Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA, pictured) seems to like his new strategy of hitting one of his primary opponents as a “Boehner Republican.”
Broun released a new statement on Wednesday based on an earlier criticism of Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), who is competing with Broun and a number of other candidates for the Republican Senate nomination. Broun’s latest statement follows a similar volley he threw at Kingston on Monday.
Broun’s criticism linking Kingston to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) — as a damaging thing — is in response to National Journal releasing its rankings that listed Kingston as more conservative than Broun. Because the Journal calculates its rankings based on select votes compared to House leadership, Broun was rated the 196th most conservative while Kingston was ranked the 17th most conservative.
Here’s Broun’s statement:
What else could Congressman Kingston do but duck the question? Jack Kingston is a ‘Boehner-Republican’ and part of the Washington establishment. He has been in Congress for over two decades and chairs a subcommittee of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. He has requested and supported billions of dollars in earmarks. His campaign finance disclosures reveal cozy relationships with powerful lobbyists. Jack Kingston can’t change Washington – he helped build and fund this rampaging, out of control government that he now speaks against. My loyalty is to the Constitution, to conservative principles, and to the people of Georgia. I will continue the fight to rollback this rampaging, liberty-threatening federal government that Jack Kingston helped create.
Broun’s attack is just another example of an ongoing trend among Tea Partiers of using Boehner as a litmus test for conservatism. The argument goes the closer you are to Boehner, the less conservative you are.
