My new story explains the ouster of two leading conservative Republicans from the House Budget Committee, a story with somewhat obscure roots but enough import to panic the movement. Libertarian-leaning Justin Amash and conservative Tim Huelskamp were both thrown to the wolves
According to Amash, the party leaders were blaming the wrong people. They, not libertarian-leaning Republicans like him, were the ones who spent “$300 million on ads that didn’t work.” They’d ruined the brand.
“The polling bears this out,” said Huelskamp. “The best electoral advantage Republicans have is that Americans don’t think we’re the party that will raise your taxes. If taxes go up, Obama doesn’t lose. The Democrats don’t lose. We lose!”Read on, and keep an eye on RedState, which has become a clearinghouse for this sort of agita. The conservative base’s anger is not phony, and it’s not a cover story intended to give more leverage to Boehner. At today’s GOP conference meeting, the ousted conservatives stood up and made their umbrage known, and awkward.
