House Committee Appointments of Paul, Rogers and Upton Split Republicans

House Committee appointments this week of Ron Paul (pictured), Harold "Hal" Rogers and Fred Upton appear to be splitting Republican opinion, as many conservatives are lauding the 112th Congress's selection of Paul while bashing those of Rogers and Upton.

Rogers (R-Ky.), who was tapped to head the Appropriations Committee, vowed in a statement this week to lead efforts toward "cutting spending, bringing down record deficits, and reining in out-of-control agencies." His nickname of "The Prince of Pork" suggests otherwise, however.

Rogers, long known for seeking spending earmarks for his Eastern Kentucky district, has secured 135 earmarks worth $246.4 million over the last three years and was the fourth-largest earmarker last year, The Wall Street Journalreported, citing Taxpayers for Common Sense.

"You couldn't possibly choose to send a worse message to the people who just drove this election," Mark Meckler, national coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots, told the Journal.

Internal Squabbling

Tea Partiers appear to be more pleased with the appointment of Paul (R-Texas) by Spencer Bachus, chairman-elect of the House Financial Services Committee, to head the Domestic Monetary Policy Subcommittee, which oversees the Federal Reserve. Paul, who ran for president in 2008, published a book titled End the Fed last year.

"This is the leadership team that crafted the first comprehensive financial reform bill to put an end to the bailouts, wind down the taxpayer funding of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and enforce a strong audit of the Federal Reserve," Bachus said in a statement Thursday.

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The choices illustrate that political squabbling is far from over, despite the Republicans' taking the majority in the House majority in the Nov. 2 midterm elections. That squabbling appears to be further fed by the appointment of Fred Upton (R-Mich.) to chair the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are among conservative commentators who've said in recent weeks that Upton's voting record isn't conservative enough to merit consideration, according to Politico.com

"We will stand firm in our fight to repeal Obamacare, cut reckless spending, strip away the countless job-killing regulations, and spur job creation," Upton said in a statement Wednesday.

Among other GOP selections include Jeff Miller (Fla.), who'll head the House Committee on Veteran's Affairs, and John Kline (Minn.), who was tapped to chair the Education and Labor Committee.