Boehner, Establishment Leadership Retaliating Against House GOP Rebels [+video]

As he began his first re-election run in early 2013, tea party Rep. Thomas Massie had no trouble raising money from business interests . . .

The Kentucky Republican voted against returning John Boehner, R-Ohio, to the speaker’s job and opposed an effort by GOP leaders to avoid a standoff with President Barack Obama over immigration that threatened to shut down the Department of Homeland Security.

In the first three months of 2013, Massie reported $46,000 rolling in from tobacco, trucking, health care and other industries. During the first quarter of 2015, Massie has collected just $1,000 from political action committees, which funnel contributions to candidates from business, labor or ideological interests. That money came from the conservative Eagle Forum.

Massie and some other conservatives say the reason their business contributions have fallen is simple: GOP leaders are retaliating for their defiance . . .

Conservatives point out that leadership has targeted them before, and they cite Boehner’s removal of some rebels from coveted committee assignments. In March, an outside group allied with GOP leaders ran radio and Internet ads accusing some House Republicans who opposed efforts to end the Homeland Security impasse of being “willing to put our security at risk.” (Read more from “As Contributions Fall, House GOP Rebels Blame Party Leaders” HERE)

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