Tea
Party aided rise of McCarthy, Boehner's possible successor
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[September 26, 2015]
By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican next
in line to succeed U.S. House Speaker John Boehner owes his success, in
part, to the same grassroots conservatives who have pushed his boss to
the exit.
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California Representative Kevin McCarthy vaulted to the No. 3
leadership position in the House of Representatives after his party
won control of the chamber in 2010 by harnessing the conservative
Tea Party movement.
He climbed to the No. 2 spot last year, when House Republican Leader
Eric Cantor lost his seat as representative from Virginia to a Tea
Party challenger.
Now, the 50-year-old McCarthy is the front-runner to take control of
the Republican-led House after Boehner, 65, announced on Friday he
will resign from the chamber on Oct. 30. McCarthy has not said
whether he will run for the post, but no clear rival has emerged.
Paul Ryan, the party's 2012 vice presidential nominee, said he does
not want Boehner's job, while Idaho Representative Raul Labrador, a
Tea Party conservative who challenged McCarthy for the No. 2 spot
last year, said he would not take him on this time.
McCarthy declined to speak to reporters on Friday, instead issuing a
statement that called for "healing and unifying to face the
challenges ahead."
Boehner and McCarthy are 15 years apart in age, but some who know
them say they share the same low-key leadership style.
"Neither of them are bombastic people," said Democratic
Representative John Garamendi, a fellow Californian.
PIZZA AND LISTENING
McCarthy has worked hard to build personal bonds with the restive
conservatives who worked to topple Boehner.
Stripped of the power to hand out pet spending projects known as
earmarks by recent reforms, McCarthy has offered a friendly ear and
slices of pizza while trying to build support.
That has not always worked. McCarthy and the Republican leadership
have had to cancel some high-profile votes after they over-estimated
support from fellow Republicans, handing victories to President
Barack Obama's Democrats.
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Tea Party groups were already putting McCarthy on notice.
"McCarthy knows the reason he's in this job is because the
grassroots took out Cantor and the Freedom Caucus took out Boehner.
He damn well better be paying attention," said Adam Brandon, head of
FreedomWorks, a conservative advocacy network.
A native of Bakersfield, California, McCarthy used $5,000 in lottery
winnings to start a sandwich shop after high school. He won election
to the California legislature at age 37.
Elected to Congress in 2006, McCarthy helped recruit candidates and
craft a unifying message in the 2010 election that handed
Republicans House control. He was rewarded with a post as the
chamber's chief vote counter.
Like many conservatives, McCarthy wants to shut down the
Export-Import Bank over the objection of some big businesses.
He represents a heavily Republican district in California's San
Joaquin Valley. While other Republicans from the region have called
for immigration reform, McCarthy has not joined them.
(Additional reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento; Editing by
Kevin Drawbaugh, Howard Goller and Alan Crosby)
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