In the race for House Leader, two of the three candidates running already were in leadership posts. Roy Blunt was the current #3 in the leadership team as Majority Whip, and John Shadegg was serving in the #5 post as Republican Conference Chairman. Shadegg, believing strongly that you should leave one office if seeking another, vacated the #5 spot, while Blunt held onto his spot.
The vacancy in the Policy Committee Chairmanship (which was held by Californian Chris Cox before he was confirmed as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and then Shadegg took over for him) meant a race for a second "open" leadership spot.
A number of candidates got into the race, but for the purposes of informing FR readers, one of the candidates was California Republican Darrell Issa (pictured to the right), of northern San Diego County. The ultimate winner in the final ballot was a Florida Congressman, Adam Putnam, who by all accounts is an up-and-coming young conservative leader. The final tally was pretty overwhelming, with Putnam getting 119 votes, another candidate, Thadeus McCotter of Michigan getting 75 votes, and our own Darrell Issa getting 22 votes.
Given that there are 19 GOPers from California, I suppose that means that Issa owes some big steak dinners to three of his colleagues from other states. By way of encouragement to Congressman Issa, we would only remind you that Reagan ran for President in 1976 and "won California" but lost nationally. He came back to win the whole thing!
That said, Putnam will have big shoes to fill as John Shadegg was a strong representative for conservatives in House Leadership.
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:00 am
I wonder if Darrell cried again when he lost
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:00 am
Allen:
You have no class.
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:00 am
To Matt and all the other holier than thou establishment GOPers,
I’m glad I’m getting under your skin a little. Somebody has to get this party out their comfort zone that they’ve been in for the past few years. I can go down the list of my disappointments with the party during that time. From immigration, spending, increasing debt, arrogance of power, corruption/bribery scandals…the party better start getting their act together because right now we are scheduled to get our butt kicked this November if things don’t change drastically. The base/activists will be watching.
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:00 am
And how does a juvenile, spiteful comment advance conservative principles, Allen?
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:00 am
It’s called sarcasm Matt. It’s used to make a point sometimes. I think Darrell learned his lesson about his press conference debacle when he withdrew for gov.
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:00 am
Again — how did that comment advance conservatism?
February 3rd, 2006 at 12:00 am
Don’t I get five legislative days to revise and extend my remarks? I apologize to any Issa people I may have offended. People that know my sense of humor say I can get a little out of control sometimes. Truth be told, I like Darrell best when he is leading the way on illegal immigration issues. I also supported him to when he ran for Senate against Matt Fong.