John Boehner Draws Opposition of 5 Florida GOP Congressmen

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, will keep the gavel but his continued efforts to lead the House drew the opposition of 25 Republican congressmen on Tuesday, including five from the Sunshine State.

Florida Republican U.S. Reps. Curt Clawson, Rich Nugent, Bill Posey, Dan Webster and Ted Yoho voted against Boehner on Tuesday. Both Yoho and U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, challenged Boehner who was expected to fend off the challenges. But Webster, a former speaker of the Florida House, garnered a dozen votes, including his own, even though he did not initially challenge Boehner.

Matt Kibbe, the president of Freedom Works, noted how grassroots conservatives stood against Boehner.

I am honored to have stood in solidarity with thousands of grassroots activists nationwide and the 25 members of the House who made the principled vote for new leadership today, rather than the easy vote, Kibbe said. Challenges are a critical reminder to Republicans in Congress that nobody is entitled to their seat, or their leadership position. They have to earn it, or we will be back next year. Activists sent over 20,000 messages and 13,000 phone calls to Congress in the last 72 hours demanding a change in leadership.

We knew going into this fight that it would be a David versus Goliath effort, but each year the tally grows of fiscal conservatives in the House willing to change the status quo, Kibbe added. Renewing the Export-Import Bank used to be automatic, it isnt today. Raising the debt ceiling used to be automatic, it isnt today. Re-electing the speaker of the House used to be automatic, it isnt today. This is the beginning of a paradigm shift in Congress, where inside baseball is now the peoples business.

"We are going to help grassroots activists, and the brave members of Congress who took a stand today, to continue that fight until the number of pro-liberty votes in Congress reaches critical mass.