Matt Kibbe, president and CEO of FreedomWorks, charged in an exclusive Newsmax TV interview that House Speaker John Boehner and the nation’s GOP leadership are “incredibly hostile” to “fiscal conservatives, who are really the standard-bearers for what it means to be Republican.”
“You are for fiscal responsibility. You believe that we shouldn’t raise taxes. You believe that we should balance the budget — and you should believe that you keep your promises that you make on the campaign trail when you come to Washington,” Kibbe says. “It’s damaging to the Republican brand, and you’re seeing this division between those who have maybe been in Washington a little bit too long.
Story continues below video.
“Maybe they think that it’s all about making a deal instead of making a difference,” Kibbe added. “I’m not in that group — and neither is FreedomWorks.”
Editor's Note: Use This Single Loophole to Pay Zero Taxes. See Video
Kibbe was referring to Boehner and the Republican Steering Committee stripping three congressmen backed by the Tea Party Patriots — David Schweikert of Arizona, Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, and Justin Amash of Michigan — of their House committee assignments on Tuesday.
Another GOP representative, Walter Jones of North Carolina, lost his leadership position.
The representatives said they lost out because they refused to tow the party line. That included supporting Boehner’s counteroffer of $800 billion in revenue increases to reach a deal to avert the fiscal cliff scheduled to take effect on Jan. 2.
Even President Barack Obama rejected Boehner’s counter, saying that it was "still out of balance" because it does not include higher tax rates on the wealthy.
“It definitely is a signal to people that they have to play ball with leadership if they want their committee assignments,” Kibbe said. “But it’s not just about the deal on the fiscal cliff. It’s about future deals as well.
“We’re not going to get where we need to go if we continue to do things exactly the way we did before. And Speaker Boehner and the Republican leadership should embrace those legislative entrepreneurs that are actually willing to put ideas on the table.
“This is the one thing that’s missing in this entire conversation about the fiscal cliff — and that is substantive, positive, Republican solutions to tax reform, to entitlement reform, to spending reform. We’re just reacting to the president, and that’s a losing strategy.”
And while Republicans are facing their own internal struggles, FreedomWorks is working through similar challenges.
Editor's Note: Use This Single Loophole to Pay Zero Taxes. See Video
Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey last month quit the tea party umbrella group he helped establish in 2004. He also told FreedomWorks to stop using his name and some of the literature he produced.
“It’s kind of the end of an era,” Kibbe said. “I’ve been in this town long enough to know that people come and people go — and I wish him well.
“We did some amazing things together. But if you think about the world we’ve been in in the last three or four years, it’s time for younger voices, new leadership, and that’s just the natural course of things — and that’s where we’re headed at FreedomWorks.
“That was just a transition that was inevitable,” Kibbe continued. “Dick has been working in the trenches a long time — and he’s 72 years old, and he decided that it was time to move on.”
He added: “We’re in this epic struggle right now here in Washington, and in this country — and it’s no longer acceptable to kick the can down the road, cut budget deals, and make promises in the future only to renege on those — just an unwillingness to confront the real problems.
“We need to figure out a different way to do things — and that means a principled voice for fiscal conservatism on Capitol Hill, and it means groups that are willing to fight for that,” Kibbe said. “And it’s not a partisan thing. We have to be willing to take on both Republicans and Democrats.”
Editor's Note: Use This Single Loophole to Pay Zero Taxes. See Video
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.