Unrest still plaguing House GOP

It appears that the House GOP, which was fractured at the start of the 2015 session when a couple dozen members declined to support John Boehner in his re-election as speaker, still isn't in unity.

And the divide may be getting worse.

The earlier split arose because conservatives in the House were upset that Boehner, during a lame-duck session after the 2014 midterms, agreed with President Obama to continue funding Obamacare and executive-ordered amnesty into 2015.

They thought those decisions should have been made by the new Congress, with its bigger GOP majority and new GOP Senate majority elected by voters who opposed Obamacare and amnesty.

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A "Dump Boehner Now" letter campaign was launched that allowed constituents to send letters to each member of the House GOP expressing a desire to have Boehner replaced.

The letter said what "prompted Americans to turn in droves to the Republican Party in November 2014" was Obama's "blatantly unconstitutional executive action to provide amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, and the deliberately deceptive restructuring of America's health-care system through Obamacare, which threatens to unravel the greatest health delivery system in the world."

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The letter noted that before the election, Republicans had promised to stop Obama, and they now have that power, but it's not a realistic expectation with a leader like Boehner who agrees to do what Obama wants.

Now, according to Politico, the latest House GOP unrest involves threats to the rebels in the ranks.

"At least three committee chairmen have issued formal warnings to subcommittee chairmen that lawmakers planning to vote against procedural motions on the House floor should give up their posts – the third time in just six weeks that Republican leaders have made it known they will not tolerate members stepping out of line," Politico said.

The report cited House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway of Texas, Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop of Utah and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce of California, who all "warned their subcommittee chairs that voting against rules while occupying the coveted positions will not be accepted, according to lawmakers familiar with the discussions."

Sources told Politico there is a clear message to fall into line.

"It's yet another sign that Boehner and his allies are looking to bring the rank and file into line after a series of close votes on budgets and appropriations bills in the previous Congress," the report said.

"These moves come as at least two dozen Republicans formed a splinter caucus designed to advance a conservative direction in the House. The House Freedom Caucus has pledged to work with Republican leaders, but lawmakers involved with forming the group said its members would be willing to vote against a rule or procedural vote as a bloc if they are left out of discussions on legislation," Politico reported.

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The letter campaign to Congress already has generated more than 575,000 letters.

Judson Phillips of Tea Party Nation explained why new leadership is important.

In the Washington Times, he said: "A month after its incredible victory, the GOP squandered its mandate, surrendering to the Democrats. The GOP-led House of Representatives did not proclaim its mandate and hold off on major decisions until the Republican majority in the Senate was sworn in. No, they went to the GOP position of preemptive surrender and gave President Obama and the Democrats almost everything they wanted.

"Despite the pleas and demands from the base, the GOP did nothing to stop Mr. Obama’s executive amnesty. They even rewarded left-wing billionaires who had spent millions to keep the Democrats in power by extending so-called 'Green Energy' subsidies," he wrote. "The architect of the Republican surrender was House Speaker John Boehner."

Members of Congress also have reported a flood of telephone calls from constituents critical of their vote to keep Boehner as speaker.