I was wondering why this hasn't happened before. The power behind the Speaker's position is exactly this. The Speaker grants assignments. The assignments are usually rewards. When members get out of line, then they lose their rewards. It has been this way since the early days of politics. The next thing he needs to do is to cut off any benefits to the district the Congressman represents. The Speaker can also support the rivals of the Congressman who gets in the way. Some of these Tea Party folks need to look at history and take a political science class. Grover Norquist needs to look at the results of the election that was "being bought " A lot of wealthy people lost a lot of money. I don't think they will be quite so interested in contributing vast sums in the next election.

It's a well-known fact that when republicans get desperate they eat their young.

Repugs lost because they are now defined by the Teabaggers. They let the right wing crazies take over the party by bowing to the Teabaggers' demands. No party can win when they let the extremists rule. Romney wanted to please the middle and the extreme right at the same time. As a result no one knew what he believed. At the same time, he was viewed as the rich out of touch white guy that he is.

Go Pubbies go! Can't wait for the 2016 clown show, and then watching Hillary kick that ignorant, belligerant slob from New Jersey for the presidency...

So which one of the democrats are going to come up with the 1.3 trillion dollar cuts that we really need? Yeah republicans up to the same ole tricks, however, i thought the washington idiots were supposed to be making cuts and all i have seen from the democrats are putting obama in charge of the debt ceiling, yeah thats really going to work. and keeping the bush tax cuts, and more stimulus. Geez thats just what we need more spending.

Sorry laugh at the cons all you like the dems are not doing any better. remember 1.3 trillion dollars over budget. and the rich cant fix that. the depression should hit in 2015. gravy train ran off the tracks and all you libs can do is the same ole same ole. name calling. Cute. Hey all the idiots in washington need to learn to work together or nothing is going to get done. other than running the US into the depression of 2015.

Average Social Security=$14,760.00
Maximum Social Security=$30,156.00
Median American Salary=$39,416.00

Minimum Congress Salary=$174,000.00
Senate Majority & Minority Leaders=$193,400
House Majority & Minority Leaders=$193,400.00
Speaker of the House=$223,500.00

What looks like "entitlement" to the average citizen??

We have not seen any suggestion FROM Congress that they take any CUT in their salary or benefits, but they are wanting to CUT ALL OF OURS, except their wealthy friends & contributors !!!

"I've been not told about what committees I will be on."

We must fear but can probably expect that this Rep will wind up on the Education Committee, especially with his solid grasp of the English language and grammar.

The Only lesson here is, That you cant win when the LIB. NUTS out number the NORMAL people. Its hopeless until Jesus returns.

GOOD! About time rich bastards contibute somting to the country instead of taking from it. The fiscal cliff is nothing but hot air anyhow.

A perfect example of the screwed up state of affairs within the Republican Party. Vote the party line or else. People will see even more clearly that the Republican Party is controlled by a core group of intellectually bankrupt, angry, childish, and wealthy myopics who place the party above country. There is a scary possibility that the Republican Party will decide as a result of the recent presidential election loss that better messaging is what is needed, and that improved messaging will enable the same warped core group of Republican power brokers to have their way with voters in the future. The fatal flaw - people are not quite as stupid as most Republicans believe, and people will realize that they are being played for their votes.

Guess these guys were not the right kind of crazy. This should put every other GOPer on notice that you either chant the party mantra, put your Party card right next to your heart and proudly wear your party pledge pin. And be sure to listen to what the Ministry of Truth tells you in the two minutes of hate. We have always been at war with...

Republicans: We eat our own!

The GOP is going to self destruct by going off the fiscal cliff at the end of the year. The 10 year bond will head towards 1% as no deal will be insight and the market will tank with a downgrade also by Moody's. Those are my predictions but don't believe me, just sit back pop some popcorn, down a few beers, and watch the movie play out on CNN, MSNBC, and CNBC daily the rest of this month. The GOP is going to be sending any X-mas shoppers not done yet soon into pocketbook hiding. No deal is really bad, but just remember the GOP will get blamed since the majority of Americans think that the taxes on the wealthy should be increased and they are sitting back again as usual doing nothing. I guess the whoppin they got in election wasn't enough because going over the cliff with no deal will guarantee them a big A$$whoppin in the next election. The House will go back to the Democrats because everyone knows the blame will lie with the Republicans who would not agree to raise taxes on the richest people. As far as medicare changing from 65 to 67 years of age, that is a joke and will not get anywhere. How about capping the dollar amount that medicare will pay for one person to stay alive? Yes, put a price tag on someone's life, even my own. Destiny will take us all someday and to pay to keep someone alive by millions of dollars versus someone who will never reach age 67 because they cannot work that long, is just not right. This is not death panels or euthansia by the way, but common sense and all of us need to know when enough is enough in medical treatments. As far as Social Security is concerned, hands off! This is not an entitlement program. Employees pay into the system as does a matching dollar amount every year by the employer. I know many people that never collected a dollar because they died before reaching retirement age. I also know many overweight and obese people that will never reach the age to collect too. If you check a Social Security statement on how much you and your employer paid into the system and then divide the benefit amount per month to calculate just the number of month to breakeven, you will drop your jaws. The only way to ever get back out what you and your employer paid into Social Security is to take the reduced benefit amount as soon as you can. I have run the dollar amounts on an excel spreadsheet to see how long I would have to live to breakeven on collecting at 65 years vs 62 years of age. I will not take my chances on living until my mid 80's. As soon as I can collect, I will and I will also enjoy it, because I have earned it. How many people in their 80's can go on vacation and travel? In my 60's and 70's I can do the things I still want to do before I die. I don't need to live in a McMansion and eat steak. I can live very simple and enjoy my last 20 years god willing. To reduce or cut Social Security is a lie and has nothing to do with the debt. It is a program that should never be touched other than Social Security payouts but has been robbed blindly by our own government for every other expense and now they lie to us that it is going broke. Social Security is not going broke people. Medicare is going broke and has to be drastically changed on what is paid out for benefits. To tell everyone that we can keep them alive forever no matter what the cost is a lie and it cannot be done. The Republicans need to get serious about the debt and raise tax rates back to the Clinton years for the top tax bracket. Those people will not create jobs with the difference which is another lie by the GOP. What I don't understand is why millionaires are so caught up on having so much money. They have to pay estate tax when they die, so for frickin sakes enjoy it, spread the wealth to charities which a lot do, and know when enough is enough. A society full of things does not make one rich, it makes one narrow minded and selfish. Not saying the rich don't deserve to be rich because they worked hard for it, but understand you cannot take all or any of that money to the grave with you when you do die. That is one thing that money can buy, avoiding death!

