For those who may not follow American politics, John Boehner is the representative from Ohio's eighth Congressional district and current Speaker of the House. Just today he was won the vote for the position at the head of the House of Representatives amid some contention from his own party. In an effort to dissuade petty political bicker falling on party lines, I want to say here and now that I couldn't care less that Speaker Boehner is a Republican. As an elected official he has the obligation to support the views of those who sent him to Washington, and though I happen to disagree with him politically my issue is with his leadership style and behavior.
(Reading over this after, especially around gun control I drifted off into a bit of a personal tirade polluted with political jabs, apologies.)
Most recently, he disgraced his seat and office by addressing the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the following fashion:
“Go fuck yourself,” Boehner advised Reid as they crossed paths just outside the Oval Office.
“What are you talking about?” Reid asked in surprise.
The insult was lobbed after Reid's own statement regarding the Congressman's management of the House. In which he refers to the Speaker operating a, "Dictatorship," rather than a proper governing body:
To call this unprofessional is an understatement; I know people who have been fired for less, but as Speaker of the House I suppose you are afforded a few liberties. I am getting away from the subject at hand however. Senator Reid's comments regarding the Speaker were not entirely unfounded.
Under normal circumstances I would applaud this and laugh myself silly. Personally I feel that the translation of political discourse from Congress to through the American news cycle is far too processed. Admittedly Boehner is surely under a great deal of stress, barely having eked through a deal averting the Fiscal Cliff. Not to mention he must renew discussions regarding the Debt Ceiling. Not one day into the 113th Congress, and already we have one of the least cooperative atmosphere you want to set moving towards difficult debates. Boehner accepted the role of Speaker with the following words:
“Our government has built up too much debt. Our economy is not producing enough jobs. These are not separate problems. At $16 trillion and rising, our national debt is draining free enterprise and weakening the ship of state.”
Hardly a shock, after all he must appeal to Tea Party members who are locked on taxes, more traditional Republicans, as well as Democrats and Independents that flirt with party lines more readily than others. However the Speaker this week adjourned the House without having called for a vote on a bill which would provide relief for areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. Something which Governor Christy of New Jersey, a Republican himself called,
One doesn't have to be an expert to recognize that this was a poor move no matter how you cut it. Budget discussions and Cliff aside, you allot money to the areas that are affected by natural disaster. This may become more pronounced given the more than fifty representatives, granted not all are of his party, he likely alienated by forgoing a vote which would receive unanimous support from both sides of the tired metaphor that is the aisle of Congress.
Additionally Boehner seems to be set to dig in on other push button issues over the course of the next session namely gun control and immigration. Personally, if I never held another gun again, I would not feel as though my life were affected in any major fashion. I do however respect the fact there are those who appreciate them on a level which I do not.
However when you are operating in a political and social environment reeling from a recent shooting at an elementary school, you move. Yes, as an American you have the right to bear arms, but you do not have the right to weapons which with simple modifications can be made into military grade hardware. A recent poll from the Pew research centers shows a majority of Americans are in support of exceedingly reasonable restrictions on firearms.
1. No high capacity magazines. 2. Additional background checks in order to obtain a firearm.
Even posturing to block legislation in this scenario is appalling. This is not a case of, "from my cold dead hands," (A National Rifle Association slogan for those who aren't familiar with Mr. Heston.) it is a case of logical steps which by no means affect the stated objectives of the gun lobby in the US. The 2nd Amendment wasn't written when you could put 300 rounds out in under a minute, it is really that simple.
After the election this November, many people would say the American people elected a divided government. In the most literal of senses they are right, but in a less traditional but valid sense they elected Boehner and Democrats. I will admit Boehner is one hell of a negotiator, it is no mystery as to how he held his seat both as Speaker and in the House, but make no mistake the impasse is on Republicans to move towards the center. This is as much a function of recent events, as the fact that the all or nothing voting style the Tea Party brought with it into Congress serves absolutely no one. It is destructive and poisonous.
As an individual the Speaker wields an obscene amount of power, and does so effectively. He is capable, intelligent, and a man I do respect despite my opinions of him. However his leadership and marked inability to compromise of the floor of the legislature are a detriment to American democracy at the very crux of which is the idea of compromise. The House was established to allow 435 delegates represent their respective states, not the whims of a singular party or man regardless of who controls the body.
Barring scandal or other such incidents we the American people are stuck with Boehner and the dull hope that he conducts this session with compromise in mind. Politics is not a zero sum game.
