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2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumHey, Boehner: Show Some Stones for Once - By Michael Tomasky
How the DHS fight shows that the right wing is (thankfully) toothless, and that Congress is essentially leaderless.So heres something Ive often wondered over the last few years. What exactly would happen if John Boehner bucked the right-wingers in the House? You knowif he gave us one of those heroic Hollywood moments that we so long for in this sail-trimming city and gave a big speech about how he was putting principle ahead of politics and the consequences be damned.
You know what I think would happen? If, say, he followed Mitch McConnells lead and allowed a vote on a clean DHS-funding bill? After all the dust settlednothing. Oh, the dust would fly to the heavens for a few days. Tea Partiers would scream about his betrayal. Rush Limbaugh and all the rest of them would fulminate. Thered be a few breathless stories about how his speakership was in mortal peril. And then, something else would happen in the news cycle, the intoxicating effect of the drug of munity would wear off, and wed be back to exactly where we were before the dust went skyward.
We have a dysfunctional legislative system, and one of the hallmarks of a dysfunctional systemindeed the main hallmark of a dysfunctional systemis that no one is held accountable for anything they do. And theres no reason to think Boehner would be held accountable by his right wing.
First of all, they dont have the votes to oust him. In his last speakership election, 25 Republicans voted against him. Thats a chunk, but its a small chunk. And besides, who are they going to replace him with? Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who seems not able to count noses and who isnt particularly well liked by his GOP colleagues? Majority Whip Steve Scalise, now branded as a white-supremacist sympathizer? One doesnt expect much of todays GOP, but I doubt very much that even this hardened assemblage would want to be led by a man with that charge hanging around his neck.
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/27/hey-boehner-show-some-stones-for-once.html
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Hey, Boehner: Show Some Stones for Once - By Michael Tomasky (Original Post)
DonViejo
Feb 2015
OP
ladjf
(17,320 posts)1. Boehner seems to be lacking in brain power and courage. nt
raging moderate
(4,308 posts)2. GUTS.
In my youth, we called it guts.
Grow some guts, Mr. Boehner.