Conservatives believe Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) used a weekend trip to woo star GOP freshmen away from the Tea Party.
McConnell took Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) on a high-powered weekend trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan that is being seen as a ploy by the leader to secure allies for forthcoming legislative battles.
The visit gave the freshmen firsthand access to world leaders and Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, as well as plenty of quality time with their party leader in the Senate.
The list of invitees immediately raised eyebrows because Rubio, Toomey, Johnson and Ayotte are seen as occupying the middle ground between the leadership and the Tea Party caucus, who are expected to battle over the direction of the Republican Conference in the 112th Congress.
“It's no secret he uses these trips to co-opt new senators,” said a Senate Republican aide. “I'm sure the new senators know what he's up to, but it’s not exactly an invitation you can turn down.”
A spokesman for McConnell declined to comment in response to the anonymous charge.
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) also joined the codel, the jargon used to describe official congressional travel.
Two other conservative freshman senators with close ties to Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) — Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah — were not on the trip, some conservatives noted.
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5 comments:
Got to get them indoctrinated in the true ways of Washington. Watch how quick these new airbags become just like the rest of them.
I guess it doesn't matter which party you are; they all play the same games.
11:10 - this surprises you? The Tea Party may have gotten them elected, but remaining with the GOP will keep them in their jobs.
No, it doesn't surprise me at all. The point is that no side has the high ground and all these folks who think all dems or all republicans are bad should open their eyes. I'd like to see us do away with the whole party system. Have a primary and then let the top three vote getters run in a general election. However would the special interests, left and right, figure out who they could buy?
This comes from the discretionary budget each person in Congress gets that I say must be eliminated.
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