Boehner new head of House GOP

WASHINGTON — Eager to project a fresh face amid some embarrassing scandals, Republicans in the House of Representatives shook up their top ranks on Thursday and signaled their desire to shift away from their recent immersion in special-interest pork-barrel politics.

In a stunning upset, the House Republicans elected Ohio Rep. John Boehner as their majority leader, defeating Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt, who'd been favored as the incumbent since last fall. The majority leader helps set the party agenda, controls the flow of legislation, assembles votes and can be a public spokesman for his party.

While House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., remains in the top job, the rejection of Blunt is a break from the leadership era of Rep. Tom DeLay, the hard-charging Texan known as "the Hammer." DeLay was Hastert's strong man until he was indicted on charges of laundering campaign money last fall and a burgeoning lobbying scandal forced him to surrender his leadership post. Blunt was a close ally of DeLay's; Boehner was not. Blunt reverted to the No. 3 leadership post, majority whip.

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, supported Boehner for the position.

"John Boehner fights to win, he doesn't fight to not lose," Cannon said.

Cannon, who chairs the Congressional Western Caucus, said he felt Boehner understands the West's problems with population growth and limited space due to large public land area, especially by the Bureau of Land Management.

Cannon said Boehner has a different leadership style than Delay and will appeal to members widely. He said Boehner will help the Republicans set the agenda of where the country should go. "There was a desire to get as far away from Tom DeLay as possible. Roy Blunt could not overcome his close association with DeLay," said Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo. "The message is that we do want to change. We don't want the perception or the reality that this is a place of corruption."

Boehner (pronounced BAY-nor), a personable, chain-smoking dealmaker, declared himself humbled by the outcome. Draping an arm around Blunt, he said: "What you're going to see us do is rededicate ourselves to dealing with issues — big issues — that the American people expect us to deal with."

Republicans have been distracted in recent months by DeLay's indictment by a Texas grand jury, by Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff's guilty plea to charges of corrupting public officials, and by former California Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's admission that he took bribes from defense contractors. They fear the scandals could hurt them in this year's mid-term elections.