Blunt Makes It Official, Sounds "Reform" Tones
Blunt's office just released a "Dear Colleague" announcing his bid.
Note the reference to an unnamed "corrupt lobbyist" and his devoting the entire second-to-last 'graf to the, shall we say, "recent unpleasantness."
And though it had been assumed as inevitable post-Abramoff plea, Blunt makes news by pushing for lobbying reform -- and in the "next several weeks," no less. Boehner made no such pledge in his announcement.
Full letter is after the jump.
Dear Colleague:
Tom DeLay put it best when he reminded us that as a unified team, our Republican Conference is unstoppable. I am writing to you today to request your support for my candidacy for House Majority Leader.
We need to remind the American people of our vision for a freer, safer, and more prosperous America. Our vision promotes entrepreneurs and encourages job growth by limiting regulations, protecting property rights, and lowering taxes. Our vision for America defends the family and the rights of parents to direct their children's futures. Our vision secures our country by fighting terrorists on their own soil, providing our armed forces with the resources and support they need to defeat the enemy, and ensuring that we have the tools necessary to thwart the next attack before it occurs.
The American people want common sense solutions. They believe, as we do, that government is too big, too bureaucratic, and creates as many problems as it solves.
We need to reform and reprioritize our government. The private sector continually does more with less by utilizing technology, market incentives, and by prioritizing the best use of their limited resources. If you elect me your Leader, we will work with our committees to reform government by adopting, where appropriate, the best private sector practices. If Wal-Mart can track the movement of a roll of paper towels out of any store in the country, and Citibank can seamlessly process hundreds of thousands of banking transactions a day, there is little excuse for inefficiencies and waste in government programs.
This approach requires smarter, not bigger government. For families and businesses, new expenditures almost always require a reduction in spending somewhere else. The government should be no different. We should recommit ourselves to the notion that government is big enough already by ensuring that any new initiatives are paid for by reducing or eliminating lower priority programs the government already funds.
The past six months have been some of the hardest for our majority. We faced events outside of our control from natural disasters to runaway prosecutors to corrupt lobbyists, while a unified minority and their dedicated band of 527s pursued one goal: denying us legislative victory on the floor and electoral victory in November. Despite these obstacles, our Conference performed well as a team, racking up impressive legislative accomplishments, including passage of the Deficit Reduction Act, tax reconciliation, an across-the-board spending cut, the PATRIOT Act, and a border security bill.
Unfortunately, the recent scandals have caused some to question whether we have lost our vision and whether the faith they have placed in us is justified. While I have no doubt that it is, it will be difficult to move forward with our platform until we regain the trust and confidence of our constituents by enacting new lobbying reforms and enhanced penalties for those who break the public trust. Like the Speaker, I am committed to moving forward with these reforms in the next several weeks.
I look forward to speaking with you personally about our vision and to listening to your ideas for our Conference and for our agenda. As your Whip, I have always tried to listen to all the elements of our Conference, so that we could move forward together to achieve our common objectives. I pledge to bring the same approach to the post of Majority Leader, and I hope I can count on your support.
Sincere regards,
Roy Blunt
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