all returning and incoming congressmen), but the conference follows the recommendation of the Steering Committee, which in turn does what the speaker asks. And Boehner, by all indications, is on Team Upton.
By giving Upton the gavel, Boehner would anger the conservative base. By denying Upton the chair, Boehner would disrupt the system of seniority and fundraising incentives that makes the conference function.
The Upton dilemma highlights the difference between a movement and a party. And it embodies the difficulties of governing.
Timothy P.Carney, The Examiner’s senior political columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]. His column appears Monday and Thursday, and his stories and blog posts appear on ExaminerPolitics.com.
