JUST PERFECT: John Boehner Purges Conservatives From Prominent Committee Spots

John Boehner is the Speaker of the House thanks to Tea Party and Constitutional conservatives. But instead of embracing the principles of the base that put him in power, he has purged anyone who doesn't agree with his feckless leadership.

Speaker John A. Boehner initiated today a small purge of rebellious Republicans — mostly conservatives — from prominent committees; it’s the latest instance of the Ohio Republican’s clamping down on his fractious conference.

The decisions were made by the GOP Steering Committee at a Monday meeting, which reviewed a spreadsheet listing each GOP lawmaker and how often he or she had voted with leadership, three sources said.

Reps. David Schweikert of Arizona and Walter Jones of North Carolina were booted from the Financial Services Committee. Reps. Justin Amash of Michigan and Tim Huelskamp of Kansas were removed from the Budget Committee... According to a source, Schweikert was told that he was ousted in part because his “votes were not in lockstep with leadership.”

All of the lawmakers other than Jones were rebellious right-wingers. Huelskamp and Amash, for instance, both voted against the budget proposed by Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin in committee and on the floor, because it did not cut spending fast enough. They also voted against the current continuing resolution that is funding the government through the end of March.

...The decisions came as a major surprise to Republican members. When first contacted about the changes, several of the lawmakers’ offices said they had not yet been notified.

Complete classlessness. As Jimmie Bise, Jr. observes:

This sort of move — summary dismissal from important committees for which you leak to the press before you notify the affected members — is a big, fat backhand to the face, a reminder that John Boehner is in charge of the GOP House caucus and not we upstart conservative Tea Partiers... It’s what happens when a besieged leader wants to secure his position to hold off a siege. Make no mistake, conservatives have gotten very close to positions of real influence inside the ranks of the professional Republicans and that just won’t do. And so, a purge of the problem children who believe conservatism is more than a suit you put on to gull the rubes during an election year.

Here's my advice: Don't give a single penny to any official Republican organization. Not a cent to the RNC. Not a nickel to the NRSC. Not a dime to the NRCC. Not a quarter to Karl Rove's idiotic "grassroots" fund, American Crossroads.

Instead, give your money and support to conservative candidates directly and to organizations proven to support conservative principles like Jim DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund.