A political caucus takes center stage
But who are these people? And what does a caucus do, anyhow? Here are some answers:
Caucus, by definition: “A closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction," according to Webster's Dictionary, "usually to select candidates or to decide on policy."
In this case, the candidate selection at issue revolves around the leadership of House Republicans. The party has struggled to replace the speaker of the U.S. House, John Boehner, R-Ohio, who resigned from the job in September. It was thought that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., would get the position. But McCarthy took himself out of the running after an interview in which he implied that congressional hearings on the Sept. 11, 2012, Benghazi attacks in Libya were an attempt to bring down the poll numbers of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. [See the Fox News interview.]
After first declaring he wasn’t interested in the job, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., now says that he would serve if elected with unified support from the various groups of Republicans in the House. But he needs the votes of representatives in the Freedom Caucus in order to do so. So what does the Freedom Caucus want?
Freedom Caucus: The House Freedom Caucus members are all Republicans, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center. News stories generally report that there are 40 members, and the Pew Center has identified at least 36 members using public statements, comments to the media and direct interviews.
The website of one member, Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., says that the caucus was formed in January of this year to "advance an agenda of limited, constitutional government in Congress."
Earlier this year, members said that they would not vote for a federal spending bill that contained money for Planned Parenthood – which could result in a government shutdown. They appear to support principle over compromise in policy debates.
In Congress, caucuses bring to the table different ways of thinking about how democracy should work. Here are a couple other examples.
Congressional Progressive Caucus: The caucus lists its four core principles as “fighting for economic justice and security for all; protecting and preserving our civil rights and civil liberties; promoting global peace and security; and advancing environmental protection and energy independence.” Participants include 75 members of the House of Representatives and one senator – presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
The Republican Liberty Caucus: The group's website says it is "dedicated to working within the Republican Party to advance the principles of individual rights, limited government and free markets."
The caucus publishes a “Liberty Index” compiled by Clifford Thies, a professor at Shenandoah University. “On one scale, it measures the tendency to vote in a pro-free market way on economic issues such as cutting spending and taxes, balancing the budget, freeing up international trade and relying on private enterprise instead of industrial policy,” the report says. “On the other scale, it measures the tendency to vote for personal liberty to include privacy, the non-establishment and free exercise of religion, the second amendment, and the rights of the accused; also, a non-‐interventionist foreign policy.”
As of 2013, the top-ranked member of Congress by this scale was Mark Sanford, the former Republican governor of South Carolina.
Related:
An interest in Sanders -- but not socialism
Congress: Were things ever better?
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