Mediaboss Marketing

Republicans spent the past year battling with Democrats for control of the U.S. Congress. Now, the party is bracing for its own internal feud over a fresh agenda.

Fissures are erupting between Republican Party leaders and the rank and file over whether to first advance the most ambitious goals -- dismantling Obamacare and rolling back environmental rules -- or focus on issues less likely to face a veto from President Barack Obama.

Those close to House leaders are signaling their priority will be more pragmaticinitiatives over partisan fights, to show the party is capable of governing. These include repealing a medical-device tax enacted to help pay for Obamacare and granting Obama broader trade-negotiating authority.

Therell be plenty of people who will argue: Lets keep pushing the president, said Oklahoma Representative Tom Cole, an ally of House Speaker John Boehner. Thats a mistake. Before the American people will trust you with the presidency you have to prove you can run Congress.

Representative Tim Huelskamp, a lawmaker from Kansas aligned with the Republicans limited-government Tea Party wing, disagrees.

No more excuses, Huelskamp said in an interview. We start with what most Republicans were talking about in their campaigns, he said, citing the need for a more vigorous attempt to repeal Obamas health-care law.

Those opposing viewpoints are the perfect microcosm of whats to come, said Nathan Gonzales, deputy editor at the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report.

The new Republican-led Congress that bolstered its numbers in both the House and Senate has a six-month time frame starting in January before the 2016 presidential and congressional election campaigns take off. It will have numerous must-do items, such as raising the debt ceiling and passing a highway-funding bill.

That limited period will force leaders to set priorities between more partisan battles over Obamacare and spending cuts to popular entitlement programs, and the less-bold initiatives.

I want to first look for areas we can agree on, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, whos in line to become majority leader in January, said during a press conference yesterday in Louisville.

See the original post:
Republican Feud Looms as Pressure Builds for Bold Agenda