Freshman US Rep. Jaime Herrera (R-WA, 3) cast herself as a moderate during her 2010 campaign, but Politico reports that she has recently joined the ranks of other Tea Party Republicans in a rally protesting senate majority leader Harry Reid:
On the Senate steps Thursday, several freshmen members continued their protest of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
This time, the protests, led by Rep. Rick Crawford, featured new faces—including Reps. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, Steve Stivers of New York, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, Sandy Adams of Florida and Bill Flores of Texas.
The freshmen kept the pressure on Reid, declining to comment on the $33 billion figure in cuts floated by the White House and Senate Democrats as a potential compromise figure last night.
The move by Herrera is notable for a couple of reasons. First, Herrera seems to have distanced herself from her mentor Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA, 5, Eastern Washington), who is firmly aligned with the Republican leadership in the house, especially on budget issues. Rodgers is also the fourth-ranking member of the house leadership on the Republican side.
Second, by joining other freshman in Congress like Huelskamp and Adams—who are closely aligned with the Tea Party—Herrera has moved away from the moderate position she maintained during her campaign, when she sought to cast herself apart from the Tea Party.
In a letter to Reid, the representatives wrote, “Mr. Reid, we are letting you know that we will rally on the Senate steps every day until you pass a long-term Continuing Resolution. We call on all Americans to join our fight in restoring our country’s fiscal health.”
