(CNSNews.com) – House Speaker John Boehner will not be attending a weekend retreat hosted by The Republican Mainstreet Partnership PAC — whose goal is to elect moderate GOP candidates and protect Republican incumbents from Tea Party challengers — because of a scheduling conflict, a GOP aide told CNSNews.com.
But Boehner’s top two lieutenants, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), are listed as speakers on the agenda for the April 11-13th event, which will be held at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island, Fla.
CNSNews.com’s repeated calls and emails to Cantor and McCarthy to confirm their attendance at the weekend getaway were not returned. An aide to Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) said that he will be attending the gathering, but there was no response from Republican Congressmen Fred Upton (R-Mich.) or Leonard Lance (R-N.J.), who are also listed as participants at the PAC event.
Although no details or topics of discussion were listed on the agenda beyond “Welcome,” Break-Out Sessions,” “Political Overview,” “Ways and Means Overview,” and “Game Night,” an emailed invitation obtained by CNSNews.com stated that the goal of the gathering is to “bolster our incumbents who are under attack from the far right, and ensure that we hold on to seats represented by pragmatic Republicans that we would otherwise loose [sic] if there was an ultra-conservative in the general runoff.”
The invitation added that “people that are attending have donated $5,000 to the PAC.” (continue reading)