LINDA WERTHEIMER, host:
This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News, I'm Linda Wertheimer. John Boehner is the new House Republican Leader. The Ohio congressman campaigned as a reform candidate. He upset House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, who had been acting Majority Leader since Tom DeLay was indicted in Texas last fall. House Republicans are hoping Boehner will help clear the air of recent corruption scandals.
NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.
ANDREA SEABROOK reporting:
Boehner's colleagues call him one of the revolutionaries. That zealous group of House Republicans that designed the contract with America and helped the party take over the House in 1994 after more than a generation of Democratic rule. Yesterday Boehner said he was humbled.
House Majority Leader JOHN BAYNOR (Republican, Ohio): We came here to do our work on behalf of the American people. I've never came here because I wanted to be a Congressman. I came here to help solve the problem that the American people face everyday.
SEABROOK: The themes of this leadership election echoed those earlier days when reform was the keyword. And Republicans vowed to clean up Washington. The difference is this time the mess is in their own party. Republicans like Arizona's Jeff Flake admit that.
Representative JEFF FLAKE (Republican, Arizona): We know that we need a course correction and I think John Boehner offers that.
SEABROOK: Flake initially supported the candidate he thought would bring the most change. Arizona's John Shadegg but when Boehner and current Majority Whip Roy Blunt were the two top winners of the first ballot, Flake and many other Shadegg supporters switched to Boehner on the second ballot. That carried Boehner to a surprise win. Flake says people just gravitate to Boehner.
Senator FLAKE: One thing he ran on is that he has a different management style with his staff and with his committee. Every year he gets together and says, All right, let's map out our vision here and where we're going.
SEABROOK: In fact, Boehner gets high marks all around for his work as Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee. Michigan Republican Vernon Ehlers has worked under Boehner on that committee and calls him an outstanding chairman without being an idealogue.
Representative VERNON EHLERS (Republican, Michigan): He works very, very hard for the Republican ideals but he's also a realist and recognizes what he can get and what he cannot get. And the fact that he got no child left behind passed with the help of Teddy Kennedy indicates the unique ability to work with the other side and to work with all points of view.
SEABROOK: Republicans are hoping this talent of Boehner's will help him do the heavy work that's at the top of their agenda. That includes lobbying reform, budget reforms and a new focus on Congressional ethics. These issues have been dogging the party for months now with Tom Delay's indictment on charges of laundering campaign contributions, the resignation of California Congressman Randy Duke Cunningham who admitted he took bribes in return for directing federal money to defense contractors, and the ongoing investigation of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff; who courted lawmakers with expensive golf trips and big money contributions from his clients.
Tennessee Congressman Zach Wamp suggested that Republicans are lucky to make this change before this fall's elections.
Representative ZACH WAMP (Republican, Tennessee): Rarely in the middle of this cycle do you get a chance to kind of start afresh and we just seized this opportunity with a new leader. And I think it'll help us sell the reforms and the changes that we're willing to make right now at this pivotal time.
SEABROOK: Then again Boehner may not be the silver bullet for all Republican's problems. Immediately following his election, the Democratic National Committee issued a press release titled, A Fresh Start? House GOP replaces DeLay with lobbyist lapdog. Left-wing consumer advocacy group Public Citizen recalled that in 1995 Boehner handed out tobacco company donation checks on the House floor. And other liberal groups claim Boehner bought this leadership victory by donating thousands of dollars to Republican colleagues.
House Democrats are sure to keep up this drum beat as the November elections approach and as Boehner tries to lead the Republican Party through this critical time.
Andrea Seabrook, NPR News, the Capitol.
WERTHEIMER: Learn more about John Boehner's background at NPR.org.
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