House GOP mulls life without Blunt

Rep. Roy Blunt’s (R-Mo.) decision to leave the House is starting to sink in.

“We’re going to lose a hell of a lot,” Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) said.

{mosads}Blunt has played a leading role in the GOP’s new healthcare proposal and was called on to be a key pinch hitter in last year’s discussions on the $700 billion financial bailout package.

Some Republican members say Blunt’s departure will leave a big hole in the conference, especially amid tensions that have emerged between the top two GOP leaders.

The Senate hopeful has arguably played a more instrumental role in the House Republican Conference since he fell a handful of votes short of becoming Tom DeLay’s (R-Texas) successor in 2006.

The loss to Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) to become majority leader was agonizing, but Blunt has forged more of an identity in the wake of that leadership contest.

Blunt, who announced earlier this year he was launching a bid for retiring Sen. Kit Bond’s (R-Mo.) seat, is no longer in the shadow of DeLay, who handpicked him as his deputy. There were many criticisms of Blunt, some of which were attributable to jealousy.

Despite their intense leadership race, Blunt and Boehner developed a productive working relationship. Blunt’s knowledge of floor procedures helped him convince his colleagues to retain him as the No. 2 House Republican after the Democrats won control of Congress. Surprising many on Capitol Hill, Blunt easily defeated Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) and then delivered on his promise.

During his two years as minority whip, Blunt successfully ushered through 24 Republican-sponsored amendments to bills on the floor, making use of the “motion to recommit,” a parliamentary maneuver.

Blunt’s wins frustrated Democrats so much that they changed the rules of the House, stripping the minority of some of their procedural weapons.

Blunt will not be leaving the House until the end of the 111th Congress, but soon he will be focusing more on his Senate bid, and less on the daily workings of the lower chamber.

After Blunt opted not to run for whip following last year’s election, Boehner made his former deputy an ex officio member of leadership. Boehner tasked Blunt with two massive projects: producing a healthcare reform plan acceptable to the 178-member conference and coordinating and monitoring the work done by ranking members.

According to a GOP leadership aide, Boehner tapped Blunt to head those efforts because of his former deputy’s ability to tackle controversial issues that may drive a wedge between the conference, and produce a product that is acceptable to most of its members.

{mosads}The 10-year GOP leadership veteran was the natural choice for leaders to go to as the party navigates contentious issues because of his proven ability to unite the conference on divisive issues, according to Gregg Hartley, Blunt’s longtime chief of staff, who now works for Cassidy & Associates.

Former House Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam (Fla.), who served with Blunt in the leadership, pointed to the fact that leaders have had to call the lawmaker in to handle sensitive issues.

“They lose a member who has a great sense of the pulse of the conference, someone who has been in the room on innumerable difficult conferences between the parties and between the chambers and has built up respect and strong relationships as a result,” Putnam said.

Boehner dispatched then-Whip Blunt to negotiate with the Bush administration and Senate and House lawmakers when it was apparent that the House GOP needed a stronger voice at the table than Financial Services Committee ranking member Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) could offer.

Blunt has the ability to serve as a bridge when relations get testy between Boehner and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who served for six years as Blunt’s deputy whip.

However, the 59-year-old legislator denies that the two need a peacemaker.

“I’m not in a position to be much of a factor in that relationship. I think a little competition is a healthy thing, and I think they both see it that way,” Blunt said.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who has a frosty relationship with Cantor, said, “I have a great deal of respect for [Blunt’s] integrity in saying what he thinks can and cannot happen — as opposed to ‘We’ll work it out, we’ll work it out’ but it never works out.”

With a possible GOP primary battle and a potential general-election fight against Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, Blunt recognizes that his focus will need to shift.

The seven-term lawmaker is behind in the money race. Carnahan raised more than $1 million in the first quarter, while Blunt raised $560,000.

“The Senate race clearly takes some time, and I want it to take some time,” Blunt told The Hill.

He has gotten something of a head start. According to his campaign, Blunt has visited 26 counties and held 40 events since announcing his Senate bid.