Republican Party - coming apart at the seams. John Boehner ,the ANTI-Christ of the Republican Party. What an a$$hole. If I were among the Democratic leaders I would seek Impeachment measures against Boehner. It doesn't matter whether he deserves it or not but it would tie his hands and cause him complete frustration. This freak has no leadership qualities, all he wants is his way so he can reward his rich owners. He doesn't care a lick about the people of this country. He's just enjoying his time as the evil guy. He'll get his payment eventually--voted out of office. Next time you can be sure the Democrats will get a very strong popular candidate to run against him. He got by this time unopposed but it will be the last time....

What the Teapublicans call "fealty to conservative principles" is what normal people call right-wing extremism.

"I've received not a single call from anyone in leadership, not a single email," Amash said.

Why should he be surprised? They would run their own mothers over with a bus if it were in their best interests... Your reward for being the party faithful. Silly fool. Greedy Old Pigs know no shame.

Its just too funny. The Tea Sippers and the true 1% clashing to see who is the real conservative. It just makes me laugh. Shame their actions are more evidence of placing their desire to attack Democrats over what is good for America. But watching them feed on their own makes for good comic relief.

This is Eric Cantors first move in his quest for power, Boehner will have so many knife holes in his back that he will look like a well used pin cushion. After Johnny takes us off the cliff the rest of the teabaggers will rise up and take the wounded Boehner down and then Eric will be KING, king I tell ya......

TO "Living In the Woods"

This is the most overdue comment on 98% of the people who support the GOP and vote Republican. I work with people like this, and find it difficult most times to keep silent to what I feel stems from racism (in the current leadership) or that macho attitude that family men should side with the Republican Party.

Twas two weeks before Christmas and all through the house, the minions were whispering "John Boehners a louse."

First I am not a new user. Second there are more people installing pools for the rich than rich people swimming in the pools.

cannibalism is healthy, sometimes.

The civil war continues in the Republican Party. If they don't move that party back to the center right and start working with the Democrats to resolve this nation's problems, they will be finished as a political party. Clearly, the party is owned by the far right wing, extremist, fanatical wealthy element in this country. They have sworn a pledge of allegiance to Grover Norquist and his ilk not to raise taxes on the wealthy. Everyone on this website ought to read the "Special Report," section of the 13 October issue of The Economist magazine, one of the most highly respected conservative magazines in the nation. The article compares and contrasts the dramatic growth in wealth among the wealthiest Americans with the dramatic loss of wealth and security among the middle and working classes over the past thirty years or so. Most center right business people read The Economist, but the far right wing, extremist, fanatics reject anything that doesn't smack of social Darwinism or Minarchism. The right wing has dragged into their ranks what they laughing refer to behind their backs as the "Necessary Idiots," or the white racists, the crazy evangelicals, and mindless segment of the NRA. They need them for support and very honestly the red states are made up of such people. They win elections in the south and midwest, but this country is changing and changing quickly. The GOP must do what Boehner is doing to those people in his party, if the party is going to survive. But, even then, with the pledge of allegiance he and McConnell have made to Norquist and his evil ilk, the GOP may well be headed for the junk heap anyway!

Funny sight! John Boehner trying to herd Teaparty cats over the fiscal cliff.

"Huelskamp said he suspected a video he produced last week re-affirming his support for a pledge vowing to never raise taxes contributed to his loss of the committee spot."

He SHOULD lose the committee spot if he supports the pledge never to raise taxes -- never mind re-affirming the pledge.

Of course Huelskamp and the rest will phrase this as a matter of "principle", a nice-sounding word that is easily used to mask a variety of pretty lousy motives. Josef Stalin had plenty of principles.

The Tea Party representatives have been behaving like a bunch of kids in the schoolyard, as if this were a John Wayne movie or a football game instead of the real world. What's at stake is not Huelskamp's honor but the fate of the American economy.

The country was built on a constructive dialog between liberals and conservatives. When unyielding "principle" got into the picture, we wound up with a Civil War. Almost half of Republicans are now talking about secession again, as if they had learned nothing, as if we were once again confronting issues as major as slavery, the Great Depression, or a world war.

But we're not facing disaster except the disaster taking place on conservative talk radio and a certain cable news channel. What, exactly, is the Tea Party so terribly worked up about? We're spending money to get out of a recession and it may cost the very wealthy a little more, for the time being.

There ARE genuine problems -- Social Security and Medicare, eg., -- but they're long term. To sacrifice any improvement in the nation's welfare for the sake of their ideology is like Samson pulling down the temple and destroying everyone in it, himself included.

It all makes one wonder. Isn't "First things first" a kind of principle too? Granted, it's not nearly so dramatic or exciting. There's no adrenalin rush involved. There rarely is when common sense is applied.