Rep. Louie Gohmert Announces Run for Speaker of the House

WASHINGTON, DC— Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01) released the following statement today regarding his decision to buck the status quo and challenge John Boehner in the race for House Speaker:

“After the November elections gave Republicans control of the Senate, voters made clear they wanted change. There have been numerous examples of problematic Republican leadership, but we were hopeful our leaders got the voters’ message. However, after our Speaker forced through the CRomnibus by passing it with Democratic votes and without time to read it, it seemed clear that we needed new leadership. There had been much discussion. But, until yesterday, no one had stepped up.

I applaud my friend Rep. Ted Yoho for putting his name forward as an alternative to the status quo. Ted is a good man for whom I could vote, but I have heard from many supporters and also friends in Congress who have urged me to put forward my name for Speaker as well to increase our chances of change. That is why I am also offering my name as a candidate for Speaker.

There is false information being floated that any Republican candidates in addition to the current Speaker will split the vote and give the Speaker's gavel to Congresswoman Pelosi. This is nothing but a scare tactic to keep the current regime in power.

As long as Republicans vote for an adult American citizen for Speaker, no Democrat can win. Only if 59 Republicans voted “Present” would there be a chance for a Democrat to win.

To win the Speaker’s race, an adult American citizen has to get a clear majority of all Members of Congress on the House floor voting for an eligible person. Voting “Present” simply reduces the number of votes required to win a majority. If no one wins a majority on the first ballot, then we go to a second vote, then a third, until someone gets a majority.

At this point, the Speaker’s election is not about a particular candidate. It is about whether we keep the status quo or make the change the country demands. I am putting forward my name for consideration as Speaker and hope that with a new Speaker, be that me or someone else, we can fight for the ideals and principles that the voters wanted when they elected us in November.”

Congressman Gohmert is the Vice Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. Prior to being elected to serve in Congress, Louie was elected to three terms as District Judge in Smith County, Texas. He was appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry to complete a term as Chief Justice of the 12th Court of Appeals.

I think you have a very good point about targeting the House Liberty Caucus, which has 36 members. There's a list of the members at your site:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Liberty_Caucus

Here's a list to target from Jim Robinson.

List of representatives to target re: Dumping Boehner [re-post]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3242792/posts

There's no reason why we can't get 29 Republicans to help us. If we can't, there will be a huge drop in membership. We are tired of their excuses.

From the National Review: “ The congressman has co-sponsored the efforts of Representative Pete Olson (R., Texas) to impeach Attorney General Eric Holder. Freshman congressmen don’t typically break out the I-word, but Yoho hasn’t been one to shy away from controversial positions and statements. He made a name for himself during the shutdown as a vocal member of the conservative group of House members pushing hardest for the government to stay shuttered unless the Affordable Care Act was defunded. And when he argued to a Washington Post reporter that keeping the debt ceiling fixed would “bring stability to the world markets,” he became a lightning rod for criticism directed at House Republicans over the shutdown. Lots of YOLO jokes were made.”

The ACU has given Yoho an 80% conservative rating.

I give the guy credit for bucking the system and I also think Louie Gohmert would be the best choice. Boehner has to go.

Like others on this forum, I would like our nation to move decisively rightward. I may not get what I want, but this is what I want:

1. True conservatives put together a coalition that can do more than merely veto Boehner as Speaker. A veto requires only a few dozen votes. What I want to see is a candidate that could best Boehner head-to-head — meaning 140 or more votes. I have seen no evidence yet that this guy has that kind of support in the House.

2. Taking power is not the difficult part. Calling Obama a liar, obstructionist, etc. is not the difficult part. I want to see a legislative agenda. This is what the House Speaker is supposed to do ... no more and no less.

So ... I want a new Speaker who has, let’s just say, 140-150 stuanch supporters, and I want this entire conservative coalition to have an affirmative legislative agenda put forward from the get go.

Jim's list:

They are in conservative districts with conservative constituents. They voted against bringing the very amendment that they sponsored to the floor!
Representative State DC Phone Number

Trent Franks AZ 202-225-4576
David Schweikert AZ 202-225-2190
Duncan Hunter CA 202-225-5672
Doug LaMalfa CA 202-225-3076
Tom McClintock CA 202-225-2511
Doug Lamborn CO 202-225-4422
Gus Bilirakis FL 202-225-5755
Curtis Clawson FL 202-225-2536
Ron DeSantis FL 202-225-2706
Jeff Miller FL 202-225-4136
Steve Southerland FL 202-225-5235
Ted Yoho FL 202-225-5744
Tom Graves GA 202-225-5211
Austin Scott GA 202-225-6531
Randy Hultgren IL 202-225-2976
Marlin Stutzman IN 202-225-4436
Charles Boustany LA 202-225-2031
John Fleming LA 202-225-2777
Andy Harris MD 202-225-5311
Jason Smith MO 202-225-4404
Steven Palazzo MS 202-225-5772
Renee Ellmers NC 202-225-4531
Richard Hudson NC 202-225-3715
Scott Garrett NJ 202-225-4465
Jim Bridenstine OK 202-225-2211
Lou Barletta PA 202-225-6511
Mike Kelly PA 202-225-5406
Tom Marino PA 202-225-3731
Scott Perry PA 202-225-5836
Keith Rothfus PA 202-225-2065
Jeff Duncan SC 202-225-5301
Mick Mulvaney SC 202-225-5501
Tom Rice SC 202-225-9895
Marshall Sanford SC 202-225-3176
Joe Wilson SC 202-225-2452
Diane Black TN 202-225-4231
Marsha Blackburn TN 202-225-2811
Scott DesJarlais TN 202-225-6831
John Duncan TN 202-225-5435
Joe Barton TX 202-225-2002
Blake Farenthold TX 202-225-7742
Bill Flores TX 202-225-6105
Randy Neugebauer TX 202-225-4005
Ted Poe TX 202-225-6565
Randy Weber TX 202-225-2831
J. Forbes VA 202-225-6365
Morgan Griffith VA 202-225-3861
Robert Hurt VA 202-225-4711
Robert Wittman VA 202-225-4261
Reid Ribble WI 202-225-5665

House Liberty Caucus:
Justin Amash of Michigan, Chair[3]
Raul Labrador of Idaho[3]
Thomas Massie of Kentucky[3]
Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina[3]
Mark Meadows of North Carolina[3]
Jim Jordan of Ohio[3]
Marlin Stutzman of Indiana[5][not in citation given]
Andrew P. Harris of Maryland[5]
Paul Gosar of Arizona[5]
Louie Gohmert of Texas[5]
Mark Sanford of South Carolina[5]
David Schweikert of Arizona[5]
Scott Garrett of New Jersey[5]
Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee[5]
Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming[5]
Matt Salmon of Arizona[5]
Tom McClintock of California[5]
Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma[5]
Trey Gowdy of South Carolina[5]
Walter B. Jones, Jr. of North Carolina[5]
Ron DeSantis of Florida[5]
Ted Yoho of Florida[5]
Jeff Duncan of South Carolina[5]
Paul Broun of Georgia[5]
Todd Rokita of Indiana[5]
Morgan Griffith of Virginia[6]
Kerry Bentivolio of Michigan[7]
Reid Ribble of Wisconsin[1]
Jason T. Smith of Missouri[1][better source needed]
Steve Stockman of Texas[1]
Tim Huelskamp of Kansas[1]
Dana Rohrabacher of California[1]
Chris Gibson of New York[1]
Ted Poe of Texas[1]
Bill Posey of Florida[1]
Curt Clawson of Florida
Michael Burgess of Texas

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