From the Population Research Institute

CHRIS SMITH'S CHANCES OF SUCCEEDING HENRY HYDE

It's crucial for the advance of the pro-life cause here and abroad that
Congressman Chris Smith (R.-N.J.) become chairman of the House
International Relations Committee when Henry Hyde retires.  Smith was
recently deposed as Veterans Affairs Committee chairman after clashing
with the House Republican leadership.  Below, this Robert Novak column
from the Chicago Sun-Times explains that Smith was right and the
leadership wrong.


http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak11.html


Lawmaker punished for being right
July 11, 2005
BY ROBERT NOVAK, SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

During an official Fourth of July celebration at the U.S. Capitol, Rep.
Chris Smith of New Jersey and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson
bumped into each other. They are both steadfast Republicans, devout
Catholics and congenial gentlemen, but to onlookers, it looked like an
uneasy encounter. That's because Smith was right about a $2.6 billion
shortfall in veterans benefits, and Nicholson's Bush administration was
wrong.

Being right can hurt in Washington. It drove Smith out of the House
Veterans Affairs Committee chairmanship, and it now may cost him becoming
International Relations chairman. Nicholson represents an administration
that operates on the principle that being in power means never having to
admit being wrong. There is no sign of any Bush official or House
Republican leader apologizing to Smith.

Smith, 52 and in his 13th term, knows politics is not beanbag. But his
misfortune suggests the GOP's congenital fault is not being too
conservative but trying to be too orderly. While often making principled
stands on unpopular issues, the White House and House leadership often
seem most interested in making the trains run on time. That entails
stifling dissent such as Smith's.

Actually, Smith is no maverick. He is not part of the tiny liberal
Republican clique that regularly opposes Bush and House leadership. He is
center-right, as reflected by his voting record: 62 percent conservative
(American Conservative Union rating) and 36 percent liberal (Americans for
Democratic Action rating). He is really more conservative than that as a
dependable vote for Bush's priority items, such as cutting taxes and war
in Iraq. He is a militant social conservative, battling abortion.

Smith's problem has been failing to salute smartly when the leadership
gives an order. That is the demand of Tom DeLay, the most effective
majority leader in my 45 years of House-watching. DeLay found it
intolerable that Smith functioned not as an obedient Republican soldier
but as a fervent advocate of former U.S. foot soldiers. At the end of the
last Congress, the DeLay-headed leadership purged Smith from the Veterans
chairmanship and from the committee itself for wanting $2.6 billion more
for the Veterans Administration.

Smith's vindication came June 28 when the Bush administration admitted
that its estimate of 23,553 veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan
for medical treatment fell far short of the real number: 103,000. The VA's
reason was that it relied on two-year-old assumptions. The administration
estimated its need for additional funds, coincidentally or not, at Smith's
$2.6 billion.

Rep. Steve Buyer of Indiana, who was leapfrogged by the GOP leadership
over two more senior congressmen to replace Smith as chairman, at first
followed the party line by saying the shortfall could be covered by
shifting funds. However, Buyer quickly had to change his position and say
more funds were needed, just as Smith had insisted all along.

Before Congress adjourned for its Independence Day recess, House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi led a parade of Democrats chiding the administration
for its blunder. There will be more of the same when the 2006 VA
appropriations bill comes up for votes the week of July 25. Republicans
have been silent, but some in the House were smirking over Smith's
vindication. There is little doubt Smith would easily have defeated Buyer
had there been an open vote of the House Republican Conference without
intervention.

Similarly, Smith would be the conference's most likely choice for the
International Relations Committee chairmanship against two other
well-regarded conservatives, Reps. Dan Burton of Indiana and Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen of Florida. But the choice will be made by the
DeLay-dominated Steering Committee, and so Smith is a long shot.

If Smith is too independent to be a Republican committee chairman, a
consolation prize might be a little commendation from the administration.
None has come so far. According to all sources, the shortfall fiasco was
not discussed at that Fourth of July chat between Smith and Nicholson. An
orderly Republican Party does not dwell on mistakes, even to figure out
what went wrong.



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