Almost exactly seven years ago, House Speaker John Boehner said of the Wall Street bailout bill, “I think it’s a bullshit sandwich” — but he would have voted for it anyway. At that time I remarked, “These are crap sandwiches as far as the eye can see” – and I was right.
Boehner finally finished his meal, deciding to push himself away from the table. On Friday, he announced he would step down from speaking and his position.
Boehner has become a thunderbolt for a enormous segment of the base that is simply fed up with the GOP’s failures, both real and imagined, in the Obama era.
Some say he resigned because he was about to be fired. People on the hill tell me that’s not necessarily the case. But it’s clear that going through the vote without confidence would leave many Republicans in a terrible place. Boehner may even need Democratic votes to assist him keep his job. A speaker who cannot attract the support of a majority of his own caucus would be a political eunuch.
Was this all fair to Boehner? I like Boehner personally and I think he got more grief than he deserved, which is different than saying he didn’t deserve any grief. But ultimately Fair has nothing to do with it.
When a leader becomes a hindrance to his members, it’s time for him to go. The question now is what to do about it.
Meanwhile, the dogs seem to have no idea what to do now that they’ve caught the car. If the plan was to harvest Boehner’s scalp, hang a “Mission Accomplished” banner. If the plan was to really change things at the top, it looks like Boehner’s enemies have become short-lived. Boehner’s right-hand man, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), now appears poised for the top spot.
I like McCarthy. Damn, everyone likes McCarthy. A former whip, he is an excellent voice wrangler, which is why he is so well prepared.
Many non-Congressional conservatives want to rate replacement candidates on the ideological spectrum, and at this point, McCarthy likely makes a brief appearance. But many conservatives in Congress suspect that while McCarthy may be a less conservative leader, he would be much more responsive.
Other potential replacements — Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Jeb Hensarling (R-TEXAS) and Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) — are solid conservatives with much deeper principles than McCarthy. The irony is that they may not win a seat precisely because they have a more complete establishment of their own legislative and ideological priorities. The base wants the speaker to follow their lead.
The real reason no one impeached Boehner sooner is that speaking is a lousy, thankless job, at least when President Obama continues to treat Congress with contempt. The speaker sits between competing shooting teams.
In the realm of probables, I would probably go with Hensarling. Fortunately, as a columnist, I don’t have to stick to credible portions. Here’s an idea.
There is nothing in the Constitution that says the speaker must be an elected member of the House. The house can choose anyone from a carrot to Oprah as a speaker. These options don’t make any sense (although Oprah would probably put great gifts under members’ seats). But there is one non-member who can bring the skills required for the moment: Newt Gingrich.
Gingrich was the architect of the “contract with America.” He led Republicans to their first congressional majority in 40 years. His speaking was not without flaws, but Gingrich had matured. At 72, he is literally the party’s elder statesman and still one of its most gifted communicators.
He was also, for a time, the first choice for president in 2012. Among many of the same people who wanted Boehner’s head. He knows how backbench firebrands think because he was one himself. More importantly, he has an encyclopedic understanding of the power and limits of institutions.
Since no one seems to have thought about what to do after getting rid of Boehner, Gingrich may be the perfect placeholder until Congress gets its act together. He poses no long-term threat to anyone’s ambitions, and in the compact term he can be a unifying figure.
Gingrich always believed he had another rendezvous with destiny. Tanned, rested and ready, he might just be a guy who’s made it off the coffee shop menu.
