John Boehner’s abrupt announcement to step down as Speaker of the House and leave Congress came as astonishing news to the whole nation, but many Republicans were not very surprised by his decision. They had long predicted it.
Shortly after the news spread in major media outlets, there was no explicit explanation or obvious causes for why the speaker resigned. As the day went by, more details were unveiled by the Republicans in the House, analysts, and most importantly, Boehner himself.
As David Herszenhorn and Jonathan Martin of The New York Times implied, the reason for Boehner’s resignation was the result of the deep divide between the establishment of Republicans and those who were newly elected to offices a few years ago — hard-liner Republicans. Many may have forgotten that the decline of the establishment of Republicans did not begin on the day of Boehner’s resignation. It began the night that Eric Cantor was defeated in his reelection by a Tea Party challenger a year ago.
Cantor immediately defended Boehner’s resignation. In an op-ed he wrote for The New York Times, he expressed that Boehner’s decision was a “selfless” act, giving the Republicans and the broader conservative movement a chance to grow rapidly. But he also urged his Republican fellows to be calm and fight their cause smart, with unity and organized strategies.
The rise of the Tea Party and radical conservatism has been the result of the Obama administration’s economically and socially liberal policies. The series of policy changes and legal cases have shifted the conservative traditions of America. Many conservatives think that many fundamental values, such as freedom of religion, Judeo-Christian principles and the free market system, have been under attack and they want to fight back. That’s why, and how, many Tea Party members and more conservative Republicans were elected to the House recently. These Republicans are far from being satisfied with what the establishment has accomplished so far to keep the conservative cause.
But the implementation of President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party’s agendas did not come without democratic process. For the first two years of Obama’s presidency, the Democrats controlled the House, the Senate and the White House. With this monopolistic power, Democrats achieved as much as they wanted — passing the Affordable Care Act and expanding the welfare state. In the midterm election of 2010, the Republicans regained control of the House and Boehner became the speaker. Boehner’s leadership led to a halt in the progressive movement and fought back against many policies Democrats had intended to turn into laws. He and other Republicans stood firm and fought hard on the issue of raising debt limits with the president, leading to the striking government shutdown two years ago.
This time the rancor of the hard-liners among Republicans might lead to another government shutdown over the issue of defunding Planned Parenthood, a non-profit organization providing reproductive and maternal health care services. Many conservatives see it as a policy reflecting federal government’s view on abortion because it receives federal money. Boehner thought defunding Planned Parenthood was morally right, but practically impossible as long as Obama is still in office. If Republicans in the House insisted, it might lead to another government shutdown whose cost will be huge. But those hard-liners in the Republican Party pushed so hard for it that the speaker gradually lost trust in his party. Resignation was inevitable.
Hard-liner Republicans should know that even if they oust the establishment of their party and instate a new leader who truly puts their agendas on the table, they will accomplish little in the remaining time of Obama’s tenure. Given the political framework in this country, the president will not give anything that the House Republicans want by executing his veto power. As well, the Senate still does not have enough votes from Republicans to override the president’s veto.
As Republican Gov. John Kasich of Ohio told CBS’s “Face the Nation,” hard-liner Republicans ought to “look in the mirror” to see what they have accomplished. Yelling and screaming cannot resolve any issues in this nation. After the speaker’s resignation, the House Republicans should be more cautious and wise on what strategy they should use to fight for their causes. As a first step, it would be more effective for them to focus on winning the presidency.
