By Alan K. Ota

Senate Republican freshmen—a baker’s dozen elected last year and another appointed after the resignation of Nevada’s John Ensign — have never organized as a group. They did not elect a class president, and none of them has been a prominent player in the high-level negotiations over spending, deficit reduction and the debt limit.

Their relative autonomy is not for lack of experience. Eight of them served in the House, and one of that group, Dan Coats of Indiana, is beginning a second tenure in the Senate. Two are former governors. But four have never before held elected office, and tea party favorites Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin brought with them no government experience.

Still, they are proving to be a force. All of them say they oppose increasing the debt without accompanying spending cuts. They have been the driving force behind a proposed balanced-budget constitutional amendment now backed by all 47 Republican senators, as well as House leaders, that would limit federal spending to 18 percent of the gross domestic product. Six of the GOP freshmen vow to oppose any debt limit increase unless Congress sends a balanced-budget amendment to the states for ratification.

The newcomers are less cohesive on the question of revenue increases to reduce the budget deficit. Eight voted June 17 to support an amendment to an economic development bill (S 782) that would have ended the tax subsidy for ethanol, while six voted to retain the 45-cents-per-gallon tax credit for refiners who mix ethanol with gasoline.

But on Tuesday, the freshmen’s preference for unconventional tactics and reliance on old-fashioned nose counting helped dictate the Senate’s agenda. They effectively forced Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to set aside for now a resolution (S J Res 20) backed by John Kerry, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz., authorizing U.S. military participation in the NATO-led mission in Libya. Reid canceled a planned cloture vote hours before it was to take place.

Senior Republicans Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and Jeff Sessions of Alabama credited Paul, Johnson and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire with a successful lobbying campaign to generate GOP opposition to debating Libya.

The freshmen launched their effort last week, when several of them urged Senate leaders to focus on deficit reduction and the debt limit. Johnson vowed to block routine procedural motions if the Senate turned its attention away from the deficit and debt issue.

Johnson followed up the next day by warning that he would object to the Senate’s July Fourth recess. Reid later canceled the recess after President Obama called on Congress to get to work.

And Johnson said he may object to motions to suspend quorum calls, a move that upends the Senate’s operating procedures, if leaders stray from the debt limit and deficit this week.“We want to use the floor of the Senate to actually start solving problems,” Johnson said.

“It’s like everything else around here,” Paul said. “We have a victory. Now, we have to try to get something out of the victory.”

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