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John Boehner, GOP SAVAGED: 'HUMILIATING FAILURE ,' 'DISASTER'
"House Republicans are the clear losers," was how ABC's Jon Karl put it. "They pushed to the brink and have nothing to show for it."
John Boehner and his House Republicans woke to a round of epically horrible press about their role in the ongoing shutdown and debt ceiling crisis. Boehner's failure to corral his members reached a peak on Tuesday when he could not persuade them to go along with a plan to end the shutdown and avert default. The resulting reaction from the media would be enough to make any Republican weep, let alone the already tear-prone speaker.
Politico called Boehner's efforts a "disaster." The Washington Post described it as a "humiliating failure," and said Boehner and his leadership colleagues had " lost all control of their majority."
An editorial from the arch-conservative Wall Street Journal board fumed about the GOP strategy, saying that the House caucus "might as well hand the Speaker's gavel to Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid" and urging Republicans to give up their fight. Things were not much better on the morning shows.
"After a shutdown that lasted 16 days, a shutdown led by House Republicans...by the end of today, those Republicans may leave with little to nothing to show for it," NBC's Peter Alexander said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/16/john-boehner-media-disaster_n_4107106.html
40 replies
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Mr. Tears is a clown.
A failure for the ages
By Steve Benen
I find it relatively easy to feel sorry for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). He's weak and inept, but most of the ridiculous things that happen among House Republicans aren't by Boehner's design. The Speaker didn't want the 2011 debt-ceiling crisis; he didn't to hold several dozen votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act; and he didn't want the government shutdown he forced last night. They're all the result of a radicalized caucus he doesn't control, want, or influence.
But Jonathan Cohn makes the case that what Boehner needs isn't pity; it's blame.
As he's proven, leading isn't Boehner's principle goal. The Speaker wants to hang on to his power, his nice office, and his lovely gavel, and if that means going out of his way to placate extremists so they don't get mad at him, so be it.
That might be pathetic, but it's also the foundation of his job security.
Indeed, in the larger context, it seems the political mainstream is still coming to terms with a dynamic for which there is no modern precedent: a Speaker of the House with no power, no backbone, no accomplishments, and no prospects for success. Boehner isn't just failing in basic tasks, he's failing as Speaker at a historic level.
- more -
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/10/01/20772599-a-failure-for-the-ages
By Steve Benen
I find it relatively easy to feel sorry for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). He's weak and inept, but most of the ridiculous things that happen among House Republicans aren't by Boehner's design. The Speaker didn't want the 2011 debt-ceiling crisis; he didn't to hold several dozen votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act; and he didn't want the government shutdown he forced last night. They're all the result of a radicalized caucus he doesn't control, want, or influence.
But Jonathan Cohn makes the case that what Boehner needs isn't pity; it's blame.
He's in a difficult position, for sure, but it's partly one of his own making. Sometimes leadership means telling followers what they can and can't do. In this case, that should have meant telling Tea Party Republicans they can't get rid of Obamacare, because it became law, was upheld by the Supreme Court, and validated by a presidential election. Boehner tried to say something along those lines after the election, but conservatives howled and -- as usual -- he backed down, promising the right they'd get their chance. Now they expect it to happen.
It won't. And at some point Boehner needs to say so. It will mean taking political risks, but that's what leaders do.
As he's proven, leading isn't Boehner's principle goal. The Speaker wants to hang on to his power, his nice office, and his lovely gavel, and if that means going out of his way to placate extremists so they don't get mad at him, so be it.
That might be pathetic, but it's also the foundation of his job security.
Indeed, in the larger context, it seems the political mainstream is still coming to terms with a dynamic for which there is no modern precedent: a Speaker of the House with no power, no backbone, no accomplishments, and no prospects for success. Boehner isn't just failing in basic tasks, he's failing as Speaker at a historic level.
- more -
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/10/01/20772599-a-failure-for-the-ages
Republican support in 'jaw-dropping' free fall
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023827531
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so he can hand it back to Pelosi?
