In a vote behind closed-doors that surprised few observers, House Republicans Wednesday elected Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) to the position of House Republican Conference Chairman. The election of the Evergreen State lawmaker and stalwart conservative (lifetime American Conservative Union rating: 93 percent) to the No. 4 slot in the House GOP hierarchy makes McMorris Rodgers the highest elected woman among Republicans in the House.
Rodgers defeated fellow conservative and Georgia Rep. Tom Price, who had earned high marks on the right for his performance as chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee. But McMorris Rodgers had the advantages of being vice chairman of the Conference as well as being featured in major speaking roles at the Republican National Convention last summer. In addition, Rodgers had won over many colleagues by her emphasis on training Republican House Members and candidates in online social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Human Events readers know Rodgers best as the premier mover behind greater congressional oversight of U.S. tax dollars for the International Monetary Fund. In the wake of the IMF bailouts of Greece, Portugal and Ireland last year, Rodgers introduced legislation to rescind the extra $100 billion voted the Fund in 2009 at President Obama???s urging and when Democrats controlled the House. So far, the legislation has more than 90 co-sponsors in the House.
Those in the press who have covered Cathy McMorris Rodgers know her to be an articulate and determined conservative. In the wake of the defeat of Mitt Romney (for whom she served as liaison to the House), Rodgers said that the Republican Party must be ???modern, not moderate.??? In her new role, it seems an excellent bet to say she will be playing a major role in doing precisely that.
