Before planning to oust Boehner, Conservatives should look to Texas

There is a movement afoot to jettison John Boehner from the Speakership. At first blush, it seems incredibly attainable; it's that second blush that gives one a double-take. The idea, courtesy of Ned Ryun at Red State is quite simple in theory. In order to be re-elected as Speaker, Boehner needs to receive 218 votes. If 16 Republicans abstain, he only gets 217 and the House would be Speaker-less.

As Doug Ross points out, it may not be that simple:

My only fear about this idea is that House Democrats will join with the RINO establishment to keep the Weeper Speaker in power.

Actually, that reality may end up being why conservative Republicans choose not to implement Ryun's strategy. I'm not sure if that strategy has been tried on a national level but something very similar to it happened at the state level in Texas after the 2008 elections.

Up until that time, Rep. Tom Craddick (R-Midland) had been the Speaker. Then, in January of 2009, he was voted out and replaced by Joe Straus (R- San Antonio), a RINO / social liberal - despite getting a huge majority of Republican votes. How'd that happen? Democrats in the Texas House decided it was better to have a RINO in charge than a Speaker who was more conservative. Straus was elected by lobbying for - and getting - all of the Democrats to vote for him.

Via Tea Party 911:

Joe Straus, a Republican with poor conservative credentials, connived with 65 Democrats and 11 “moderate” Republicans to take over the speaker of the house for the 81st session in 2009, a betrayal of the other Republican members and the voters who elected them.  It is a well know story in political circles how Democrats were allegedly rewarded for their votes with prominent committee positions.  As a result, the Democrats were able to substantially block the conservative Republican agenda in the 81st legislature in Texas.

In short, even if 16 Republican Congressmen withhold their votes, they will only guarantee that Boehner doesn't get 218 Republican votes. If that scenario unfolded, Boehner could retain the Speakership by getting 217 Republican votes and just one Democrat vote. Why? Perhaps Democrats would prefer Boehner to someone like Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), whom Ryun suggests.

Say 30 Republicans abstain; it would only take 15 Democrats (likely blue dogs) to guarantee Boehner's job. What's more is that under such a scenario, Boehner would be even more beholden to the liberal agenda and would actually update his list of Republican House members who would deserve retribution for not towing the line.

That would be Obama-esque.

Mitch McConnell agrees to let Obama Fiscal Cliff Proposal come to vote; Harry Reid declines

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) proposed bringing the absurd fiscal cliff proposal brought forth by Barack Obama via Timothy Geithner. He was calling Majority Leader Harry Reid's bluff and it worked. Reid is refusing to vote on Obama's plan. This is precisely why I advocated such a position back on November 30th.

Via The Hill:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday offered an amendment to force a vote on President Obama’s deficit-reduction plan, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was having none of it.

“Last week [Treasury] Secretary [Timothy] Geithner brought up a proposal that was so unserious,” McConnell said on the floor, “I would like to see if my Democratic friends would like to support it.”

McConnell suggested that the Senate vote on what he called the president’s “ridiculous” plan as an amendment to the Russian trade bill that is being considered.

Here is McConnell's speech:



The reason for this is simple. If we are headed toward economic collapse regardless of these negotiations, giving Obama everything he wants will ensure that he owns the mess. Unfortunately, John Boehner doesn't see it the same way that McConnell does. Consequently, he's playing right into the hands of Obama's pseudo-negotiations and machinations, which illustrates perfectly the difference between caving and bluffing.

The more of these negotiations take place, the more opportunity Obama will have to blame Republican intransigence when the collapse happens.

In short, by negotiating with Obama, Boehner is playing right into his hands.

It'd be nice to see Republican leaders have as much spine when they're in the majority as when they are in the minority.

John Boehner channels Scut Farkus; Conservatives need to channel Ralphie

Barack Obama and John Boehner share one thing in common; they're both bullies. The difference is that Obama bullies Boehner and Boehner bullies conservatives in his own party. The Speaker of the House actually fights the principled members of his own party more than he fights the President. After all, they are weaker than he is.

A Bully is defined as:

a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people.

Implied in that definition is that bullies choose not to fight people who are stronger than they are. In the case of Obama, he's not only played with Boehner like a cat plays with a ball of yarn but he has a history of acquiescing to bullies on a world stage as well. For example, Obama abstained from supporting the Green Revolution in Iran because it would have meant crossing the Mullahs. Conversely, when it came to the 'Arab Spring', not siding with the revolution would have meant crossing the Muslim Brotherhood, which is doing far more than bullying right now.

In the case of Boehner, those he bullies are conservative / Tea Party types who insist on staying true to conservative principles. As the most powerful Republican in the country today, Boehner has chosen being a bully himself instead of fighting one. Conservatives in the House are weaker people and Boehner is decided to bully them while caving to Obama's demands.

We need a Speaker who will stand up to a bully, not mimic the actions of one.

It's time for a Christmas metaphor. In this short excerpt from A Christmas Story, Boehner is represented by Scut Farkus (yellow eyes); House leadership (Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy) is represented by Grover Dill; and the bullied victims are the conservatives who are being booted off of the Budget Committees for not falling in lockstep with Boehner's rather subservient agenda:



Ever since 2010, House leadership has viewed the Tea Party - despite the latter being responsible for putting the Republican Party back in the majority that year - with disgust. Dissent among conservatives was met with derision. Now, after the election, Boehner & Company have decided it's time for payback and are using their power to bully conservative congressmen who are doing nothing other than what their constituents sent them to Washington, DC to do.

Ned Ryun has a piece at Red State that offers some hope to conservatives because it's quite doable and would only require sixteen Republican congressmen to take care of Boehner the Bully.

Basically, it's this simple:

If Speaker Boehner wants to purge independent, bold conservatives—I think it’s time he gets fired as Speaker. Not only for the purge. He has failed to effectively win negotiations with President Obama and appointed moderate committee chairs. To the public, Boehner may appear radical but in reality he proposes milquetoast policies, like the tax-hikes he proposed this week.

While the caucus has already voted in support of John Boehner as speaker of the 113th Congress, the final floor vote doesn’t happen until early January.

Everyone thinks it’s a fairytale, but the Conservative Movement is capable of firing Boehner with just 16 votes.

The House rules demand that a Speaker receive a majority—218 votes—to be elected speaker. If no nominee for speaker receives 218, the House remains speakerless—as it did during parts of the Civil War.

If 16 House Republicans were to abstain from voting for Speaker, Boehner would only receive 217 votes.

The question remains. Are there sixteen House Republicans who are fed up enough to deal with Boehner the Bully? I've written my congressman to demand he be one of them. Please do the same.

In this metaphor, Boehner - played by Scut Farkus - actually cries because conservative Republicans - played by Ralphie - actually do with Boehner what Boehner WON'T do with Obama.



It's time for conservatives to make Boehner cry for the right reasons.