thepoliblog

John Boehner’s Priorities

Official portrait of United States House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), turned upside-down.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives determines which bills are brought to a vote.

The Speaker is therefore supposed to serve the entire House, not just his own party.

In that respect, the Speaker’s responsibility is like that of the President: to act in the interest of the whole country.

John Boehner does not so act.

The present crisis would have been averted if Boehner had brought to vote a bill that had substantial support, and which would have resolved the present stalemate in a prudent, pragmatic fashion.

He refused to do, and lied about his reason.  He claimed that the bill didn’t have enough votes to pass, while knowing knew full well that the Democrats together with 18 to 21 Republicans were willing to vote for the bill, and would have been enough to assure the bill’s passage.

He carefully did not state his real reasons:
(1) Despite serving the country’s interest, that manner of passage would have emphasized the Democrats constructive role, and also the fissure between the doctrinaire wing of the Republicans and the pragmatic (and more patriotic) Republicans, who wanted the government be useful,
(2) Boehner’s own vow – not sanctioned by the Constitution, nor by any principle of useful government – to not bring to a vote any bill that would not pass by Republican votes alone,
(3) bringing those bills to a vote would aggravate the pee party, which might challenge him in the next Republican primaries.

His choices reveal his priorities.

Boehner’s priorities are, starting with his highest:
1.  John Boehner’s political future.
2.  The Republican Party.
3.  The United States.

John Boehner doesn’t have a statesmanlike bone in his body.

At the next election, remember: Ohio and the United States would both be better off without him.

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