N.J. Rep. Scott Garrett bucks House Republican leadership in vote for speaker
By Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett, New Jersey’s most conservative member of Congress, voted against John Boehner for House speaker, separating himself from most House Republicans.
Garrett (R-5th Dist.) voted instead for Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.,) , who was one of several alternatives offered instead of Boehner. Some of the opposition was driven by those House Republicans who want to be more confrontational with President Obama.
“With a new Republican majority in the Senate, a large number of my constituents have called on me to demand new leadership in the House,” Garrett said in a statement after the vote “I hear you, and I agree.”
Boehner (R-Ohio) who has been speaker since Republicans regained control of the House in 2011, was re-elected today with 216 votes. Webster had 12. A scattering of votes went to other Republicans. Most Democrats backed their leader, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
Few lawmakers vote against their leaders, who can retaliate by denying coveted committee assignments, refusing to bring their bills up for votes, and decline to raise or contribute money to their campaigns.
https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/01/garrett_bucks_house_republican_leadership_in_vote_for_speaker.html
Garrett is conservative, and respects the U.S. Constitution. He and his staff listen to 5th district constituents when we call with our concerns. Garrett’s actions and votes further show that he has no discernable hangups about acting in accordance with our clearly-stated preferences, which means that he is respectful and truly humble. At the same time, he is very intelligent and conscientious, and tends to act in the best interests of the country as a whole, if he acts at all. He is also almost perfectly polite and non-confrontational. He will not typically pick a fight, he will certainly not jump into a fight with guns blazing, and you can bet he will not be the one to perform the coup de gras. To this commenter, this is one of the most frustrating things about Garrett. At the same time, it is probably the easiest thing to come to terms with (and forgive him for) in the aftermath of an legislative skirmish that ended in a way that is less than satisfactory (e.g., Boehner returning as speaker). Simply speaking, Garrett never allows himself to be drawn into playing the role of firebrand, even (or, perhaps, especially) when a firebrand is obviously needed to accomplish an essential political goal.