Rep. Ed Royce's underdog campaign to chair the House Financial Services Committee rests on two primary points: that he has been consistently right on a myriad of financial services issues, and that he could more effectively go toe to toe with Rep. Barney Frank and other Democrats.
The California Republican, who unexpectedly challenged Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., for the chairmanship the day after the mid-term election, clearly sees himself as a stronger leader at a critical time for his party and the financial services industry.
"The point is that I've gone up against Barney Frank on a whole number of issues whether it was funding for ACORN, GSE reform, some of the moral hazard problems with too big to fail," Royce said in an interview on Thursday. "I believe that when Barney Frank is wrong, we need to forcefully explain the errors in his judgment and then rally our fellow Republicans to enact legislation to address these issues which otherwise can lead to problems such as a bubble in the housing market."
Although Frank is not in the leadership race — he will likely serve as the panel's lead Democrat — the Massachusetts Democrat is still a critical component of the fight. While Bachus is well liked by his Republican colleagues, many privately say he has not been forceful enough against Frank when the Democrat headed the Financial Services Committee.
With Frank likely to maintain an active role on the panel, Royce said he is more than willingly to battle the sharp-witted outgoing chairman and suggests Bachus was too ready to compromise on core issues like reform of the government-sponsored enterprises.
"I'm quite willing and capable of taking on Barney Frank," he said. "I'll just say that I believe that the willingness to compromise with Barney Frank on the issue of the GSEs in the past has helped create an atmosphere where attempts at reform were blocked."
