Tea party calls out Hurt on budget resolutions

About 35 tea party activists rallied outside Rep. Robert Hurt’s local office Thursday to urge the first-term Republican to stand firm on cutting government spending.

Attendees at the event, organized by the Jefferson Area Tea Party, were generally supportive of Hurt’s track record, but critical of his votes to temporarily fund the federal government in the absence of a full budget.

“Being a Republican or being a conservative alone is not enough,” said Carole Thorpe, the group’s chairwoman. “We expect performance now that we have that majority in the House of Representatives.”

Hurt, R-Chatham, has said government spending is the most important issue in Washington, but tea party groups have been critical of his decision to vote for two continuing resolutions that have kept the government running amidst a partisan battle over spending cuts.

“You can’t slay a beast with one hand and feed him under the table with the other hand,” Thorpe said.

In February, the GOP-controlled House passed a budget bill containing $61 billion in cuts, but the legislation was voted down in the Democratic Senate. Congress has avoided a government shutdown by reaching short-term compromises that have included $10 billion in cuts, which tea party groups say is not enough.

When asked for comment Thursday, Hurt spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said his prior statements on the budget still stand.

In a Monday interview at The Daily Progress, Hurt said the amount of cuts included in the temporary bills measure out to an amount similar to what Republicans were asking for in the full budget bill.

“Over five weeks, we’ve proposed to cut $10 billion out of the budget,” Hurt said. “Now, there are a lot of things that are left out of it that we fully are committed to, but these are temporary.”

The House voted 271-158 on March 15 to pass a continuing resolution that will fund the government until April 8. Fifty-four Republicans voted against it, up from six who voted against the previous short-term fix. Hurt supported both resolutions.

“I’m not happy with the fact that he did vote for this continuing resolution, because the leadership told him to do that,” said tea party activist Helen Swift-Dovel. “He needs to get the spine now.”

Hurt said he was unlikely to vote for another continuing resolution or to raise the nation’s debt limit, which is expected to be reached between April 15 and May 31.

“We’re going to hold him accountable to that,” Thorpe said. “So he hopefully won’t go back to Washington to get his arm twisted by the leadership or [House Speaker] John Boehner or anybody else.”

Thorpe said the idea for the event came after the national Tea Party Patriots sent out an email suggesting a day of rallies at local offices ahead of its “Continuing Revolution” rally next Thursday on Capitol Hill.

“It’s our duty as watchdogs to give credit when the vote is correct, to scold when it’s not and to remind them that we’re not going to go back to a country of people who send people off to Washington and don’t pay attention until the next election,” Thorpe said.

The group gathered in the parking lot outside Hurt’s Berkmar Circle office for about half an hour. After a few speeches, the crowd dispersed, with some attendees going to speak to office staff who were inside handling casework.

Some were upset that no representative from Hurt’s office came out to the event.

“When we did this at [Rep. Tom] Perriello’s office, he always had a representative to come down and listen to us,” said Don Woodsmall. “And no Hurt representative down here today? I’ve got to tell you, I’m severely disappointed.”

Henneberg said: “Congressman Hurt appreciates the support he has received from members of the Tea Party, and as is the case with all constituents, our staff is always available to listen to and address the concerns of 5th District Virginians.”

Hurt spent Thursday meeting with constituents in Buckingham and Nelson counties.