MORE “REPUBLICAN” CONFUSION …
U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney can’t seem to figure out what kind of “Republican” he wants to be when he grows up. Elected in 2010 as part of the Tea Party wave, he spent his first few years in Washington, D.C. as one of the few consistently pro-freedom, pro-free market lawmakers in our nation’s capital.
Things changed, though …
Lately, Mulvaney has shifted to the ideological center of the political spectrum – basically becoming card-carrying member of the “Republican” establishment in Washington, D.C.
This week Mulvaney seems to be trying to firm up his anti-establishment credentials – leading a group of so-called “conservative” lawmakers in a battle against the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
“There’s a group of us who associate the NRCC with the establishment wing of the party,” Mulvaney told Politico this week.
Wait … hold up … what?
Let’s not forget: Mulvaney voted for uber-liberal U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner – and then offered up some insanely convoluted insider logic to justify it. He also engaged in an utterly nonsensical, indefensible effort to cut a “deal” with the GOP establishment on Obamatrade – a crony capitalist “rigged trade” agreement which this website has relentlessly exposed.
More recently, Mulvaney was the guy who pushed members of the so-called “Freedom Caucus” to rally behind fiscally liberal “Republican” Paul Ryan, the D.C. establishment’s hand-picked successor to Boehner.
Now he wants to blast people for being associated with the “establishment” wing of the party?
That’s funny …
Mulvaney and several of his fellow “conservatives” are apparently refusing to pay dues to the NRCC because they believe its leaders have worked against them in previous election cycles … even though the NRCC spent $1 million in 2010 to help Mulvaney unseat former House budget committee chairman John Spratt.
“We’ll be damned if we’re going to put money back in their hands,” Mulvaney told Politico‘s Rachel Bade and Heather Caygle.
That’s fine with us … we can’t stand the NRCC. But Mulvaney’s “principled objection” to paying dues to this organization strikes us as silly.
“Mulvaney’s all over the board,” one Palmetto political observer noted. “He takes their money to get elected, then votes for Boehner, then turns on them and won’t pay his dues.”
Sounds about right, doesn’t it?
Mulvaney is viewed as one of the top prospects for the 2018 “Republican” gubernatorial nomination in South Carolina – although he has stayed mum regarding his plans.
If he does run, we’ve got some advice for the third-term lawmaker: Figure out which kind of “Republican” you want to be, and be that kind of “Republican.”
All these insider moves are making us dizzy …
(Banner image via @RepMickMulvaney)