John Boehner Woke Up and Grew Some Balls

'Are you kidding me?' 'Frankly, I just think they have lost all credibility.' Those are words that came from the mouth of Rep. John Boehner, Republican Speaker of the House, he was talking about the conservative outside groups like the Heritage Foundation, Club for Growth etc. This was in relation to the budget deal that was passed overwhelmingly by the House and that was ferociously decried by those organizations. Why, you ask is it surprising or noteworthy? Well John Boehner ever since he got the Speaker's gavel in his hands has been more of a follower than a leader in his caucus, he allowed the crazy Tea Party members of his caucus backed by those groups he slammed earlier, to have a powerful voice that overtook everyone else and made the entire House GOP look like a bunch of right wing crazies.

After the Tea Party fueled Republican overtaking of the House in 2010, Boehner fearing a loss of the base, allowed the many freshman members and hard right loonies to dominate the debates and policies, in the House in hopes that the very same base would turn out in the 2012 elections, and hand the White House and Senate in 2012. Those actions, instead had the opposite effect, they allowed the rise of crazy lunatics like Murdock, Akins, and others, whose hard right statements cost the GOP the Senate, moderates and the presidential election. In allowing the Tea Party voice to be so loud, he sullied the moderate reputation of the rest of the Republican House delegation and gave them a very unappealing image. The final straw for him was the shutdown , in which he was forced to be the fall and take a position that he did not want. John Boehner understood that shutting down the government would not defund Obamacare, but because the majority of his members, pressed by those outside group were crazy enough to adopt that attitude, Boehner had no other choice but to follow them, his speakership depended on it. He woke up and understood it was time to stand up to his crazy caucus.

With the fiasco and public relations nightmare of the shutdown over, Boehner and the GOP leadership understood that allowing themselves to be led by those outside groups was not a good ideas and not a way to win elections, and after all,  it is not like those groups are going to start funding democrats. So with this budget deal, he decided to show them and Tea Party faction of the House, that the leadership (AKA the establishment) is still alive and kicking. With his words and the budget deal, the mainstream, reasonable and logical part of the GOP has begun to take back their party, and John Boehner has secured and strengthened his Speakership. This may also be a wake up call for the Tea Party and those outside hard right groups that they have overestimated their power and influence.

John Boehner has demonstrated that he is the man in charge in the House and that can only be a good thing. For all his failures, Boehner is not the type of crazy conservative who is willing to let the country default on its obligations, or cause the government to shut down for weeks just because he hates a major piece of legislation. He understands that governing by coercion can only take you so far. This show of power is good for him, the moderates and the country, as we are all winners when special interest group lose even a little influence.