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Ohio-8, John Boehner–was no longer adequately representing the people in OH-8

Buckeye mutiny seeks to return Boehner to private life


Neil W. McCabe image

By —— Bio and Archives July 23, 2013

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Conservatives on Capitol Hill are not the only ones frustrated with Speaker John A. Boehner. Now a group of conservatives in Ohio-8, his congressional district are working to defeat him in the 2014 GOP primary.
According to the Ohio Accountability Project's website, the group came together and decided it was time to hold their own congressman accountable: “John Boehner–was no longer adequately representing the people in OH-8.” In addition to challenging Boehner, the goal of the project is inform conservatives, so they can act before it is too late to stop the liberals, said its founder J. D. Winteregg, a 31-year-old Troy, Ohio schoolteacher.
“We're tired of it, though. That's why we've formed this group. We'll be working to bring accountability back to our district--we'll work to put a true conservative in office,” he said.
“We'll work to put in a conservative who values the constitution, who values the sanctity of life, and who will work tirelessly to connect to those he or she represents,” Winteregg said. “People may argue that he can bring any bill he wants to the floor, but he's reacting to the narrative of the Left with respect to these bills--he's not leading,” he said. “For example, he needs to focus only on legislation that deals with the economy,” he said. “The most recent example is with immigration--most of us feel as though it shouldn't be addressed with the economy as it is. If it is addressed, it should be done as a border security bill--only.” The Speaker is always reacting to the media and the Democrats, but he never leads, he said. “He should drive a narrative of improving the economy, he should be using the political power of the purse to flex some muscle, and when he was part of the Republican dominance of House-Senate-Presidency, he helped to expand the size and scope of government,” he said. “This isn't an easy job. But these are all excuses that people make for a man who's ingrained in a political culture that's absolutely disconnected to the rest of America,” he said. “I am a teacher, and I am also a PhD student, so I am kinda in that progressive world, and a lot of what I am seeing there is being played out in the real world.” After the election, I felt like I could see everything unraveling before it unraveled,” he said. After the disaster of the 2012 election and the way Boehner has become more timid about fighting for conservatism in 2013, he had enough. It is a perverse twist of our political system that the Speaker of the House, the second-most powerful office in the federal government, is sent to Washington by a congressional district of roughly 700,000 people. In 2012, the speaker ran unopposed, but in 2010, Boehner beat his Democratic opponent 142,000 to 70,000. Boehner’s closest election to date was on Jan. 3, when he mustered 220 votes from the 238 House Republicans, 218 is the minimum required. Winteregg said no primary opponent has announced yet, but 200 Troy Republicans have signed the Ohio Accountability Project’s protest petition. In a strange way, Winteregg said Boehner becoming speaker has made him less connected to the district. “As Speaker, he rarely votes, but when he does it is usually for something we don’t support.” The schoolteacher said voters in the district do not know that for example, Boehner scores a zero with Freedom Works, the Washington-based group that partners and supports independent Tea Party organizers.
“He'll say one thing and do another, which we in his district see. For instance, he'll put up votes to repeal Obamacare, but then continue to pass Continuing Resolutions that will fund it,” he said.
Ohioans are frustrated that the GOP, led by Boehner, was supposed to reverse Obamacare and yet it continues to move forward fully funded, he said. “It really is a sore spot for a lot of people.” Wintergg said Boehner plays a game acting conservative, but acting differently.
“He'll go on TV to say he supports traditional marriage, and then support a former gay lobbyist as the head of the Republican Party in Ohio,” he said. “He'll say he believes in the sanctity of life and then continue to vote for funds that go to Planned Parenthood, knowing that abortions will be financed with taxpayer money. He speaks like a Conservative, but he acts like a RINO.”
The Ohioan said he reached out to Boehner’s staff and local Republican leaders without much success. Winteregg said he lives four blocks from the speaker’s local office, one of two in the district, the other is in West Chester. But, the teacher’s interactions with the local office staff have been frustrating and difficult and he found the GOP leaders to be universally committed to Boehner’s political career and not interested in fighting for conservative goals. “Part of it is loyalty and part of it is that the older generation just votes Republican, but they are unaware of where it actually stands,” he added. Winteregg said he and the OAP are focused on the younger voters, who are open to new ideas and not tied to the establishment. When voters under 40 years-old learn how the Speaker and the GOP leadership continues to fund Obamacare and push for liberal policies, they get all fired up, he said. “Once they are informed, they want to get involved, but they don’t know what to do,” he said. “There seems to be two Republican parties, the establishment Republican Party and the American Republican Party,” he said. Younger conservatives do not always understand how the establishment Republican Party operates, especially in Ohio, he said.
“Our individual voices need to be heard, because the mandates from the federal level are affecting our lives--and not in a positive way. “We want to work, we want to be able to support those around us, and we want to do this without fear of those who represent us. We will work to be heard, because it's time they in Washington, D.C., finally listened--Boehner included,” Winteregg said.
Neither do many conservatives realize how serious the liberals are about changing America, he said. “It is not really about left and right, but about right and wrong and doing what is right by the Constitution and the people.” “I am a French teacher and I have lived over there,” he said. The Ohioan said his time in France gave him insights into what happens when a country is taken over by socialists. “I can see where we are headed--I could not live with myself if I did not try to warn people.”



Neil W. McCabe -- Bio and Archives | Comments

Neil W. McCabe is the editor of Human Event’s “Guns & Patriots” e-letter and was a senior reporter at the Human Events newspaper. McCabe deployed with the Army Reserve to Iraq for 15 months as a combat historian. For many years, he was a reporter and photographer for “The Pilot,” Boston’s Catholic paper. He was also the editor of two free community papers, “The Somerville (Mass.) News and “The Alewife (North Cambridge, Mass.).”


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