Georgia’s four House Republican newcomers were presented with a dicey vote on their first day on the job Tuesday, as they joined a united GOP delegation in favor of John Boehner to remain as speaker of the House.
The four men tried to find their bearings in the Capitol and ushered their families to various ceremonies marking their official swearings-in as members of Congress while being deluged with calls, texts and emails urging them to vote against Boehner for various alleged sins against conservatism.
But all 10 Georgia Republicans supported Boehner on the floor, as 25 Republicans rebelled against him. The move caught notice in the speaker’s office as a possible sign that the Georgia delegation is more team-oriented than in previous years.
“Georgia’s going to be a major force in the 114th Congress,” said U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, a newly elected Evans Republican. “Everyone took note” of the state’s unanimity for Boehner.
The speaker never faced a serious rival for his gavel and avoided going to a chaotic second ballot by 11 votes. The tally provided the most drama of the day, in which the Capitol was clogged with visitors and imbued with pageantry.
Georgia Republican U.S. Sen. David Perdue took the oath of office on his father’s Bible. He was accompanied by his predecessor, now-retired Saxby Chambliss, and the state’s senior Republican U.S. senator, Johnny Isakson.
The newcomers all entertained crowds of supporters who made the trip up to Washington. Perdue threw a party on Monday night, heavily attended by the lobbyist crowd, and he greeted a couple of hundred Georgians on Tuesday at a Capitol Hill hotel after they watched him take the oath of office on TV.
From there, Perdue did a photo-op swearing-in with Vice President Joseph Biden, who also serves as president of the Senate.
“You can’t back out now, Bonnie,” Biden said as Perdue’s wife entered. The vice president took a special liking to Perdue’s mother, Gervaise, who proclaimed “I’ve been waiting 50 years to meet you.”
“Mom, you stand next to me,” Biden said as photographers snapped away. Afterward, he whispered her a joke out of earshot of the press.
Speaking earlier to reporters, Perdue called himself “humbled by this responsibility and sobered.”
“But actually in the few meetings over the last six weeks or so I’m very encouraged,” Perdue said. “I think the people here realize we’ve got to show the people of America that we can get things done, get the Senate functioning again. And I’m excited to be a part of that.”
The optimism among Republicans to achieve tangible accomplishments — with the GOP now in control of both chambers of Congress — pervaded the decisions among Georgia’s House newcomers to vote for Boehner.
“We have an opportunity to promote our conservative principles,” said U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Cassville Republican. “But we have to unify to do that.”
Loudermilk, Allen and Monroe Republican Jody Hice all lodged voice votes against Boehner behind closed doors in November, when House Republicans met to choose their leaders. They said that kept their campaign pledges to support a change in leadership.
But no one publicly challenged Boehner then. U.S. Reps. Daniel Webster, R-Fla.; Louie Gohmert, R-Texas; and Ted Yoho, R-Fla.; were formally nominated Tuesday, and the dissenters sprinkled their votes among them — as well as others who didn’t even say they wanted the job.
Loudermilk, who held his 8-month-old granddaughter Emma as he called out his vote for Boehner, said a challenger should have stepped forward in November, “not when the cameras have to be out and everybody can make a show.”
Hice said he met with Boehner just before the vote and “used what leverage I had to convey my principles directly.” Hice said he got assurances that the House will move conservative policies — though he declined to reveal what Boehner promised.
Hice said he wished someone had waged a “proper” campaign to challenge Boehner but there was no path to victory for anyone else Tuesday. Additionally, Hice said he got assurances from other conservatives that if Boehner does not put up a proper fight for their values, then they will work to depose him this Congress.
Allen said a big factor in switching from “no” to “yes” on Boehner was that no one else asked for his vote.
“If you want to run for the speaker, run for the speaker,” Allen said. “Don’t do it in the shadows.”
The 10 members of the Georgia Republican delegation — the biggest it’s ever been — met Monday to discuss how everyone was going to vote for the speakership, though Loudermilk said there was no arm-twisting involved.
All the returning members voted for Boehner two years ago, though a few at times oppose Boehner on key votes. Then-U.S. Rep. Paul Broun voted against Boehner on the floor two years ago.
New U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a Pooler Republican, never pledged to vote against Boehner during his campaign and said he thought the speaker deserved a chance to govern with the Republicans finally in control of the Senate, too.
“It’s important that we stay united, and we were united behind the speaker and that was not easy,” Carter said of the Georgia delegation. “But it turned out that way, and frankly, myself, I was glad to see that.”
Georgia Republicans were attacked immediately and aggressively on social media, as tea party groups had pushed the anti-Boehner vote hard because of his attempts to compromise with President Barack Obama on issues such as immigration.
Three coordinators of the Georgia Tea Party Patriots said they were “especially disappointed and shocked” by Hice and Loudermilk in a mass email urging followers to bombard all Georgia Republicans with calls and to show up at their public events to express displeasure.
“The stakes were very high today and Georgia Congressmen folded,” the email said.
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