Reform is the Road Back

It's the post-election battle for the Republican House leadership. Robert Novak:

Rep. Mike Pence, current chairman of the RSC and a leader of reform, is an underdog candidate opposing Boehner. Rep. John Shadegg, Pence's predecessor at the RSC who finished third in the race for leader last February, is running uphill against Blunt for whip on a reform platform. The conventional wisdom on the Hill is that at best, only one of them can win because the Republicans would not dare elect two conservatives to the two top House leadership positions.

In fact, the voting records of Boehner and Blunt are nearly identical to Pence's and Shadegg's. The difference between them was demonstrated last Thursday when Blunt went to the Heritage Foundation to campaign for his retention as whip. He delivered a defense of earmarking.

From his Meet the Press interview, via RCP, the leading Republican candidate for president:

SEN. McCAIN: We need an independent board, in my view, to decide whether the Ethics Committee should take up and investigate charges or allegations. I think we all realize the dissatisfaction that many of us have with the Ethics Committees in Congress. And so I feel that to have an outside board that when an allegation’s made, they say this deserves to be investigated by the Ethics Committees, then I think that’s an appropriate way to go. I hope we’ll pursue that. I hope we’ll pursue lobbying reform, other ethics reforms, earmarking—elimination of earmarking. The system of earmarking is corrupting. There’s sufficient proof of that now to—for anyone’s satisfaction. And we need the kind of leadership in both the House and the Senate that will address those.

We need leaders from the Republican Study Group in the house leadership---Mike Pence, John Shadegg.

It's what motivates the base and brings in independents who want fiscal accountability and transparency, and smaller government.

It's the road back to the majority.