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FRIDAY FLASHBACK Kansas City Star: Blunt's elevation to majority whip is proof of insider power
For Immediate Release: February 12, 2010 Contact: Ryan Hobart (573) 636-5241 Ext. 125 FRIDAY FLASHBACK Jefferson City, Mo. – In November of 2002, the Kansas City Star wrote about Congressman Roy Blunt’s path to becoming the quintessential Washington insider. It touches on his many ties and connections to disgraced former Majority Leader Tom Delay and the Bush White House. Here are some excerpts from the article: From the moment he first set foot on Capitol Hill as a freshman Republican congressman from southwest Missouri in January 1997, Roy Blunt knew he preferred playing on the inside. His uncontested election this month as majority whip after just three terms shows he has mastered the game. The whip is the third-highest position in the House GOP leadership behind Speaker Dennis Hastert and newly elected Majority Leader Tom DeLay. As such, Blunt is part of the Republican triumvirate that controls the ebb and flow of business in the often-fractious House of Representatives. It will be familiar ground, but greater pressure. Blunt has been working the back rooms and trenches in the House since he was DeLay's surprise choice for chief deputy whip in 1999. During the 2000 presidential campaign, he was then-Gov. George Bush's liaison to the House. After Bush lost the Michigan primary, Blunt was reportedly a determined enforcer, "twisting arms" to prevent party defections. These days, he has breakfast regularly with presidential strategist Karl Rove. "There's nothing that happens in Congress that Roy Blunt isn't a major architect of," said White House Political Director Ken Mehlman. (Kansas City Star, 11/29/02) Congressman Blunt is running against State Senator Chuck Purgason and businessmen Mark Memoly and Bob Praprotnik in the August 2010 primary for the Republican nomination for US Senate. --30--Kansas City Star: Blunt's elevation to
majority whip is proof of insider power
