“They’ll get a honeymoon”, Bost said. 56% of Republicans want a Speaker who does not compromise, even if that meant being able to get more done. The Freedom Caucus, a group of 40 House conservatives, managed to disrupt the process of selecting a new speaker but also, by association, the billion-dollar lobbying industry that depends on Congress’ ability to operate in a timely and organized fashion. On October 8, the favorite to replace Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, suddenly withdrew his candidacy.
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Most important, the tea party’s “hell no” Freedom Caucus stands in the way of success for whomever succeeds Boehner.
“Would you ensure that the House-passed appropriations bills do not contain funding for Planned Parenthood, unconstitutional amnesty, the Iran deal and ObamaCare?” one question said.
A few of those views are actually held by a majority of Republicans.
Now that Boehner is resigning, they are pleading for and expecting change.
Yes, it is reasonable to ask whether Republican leaders – the experienced ones steeped in the ways of Washington and, in particular, of K Street – did everything they could to understand the priorities of the conservative militants. In September, it unveiled a government spending package that would directly target President Obama’s policies. We need a campaign that will reveal a leader who is both articulate and knowledgeable, who will emerge as speaker and guide the House through the 2016 elections and perhaps beyond. Second, he’s chaired two committees.
But it is far more likely that Cruz would underperform among swing voters and suffer additional Republican defections.
Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas, also signaled strongly to CNN on Friday that he would run for speaker with Ryan out of the game, but did not commit to it. This leaves the Republican leadership in a bit of a chaotic state.
Ryan has said repeatedly he is not interested in running. His challengers, Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Florida Rep. Daniel Webster, were and are considered long shots, but McCarthy’s exit from the race has empowered them and others.
“Those critical of John Boehner got exactly what they didn’t want – they got more of John Boehner”, Dent said. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, a Republican from South Carolina, told National Public Radio that the caucus wants a speaker who will pretty much give them free rein.
“This is not a coronation, this is not a crowning, this is not 2010 again when they all move up the ladder”, he said.
Just before reading your response above I read LaGrange College professor John Tures’ column in the weekend LaGrange Daily News titled, “GOP must pick Rodgers for House Speaker”. Another Republican was later stripped of his subcommittee gavel after he voted against a procedural motion on trade bills.
I hope Ryan does decide to reach deep, rally and attack the job of speaker with zest for the fight; going down in history as one of the most powerful, effective speakers ever.
“Paul’s record has clearly established that he is in the liberal half of the Republican conference”.
Conaway, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said in a statement to McClatchy: “I’m flattered and there are conversations going on within the family, the 25 Texans and the 247 Members of our Republican Conference, member to member, as to who that person might be”.
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In this atmosphere, promoting the next guy on the totem pole would have sent a message that the House GOP was completely out of touch. Last week, Boehner said he was confident it could be resolved within a matter of weeks. Sanders campaign spokesman Michael Briggs told ABC News: “If we weighed in every time Donald Trump said something stupid we wouldn’t have time to do anything else”.
