GOP House hopeful criticizes Boehner

[babylonsister]

GOP House hopeful criticizes Boehner
By Jackie Kucinich
Posted: 07/18/08 07:42 PM


Indiana congressional hopeful Luke Puckett (R) told a local radio station on Thursday that Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) violated protocol by traveling to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) without an outside conduit to help navigate local customs.

Puckett said, “If you have not caught what is taking place when John Boehner announced his trip with the freshman CODEL going to ANWR, they are violating so many protocols right now in order to come.”

He added, “They haven't talked to the correct people. Therefore there's a lot of confusion up here right now as to who they are even dealing with or what they are even doing.”

Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith said, “We’ve worked very closely with federal, state, local, and tribal officials on this trip, and that includes the Interior Department, both in Washington D.C. and Alaska, as well as the governor, Sarah Palin. It is no different than hundreds of the other trips every administration facilitates with members of Congress.”

Last week the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee blasted Puckett, who is running against Democrat Joe Donnelly (Ind.), and four other Republican candidates who traveled with Boehner to the ANWR region for allowing Arctic Power, a pro drilling non-profit group, to allegedly fund the trip. Puckett has vehemently denied the charge.

Puckett reiterated several times during the telephone interview that Arctic Power merely facilitated the trip and that he and the other candidates self-funded the ANWR tour.

Arctic Power has spent between $100,000 and $600,000 lobbying Congress each year since 2001.

more...

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-house-hopeful-criticizes-boehner-2008-07-18.html

[gratuitous]

1. If you self-funded your tour, Mr. Puckett

It should be easy for you to produce the receipts, right?

It is delicious to watch the Republicans snapping at each other. I have to give Puckett points for calling out Boehner, even if it's not very smart. If Boehner notices that Puckett dissed him, he might get quite vindictive.