So you blame all this impasse on one man? As much as Boehner is the leader of House Republicans, fact is, Americans voted for Republican representatives, some of them being far more right than Boehner himself. These were the same Americans that gave the Democrats absolute majority in the House and Senate from 2008 to 2010 until they fucked themselves over.
On January 04 2013 10:22 BirdKiller wrote: So you blame all this impasse on one man? As much as Boehner is the leader of House Republicans, fact is, Americans voted for Republican representatives, some of them being far more right than Boehner himself. These were the same Americans that gave the Democrats absolute majority in the House and Senate from 2008 to 2010 until they fucked themselves over.
Gerrymandering would like to have a word with you. Sure, Americans elect the politicians that represent them. But, in many states, Boehner's especially, the voting districts are absolutely despicable and play an active role in divorcing effective representation from suffrage efficacy.
5/5 from me, Servo, but you probably could have guessed that
On January 04 2013 10:22 BirdKiller wrote: So you blame all this impasse on one man? As much as Boehner is the leader of House Republicans, fact is, Americans voted for Republican representatives, some of them being far more right than Boehner himself. These were the same Americans that gave the Democrats absolute majority in the House and Senate from 2008 to 2010 until they fucked themselves over.
I feel that his leadership lends itself more to obstruction than compromise, over issues which are often of little import to the greater political discussion. I believe that the best way to start a negotiation is to acknowledge the points of your opponent which you agree with, outwardly he has not done so. That being said Republicans are right to cut spending, I am for it as a liberal, but pure cuts is as ineffective as pure tax increases. In many respects (Realized I left this out now X___x I had it in there, shit) Boehner is a lightning rod.
Opposition for the sake of opposition does not discourse make.
The onus of compromise doesn't just fall on his shoulders, and I know many people that would say that great presidents are ones who use their ability to rally people and lead to enact legislation.
Boehner is a joke, but a necessary one. Tyranny of the majority is something that can easily happen within our system, and it should be feared. As you saw with the fiscal cliff proceedings, Obama has ways of using the senate to pressure the house into action, and I think you will see a lot more of this as these hearings continue in 2013.
You bring up his staunch opposition to gun rights as if that proves he thinks purely ideological, and bring up the fact that the country is reeling from tragedy to somehow justify why he should cave. I don't understand this.
That kneejerk emotional reaction from the populace and the legislation that follows is EXACTLY why we need someone like Boehner. To slow shit down so that we can become far enough removed from the emotion to make a PRAGMATIC decision.
I have no doubt Americans want those things you listed, but are they right? I mean, do EITHER of those things solve the problem? Do either of them prevent that school shooting from happening? How about the 60-some-odd before it?
No they don't. Mass shootings account for .02% of all gun related homicides according to the DOJ. There IS a gun problem in the US. It's the 99% of homicides that take place handgun to handgun in gang related violence or domestic disputes. Not to mention the fact that history shows that prohibiting or banning ANYTHING just creates a black market and gives clout to criminal organizations. The real problem is societal. And mental illness, if you want my opinion.
Long winded, but my point is this:
The gun debate is the EXACT reason why we need someone like Boehner, as much as you disagree with his politics.
On January 04 2013 10:22 BirdKiller wrote: So you blame all this impasse on one man? As much as Boehner is the leader of House Republicans, fact is, Americans voted for Republican representatives, some of them being far more right than Boehner himself. These were the same Americans that gave the Democrats absolute majority in the House and Senate from 2008 to 2010 until they fucked themselves over.
Gerrymandering would like to have a word with you. Sure, Americans elect the politicians that represent them. But, in many states, Boehner's especially, the voting districts are absolutely despicable and play an active role in divorcing effective representation from suffrage efficacy.
5/5 from me, Servo, but you probably could have guessed that
A little something for you Farva, I really couldn't resist. I am also looking forward to beating you in the ABL Fantasy Proleague <3
The gun debate is the EXACT reason why we need someone like Boehner, as much as you disagree with his politics.
I appreciate your position, and definitely didn't give that particular discussion its day in the sun so to speak. I appreciate pragmatism in politics, I personally define myself as a left leaning pragmatist. Maybe another blog post in the future about the gun control issue to give it the time it deserves.
Anyone who defends Boehner at all has no idea how corrupt he is, or else is in approval of corrupt practices themself. I'm surprised that after he passed out bribes on the House floor in 1996 he wasn't thrown out of congress, but apparently his constituents are completely blind or something. Note that I don't even agree with the article I linked that it's only Republicans who can do this and get away with it, Democrats do it too, but Boehner takes it to another level.
