When Representative John Boehner (Bay-ner) was elected to the post of House Majority leader to replace Representative Tom Delay, I was excited though I did not post anything on it at the time. Here is the details of his Conservative record, his vision for the majority and the details of his election as Majority Leader. This is taken from eSalt an email newsletter from Faith and Family.
There is a Hope and a Future in America today.
During the campaign for the post, Boehner committed to bring to the House floor for votes a marriage protection amendment, a comprehensive ban on human cloning and the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act. He also said he would defend current amendments barring federal funds for abortion or abortion promotion and would oppose legislation that weakens President Bush’s ban on government grants for destructive embryonic stem cell research.
Boehner made his pledges in response to a questionnaire from the Values Action Team, a pro-family, pro-life caucus chaired by Rep. Joe Pitts, R.-Pa.
Boehner won a come-from-behind victory on the second ballot to replace Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas. He did so by defeating Roy Blunt of Missouri and John Shadegg of Arizona, two other announced candidates who, like him, have pro-life, conservative voting records.
On the first ballot, Blunt had a sizable lead with 110 votes but lacked a majority among the 231 Republican participants. Boehner received 79 votes on the opening ballot, while Shadegg gained 40. An unannounced candidate who also is pro-life, Jim Ryun of Kansas, had two votes.
Shadegg and Ryun withdrew after the first ballot, and apparently most of their votes, as well as some of Blunt’s, went to Boehner. On the second ballot, Boehner received 122 votes to defeat Blunt, who had 109.
Boehner and Blunt have had 100 percent pro-life voting records every year since 1997, according to the National Right to Life Committee. Shadegg has had a 100 percent pro-life voting record in every Congress since ’97 except during the 2003-04 session, when he was graded at 91 percent by NRLC.
Not only is John Boehner a very conservative voice in the House, but he is what the House GOP has needed for a long time: A squeaky clean man whose morals no one can question.
I have had the pleasure of meeting him on a couple of occasions, one of which was at a talk he gave at The University of Dayton.
As I recall, he is also a Knight of Columbus, something he (and I) hold in common with several other members of the House.