Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Boehner Resigning from Congress, Speakership

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) shocked everyone Friday after the Pope addressed Congress by announcing his resignation from Congress next month. His departure almost guarantees that the government will not shut down because of right-wing obstinancy over the budget. However, it also suggests that hereafter the hard-right Republican members will have greater influence in the chamber. Most ironically, his departure will boost the chances of the Democrats keeping the White House in 2016.

Mr. Boehner had originally decided to leave after the 2014 elections; however, with his heir-apparent Eric Candor defeated at the polls, he stayed on to ensure stability in the House Republican Caucus. Now, with Kevin McCarthy of California well-entrenched, Mr. Boehner feels free to call it a day. While some argue that the Pope's visit somehow sparked the resignation, a more likely explanation is that Mr. Boehner, a good Catholic, wanted to see the Pope from the Speaker's chair address Congress. Having achieved that, and having nothing more to accomplish, he made his move.

Because he is free from worries about keeping his job, he will likely bring a clean bill on funding the government to the House floor, and he will pass it relying on some Democratic votes to get it through. While this is a violation of the Hastert Rule (a guideline really), which says anything voted on by the House should be backed by a majority of the majority, the fact of the matter is that there are 40 votes on the hard-right that believe in kamikaze tactics. Mr. Boehner is an old-hand in Congress who knows about making deals, and this is one last chance for him to thumb his nose at them.

Those 40 votes, however, have always opposed anything that resembles compromise, and with Mr. Boehner's departure, they are claiming victory. The word "emboldened" is overused, but in this case, it is apt. The kamikaze caucus will do its best now to make life for Mr. Boehner's successor as difficult as possible. With a presidential election coming up, and with a GOP nomination campaign well-underway, this group is going to have more media focus and will be able to grab headlines that make dealing difficult.

At the same time, though, their antics will force the Republicans who want to be president to take a side. Either they will have to back the antics or they will have to come out against them. That will affect the grassroots' perceptions of the candidates.

In both parties, it is necessary to run away from the center to win the nomination, but for the general election, a candidate must then run to the center. What cripples a candidate's ability to make that shift is if he or she has taken an extreme position on an issue that cannot be walked back. The number of times the House GOP is going to set up such a situation will be legion in the coming months, and it may well be sufficient to destroy more than one candidate's drive for the nomination. It may also create a self-inflicted wound from which the ultimate nominee cannot recover.

As for Mr. Boehner himself, he leaves behind not much of anything to mark his time as Speaker. Most of the blame for that falls on the Tea Party and its unwillingness to be led by anyone. Mr. Boehner tried to operate on a two-party template when one could well argue that Congress has become a three-party chamber in which no single party (GOP, Tea or Democratic) has a majority. On the other hand, a less rejectionist approach from the Speaker and a greater willingness to use Democratic support to accomplish things would have marked a braver and more successful tenure. It was not to be.

© Copyright 2015 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.



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