House Whip Steve Scalise spent the past 18 months cajoling and pleading with the right flank of the GOP Conference for votes on must-pass legislation, and often to no avail as a new Politico feature on the Louisiana Republican details.
So when Scalise called out fellow GOP lawmakers in a memo this week, essentially questioning their sincerity on some tough votes, it was an early sign of how the man with perhaps the toughest job in Republican leadership will operate differently under new Speaker Paul Ryan.
“Too many in our conference are falling into the pattern of voting no on tough bills while actually hoping the bill passes because they know that the outcome will be even worse if the bill fails,” Scalise wrote to House Republicans.
The missive was Scalise’s attempt to define his role—and that of the whip operation—in the brave new GOP world of Ryan. The speaker has promised to be more inclusive, more conciliatory and less retaliatory than his predecessor John Boehner. Ryan has vowed a freewheeling and open House, with votes on bills and amendments even if they’re unpopular and occasionally make lawmakers look bad.
All of that may make Scalise’s job—he has the unenviable task of managing the often-unmanageable GOP Conference—even more challenging at times. Yet Scalise, along with Ryan, must still pass legislation. And that means counting votes, and sometimes knocking heads.
“My point is simple: if there are 150 Republicans who hope the bill passes, then there should be 150 Republicans who vote yes on final passage,” Scalise wrote.
That Scalise felt secure enough to publicly issue such a memo is a testament to his survival skills. Only months ago, some GOP insiders privately called him a “dead man walking,” someone who could end up so politically toxic that he couldn’t serve in leadership.
It hasn’t played out that way.
