With the White House currently engulfed in a series of scandals, Heritage Action is warning House GOP leaders not to take actions that could shift media attention away from the Obama administraion and onto the “ideological differences” among House Republicans.
In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.), Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham calls on them “to avoid bringing legislation to the House Floor that could expose of highlight major schisms within the conference” and “give the press reason to shift their attention away fom the failures of the Obama administration to write another ‘circular firing squad’ article.”
Full text of the letter:
Dear Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor:
For the first time, the activities of the Obama administration are receiving a sustained public vetting. Americans’ outrage over Benghazi is amplified by the Internal Revenue Service’s intimidation of conservative grassroots organizations and a cascade of negative headlines. There is the real sense the Obama administration has been less than forthright with the American people, the press and lawmakers.
Recent events have rightly focused the nation’s attention squarely on the actions of the Obama administration. It is incumbent upon the House of Representatives to conduct oversight hearings on those actions, but it would be imprudent to do anything that shifts the focus from the Obama administration to the ideological differences within the House Republican Conference.
To that end, we urge you to avoid bringing any legislation to the House Floor that could expose or highlight major schisms within the conference. Legislation such as the Internet sales tax or the FARRM Act which contains nearly $800 billion in food stamp spending, would give the press a reason to shift their attention away from the failures of the Obama administration to write another “circular firing squad” article.
Make no mistake, principled conservatives will still oppose bad policy if it comes to the floor. Rather than scheduling such legislation for consideration, we urge you to keep the attention focused squarely on the Obama administration. As the public’s trust in their government continues to erode, it is incumbent upon those of us who support a smaller, less intrusive government to lead.
Sincerely,
Michael A. Needham
Chief Executive Officer
Heritage Action for America