Bill Wilson gives a long and thoughtful analysis, complete with recommendations for how Speaker Boehner can revive his flagging image with the grassroots. Worth a read, if you’re looking for nuance.
— Or, you could just take my word for it and conclude along with me that John Boehner is booed for no other reason than that we see him for who he is: a feckless, “pragmatic” triangulator more concerned about his own power, position, and perks than he is about the desires of ideological base of the Republican Party he is supposed to be working for, yet against whom he in fact actively battles — and far more forcefully than he is willing to battle the Democrats who, like him, are entrenched in the ruling elite. He is more of them than he is of us.
Which is the long version. The short version is, Boehner gets booed because he’s a craven, conciliatory, cowardly status quo fluffer who has never met a surrender he couldn’t live with.
That is, he’s a blubbering pussy — except where it comes to asserting his influence over those on the GOP side who are actually trying to represent the wills of their constituencies. To them, he’s an unnaturally orange Genghis Khan.
Win or lose, he stays in power. So fuck all these purist, principled “knuckle draggers” who don’t understand enough about capitalism and how to save it to know that sometimes you have to rely on socialism / liberal fascism to allow the celebration of capitalism and “free markets” to keep their storied American luster.
Which is the short version again?
I’ve said it before: John Boehner has more in common and is more comfortable with Nancy Pelosi than he is with us sweaty peasants.
Ditto Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid.
“pragmatic” triangulator
aka: having a “wide stance”
John Boehner is the reincarnation of Bob Michel, a placeholder for the Republican Party who sold KY to all of us older conservatives for 38 years in the House. Boehner must have some blessed relics of Michel that he kisses each time he has a meeting with Harry Reid. And one day he, too, will be loved and wistfully remembered as the Great Compromiser.
My respect for Boehner will improve dramatically the day he retires, or is “retired”, and reenters the private sector. Until that day, he’ll remain a feckless crapweasel
I told them assholes Boner was a stupid choice, but noooooo…
Shit, it’s like the assholes want to marry Boner, and that’s just wrong…
On these occasions I’m fond of pointing to Boehner’s “Pledge to America”. You’ve got to know that every word of that document was carefully parsed, yet on page 21 he promises to “put common-sense limits on the growth of government”. That government will continue to grow is taken as a given. All that’s left to debate is “how fast”.
“Slower than the Democrats might like” is not the answer I want to hear.