Speaker of the House John Boehner has spent years ignoring Democrats until he needed their votes, and Democrats may pay the Ohio Republican’s ungrateful behavior by not rescuing him from a House Republican coup.
Speaker Boehner is facing a rebellion within his own caucus as a group of three dozen House Republicans are threatening to file a motion to vacate the chair against Boehner this fall. If the “Freedom Caucus” moves forward with their plan to overthrow the Speaker, only Democratic votes would be able to keep him in power.
Despite the fact that House Democrats have bailed Rep. Boehner (R-OH) out of a number crisis over the years, the Speaker has refused to work them on anything. Payback time may be coming soon.
Politico summed up feeling of many House Democrats:
And while Democrats have worked with Boehner in the past on must-pass legislation like the debt ceiling and Department of Homeland Security funding, Rep. Xavier Becerra, the chairman of the Democratic Conference, said the Ohio Republican only came calling when he was out of options – which doesn’t endear him to Democrats.
“This is a civil war within the Republican ranks. At the end of the day, they are the majority … and we have to wait and see if they want to approach us and maybe work with us,” the California Democrat said. “Whoever wants to work with us, I think, is going to get some attention but you have to want to work with us. The speaker rarely reaches out to us. Only when it’s clear that he doesn’t have the votes does he reach out to us.”
Democrats could save Boehner by voting present on the motion. This would lower the number of votes that Boehner would require to keep his position, but since the Speaker has ignored Democrats until he needed them most, why should they be in any hurry to help him save his job?
If Boehner had given at all or worked with Democrats, he would not be in the mess that he is in. Speaker Boehner chose to let the far right fringe run his caucus, and they are out to overthrow him.
John Boehner has never appreciated the help that Democrats have given him, so he shouldn’t hold his breath waiting for House Democrats to fight to keep him around.
Ingratitude comes at a price that John Boehner may soon have to pay.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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