Philly.com: Fifth Phila-area congressman breaks with GOP on budget

[OmahaBlueDog]

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach, a Republican from Chester County, on Wednesday became the latest GOP lawmaker to call for a “clean” spending bill to open the government, saying that phone calls and e-mails from his constituents show that a solid majority wants to end the shutdown.

Gerlach is now the fifth Republican from the Philadelphia area to break with House leadership on the fight involving government spending and President Obama’s sweeping health law.

“It is time for Congress to vote on a budget bill that gets the government back to work providing all of the services already paid for by the hard-working taxpayers in my district and across the country,” Gerlach said in a statement Wednesday morning. “If a bill comes to the floor to accomplish that goal, I will vote for it.”

Gerlach joins Philadelphia-area Republican Congressmen Charlie Dent, Mike Fitzpatrick, Pat Meehan and Jon Runyan in supporting a spending bill that would re-open government without requiring any changes to Obamacare, as we reported today. They are five of just 15 House Republicans to so far publicly back that idea, according to the Washington Post. Another is Pennsylvania Republican Lou Barletta. South Jersey Congressman Frank LoBiondo has said he is open to the idea, and mainly wants a new strategy in the House -- though this group is in the vast minority in their caucus.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/capitolinq/Gerlach-backs-bill-end-shutdown.html#1VB2QGpADremYOKM.99

[cali]

1. Demand that bonehead present a clean CR NOW!

[OmahaBlueDog]

4. ..or

Offer a deal. If the 15 switch fro "R" to "I", they can caucus with the Dems. We'll elect one of the 15 speaker in exchange for ending this nonsense and raising the debt ceiling limit, and ensure the others get key committee positions. It can't be worse than what we have now....

[Dawson Leery]

2. These are the top pickup seats for Democrats next year.

Due to gerrymandering, these seats are the ones most likely to switch hands next year.

[msanthrope]

5. Yep--these assholes are shitting a brick, realizing that Corbett is gonna drag the

ticket.

[Dawson Leery]

6. Protector of a child molester Tom Corbett, combined with the GOP's dismal

numbers could easily remove all 5 of these Rethugs.
They are thugs. They voted to shut down the government and are now running scared, realizing they are not representing Alabama or Colorado Springs.

VOTE THEM OUT!

Note: The pre-shutdown polls had the Democrats gaining 3-6 seats and holding 52-54 Senate seats. Democrats now lead by 9 points on the generic ballot.

[bullwinkle428]

3. Drip, drip, drip...we just have to wait out a few more of these

cowardly pukes.

[enough]

7. Hooray! Must have been my call that did it! (Mine and a whole lot of others, that is.)

Gerlach's one guy whose gerrymandered district isn't completely safe. He wins over and over, but not by huge margins. I'm sure he's been hearing the wrath.

[PotatoChip]

9. Good, and thanks for calling!

I hope others who have Republican Congressmen will do the same. My guy is a Dem. luckily. A blue dog, but still a Dem.

I'd love to see a whole bunch of them breaking ranks, only to come slinking back to a more sane position w/their tails between their legs.

[Tarheel_Dem]

8. NE Repubs seem to be the only ones we can have a conversation with, primarily because they are now..

more vulnerable than the tightly drawn districts in the South. Hopefully, the dam is breaking. <fingers crossed>

[Jim Lane]

10. Talk is cheap. Let him sign a discharge petition.

If 218 House members sign a discharge petition, then the bill MUST come to the floor for a vote, Boehner or no Boehner.

Any Republican who is serious about ending the shutdown will sign the petition, or, at a minimum, tell Boehner, "If we don't have that vote today, I'm signing tomorrow."

[dmosh42]

11. Excellent suggestion as a way out for them!

[Cha]

12. I hope so!