Rep. Marlin Stutzman - "Leaders duped me" on Cromnibus

[Brian4Liberty]

Indiana Republican: Leaders duped me
By Scott Wong - 12/12/14

Rep. Marlin Stutzman is claiming he was duped by his own GOP leaders.

The Indiana Republican said he voted Thursday on a rule advancing the $1.1 trillion government funding bill after leadership told him they planned to yank the massive measure and replace it with a more palatable short-term funding bill.

Stutzman’s vote proved crucial to the 1,600-page bill’s final passage late Thursday night, given that the procedural rule vote passed 214-212, just a one-vote margin.

If Stutzman and outgoing Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.) had not switched their vote on the rule to “yes,” the entire package, known as the “cromnibus,” would have been defeated.

“I supported the rule because I was informed by leadership that the cromnibus was dead and a short term CR [continuing resolution] would take its place,” Stutzman said in a statement after the vote.
...
A GOP leadership aide said Stutzman's account was incorrect and that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) never spoke to him about the bill.

"We don’t know what he is talking about," the aide said.
...
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/226925-indiana-republican-leaders-duped-me

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Questions About Indiana Republican's Claim Leadership Duped Him Into Supporting Obama-Boehner Cromnibus
by Matthew Boyle - 12 Dec 2014

Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) says that House GOP leadership—he hasn’t identified anyone in particular—duped him into switching his vote on the procedural measure that set up the 1,774-page, $1.1 trillion cromnibus spending bill backed by House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama to pass.
...
Stutzman says he switched his vote on the floor because House GOP leadership—again, he doesn't name anyone: whether it was Boehner himself, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Majority Whip Steve Scalise or an aide—promised him that if the rule passed, the cromnibus would be replaced by a short-term spending measure. This Continuing Resolution (CR) would last until early next year when the newly elected GOP majority in the Senate takes over.
...
Yet anonymous House GOP leadership aides are casting doubt on Stutzman's version of events.

“A GOP leadership aide said Stutzman's account was incorrect and that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) never spoke to him about the bill,” The Hill’s Scott Wong writes, quoting the GOP aide as saying: “We don’t know what he is talking about.”

“An aide to House speaker John Boehner says he made no such pledge,” the National Review’s Joel Gehrke wrote on Thursday afternoon just before 3 p.m., right after the House recessed for several hours while Boehner, Scalise and McCarthy worked GOP members to get the votes necessary to pass the cromnibus bill.

Gehrke’s piece mirror's what Stutzman would say in his statement after the cromnibus passed.

“I’m hearing from two sources, including one Republican lawmaker, that Representative Marlin Stutzman (R., Ind.) provided one of the final, decisive votes needed to clear a crucial procedural hurdle because House leadership promised to pull the cromnibus and replace it with a short-term continuing resolution that would push the entire funding debate into next year,” Gehrke wrote in the piece.

Stutzman’s office, through spokesman John Stapleton, refused any further comment while exchanging several emails with Breitbart News on Friday. Stutzman also turned down an offer of an interview to discuss his serious allegation against House GOP leadership.

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Sources familiar with what happened tell Breitbart News leadership officials—again it’s unclear whether that’s Boehner himself or others—went to many of the then 18 Republican members who were holding the line against the rule with the same story they told Stutzman.

“I heard about the promise from several sources, and Stutzman wasn't the only one to whom it was made. He was just the only one who bought it,” said one highly-connected Capitol Hill source.

The nature of the promise, that source said, was that leadership was telling Stutzman and the other members they needed to pass the rule to get a vote on the CR that would replace the cromnibus bill. Most members saw through the ruse, but Stutzman bought it.

“Other Members to whom the promise was made told the Leadership to pound sand,” the source said.
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But, the major questions moving forward remain for Stutzman: Why did he believe leadership at all on this, when every one of the other GOP members voting against the rule wouldn’t budge? And will he ever trust them again? Speaker Boehner is seeking re-election on Jan. 6. We'll see if Stutzman supports him.

It's also worth noting that Americans can't place the blame solely on Stutzman's or Bentivolio's shoulders. While 16 Republicans did hold the line and vote against the rule, 67 Republicans voted against final passage of the bill. So, why did those 51 Republicans who voted against final passage vote for the rule?

All of this comes after Boehner and GOP leadership engaged in procedural chicanery to substantively alter a bill from Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) that was supposed to be the cover vote against Obama's executive amnesty for Republicans last week. Instead, leadership inserted language that actually provides a legal justification for Obama's executive amnesty into the bill.

Leadership tricked 216 Republicans into voting for the Yoho bill, and in exchange for leadership's help in passing his bill, Yoho voted for the cromnibus bill on Thursday night. NBC's Luke Russert Tweeted that Yoho's vote for the cromnibus "pays leadership back" for the vote on his substantively altered executive amnesty bill.
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More: http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Govern...Into-Securing-Obama-Boehner-Cromnibus-Package

 

[Occam's Banana]

Stutzman says he switched his vote on the floor because House GOP leadership [...] promised him that if the rule passed, the cromnibus would be replaced by a short-term spending measure.

So what did Stutzman think was going to happen if the "crominibus" procedural vote had failed?

I mean, after all, if it HAD failed, wouldn't some kind of "short-term spending measure" have to have been put forward anyway?

It appears that everyone else was able to figure this out ...

“I heard about the promise from several sources, and Stutzman wasn't the only one to whom it was made. He was just the only one who bought it,” said one highly-connected Capitol Hill source.

The nature of the promise, that source said, was that leadership was telling Stutzman and the other members they needed to pass the rule to get a vote on the CR that would replace the cromnibus bill. Most members saw through the ruse, but Stutzman bought it.

“Other Members to whom the promise was made told the Leadership to pound sand,” the source said.

 

[evilfunnystuff]

"We don’t know what he is talking about," the aide said.

...

 

[RandallFan]

Cruz, Rand and Lee need to pile on Mike Pence for this. This could end Mike Pence's 2016 aspirations if we can link this to him. Pence should have warned Marlin. Is Mike Pence or any of the governors on the immigration lawsuit out there attacking the House GOP.

All these executive experienced GOP candidates are touted so they can bash the GOP when they dont cave to the executive and "prove they can govern".

Indiana has 1 conservative Marlin, 1 moderate Dan Coats, and 6 House RINOs. I dont know where Mike Pence would be right now.

 

[mosquitobite]

Cruz, Rand and Lee need to pile on Mike Pence for this. This could end Mike Pence's 2016 aspirations if we can link this to him. Pence should have warned Marlin. Is Mike Pence or any of the governors on the immigration lawsuit out there attacking the House GOP.

All these executive experienced GOP candidates are touted so they can bash the GOP when they dont cave to the executive and "prove they can govern".

Indiana has 1 conservative Marlin, 1 moderate Dan Coats, and 6 House RINOs. I dont know where Mike Pence would be right now.

Been thinking the same thing. Someone needs to get Pence on record on this bill.

He's been a moderate since his projected path to the White House.

 

[twomp]

Who is Mike Pence and why should Rand Paul put him on the map by mentioning his name? Is he polling high in polls? Whoever he is, Rand Paul should give him the "Ron Paul" treatment and not mention his name at all.

 

[mosquitobite]

I'm not saying Rand has to mention him. But we do ourselves no favors to discount him.

http://news.yahoo.com/7-reasons-mike-pence-gop-142800360.html