Sadly, democrats have not been budging much, either. Both sides are to blame for the current situation. Also, the whole "raising taxes on the rich" thing the Democrats want to do is amoral, futile and entirely motivated by political reasons, not practical reasons. I wouldn't compromise to that, either. It's actually not about the taxes anymore. The taxes aren't the problem or a solution, not even close. For those of you who haven't looked at last year's spending, I'll tell you what it looked like. Our entire GDP is worth less than our spending, by a healthy margin.
I completely agree with Charlie: laws need to be passed based on logic, reason, and statistics, not knee-jerk emotional reactions. When it comes to guns, the overwhelming majority of gun crimes are committed with handguns, and virtually zero from automatic weapons. It's a myth that semi-auto weapons can be easily converted to fire full auto, and even if people are doing this, they apparently aren't using them in crimes. Bans on high capacity magazines are equally fruitless: reloading takes a second, magazines can be taped together, and the millions of existing ones won't even be banned. Restrictions like these are feel-good measures that won't prevent any crimes and will only inconvenience law-abiding citizens.
I disagree with a lot of your points. Politicians have said horrible horrible things on both sides of the isle (not that long ago president Truman said that god made white man from dust and black men from mud). I don't believe that the tea party is really any worse then what the "blue dog democrats" were during the 2008-2010 travesty(how you go from 8 years of bush to loseing control of congress in 2 years is a statement of this). A lot of people want gun control but wildly disagree when it comes to specific gun control things. Even the NRA supports background checks and updating and reforming that process could really see some attention. Petty cosmetic bans and grandfather clause's won't help the situation at hand and will only compound issues that people have with gun control already. How horrible cities like chicago get with gun violence when pursuing more and more gun control should be proof enough for people.
You also say that hes going to dig in on gun control and immigration but you never talk about immigration.
On January 04 2013 11:03 i.of.the.storm wrote: Anyone who defends Boehner at all has no idea how corrupt he is, or else is in approval of corrupt practices themself. I'm surprised that after he passed out bribes on the House floor in 1996 he wasn't thrown out of congress, but apparently his constituents are completely blind or something. Note that I don't even agree with the article I linked that it's only Republicans who can do this and get away with it, Democrats do it too, but Boehner takes it to another level.
Lol wow did not know about that. What's more annoying is that in that video he says it is common practice. And I'm inclined, given how openly he admitted it and how he presents himself, I rather believe him when he says it is common practice.
I wonder how long it will be before our political leaders fuck the country up.
Boehner is a weak leader but he's not the most destructive force in the party. Right now it's Cantor & cronies, and unfortunately given our choices in the current Republican house leadership, we're better off with a weak Boehner than a strong Cantor.
Boehner is like a slow, stable collapse of the right, whereas his replacements would cause a much more violent explosion.
On January 04 2013 11:31 Jibba wrote: Boehner is a weak leader but he's not the most destructive force in the party. Right now it's Cantor & cronies, and unfortunately given our choices in the current Republican house leadership, we're better off with a weak Boehner than a strong Cantor.
Boehner is like a slow, stable collapse of the right, whereas his replacements would cause a much more violent explosion.
That is an interesting position, the diffusion of Republican leadership really interests me. I respect the shit out of so many of those men and women, strategically it is amazing what they accomplish. Boehner as an exceedingly public representative of the party definitely puts him much more in the forefront than Cantor. Ideologically, I can't claim to know who his more influential across the platform.
Cantor is part of the reason Boehner is such a weak leader. Granted, Boehner would probably be a weak Speaker in any generation, but Gingrich and the all-powerful Speakers of the past didn't have to put up with so much dissension and they weren't dealing with quite the populist force that the TP movement is. Boehner is still influential, but he's not as influential as he should be - as a Speaker of the House should be.
I'd imagine the amount of politicking going on behind Boehner's back right now is worse than the election, similar to when they tried to oust Gingrich (Boehner lost.) As the Politico article stated (where the "Go fuck yourself" quote came from - you should read it), there's probably more distrust within the Republican party right now than between Republicans and Democrats.
On January 04 2013 13:12 ShadowDrgn wrote: Nowadays? 200 years ago we had politicians literally shooting at each other to resolve disputes. If anything things have gotten better.
To be fair the image of police pulling Andrew Jackson off of his would be assassin is absolutely hilarious.
The American political arena has been unprofessional and pathetic for a long time.I don't know what you expect, OP, nor what to tell you, except that the idea of politicians pursuing the betterment of America is a false and wishful ideal.
Best to just accept it. To make change to the current system, you would have to sacrifice your life - which is too much to ask for.
EPT![[image loading]](http://www.thenation.com/sites/default/files/user/20/boehner_angle_ap_img.jpg)
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