Bill Press: Boehner downfall roils DC

In John Boehner’s telling, it was just another day at the office: hang out with the pope, enjoy dinner at Trattoria Alberto, get up the next morning, say your prayers, grab coffee at Starbuck’s, gobble down eggs over easy at Pete’s Diner — and oh, by the way, quit your job.

Except, of course, when the Speaker of the House of Representatives, third in line to the presidency of the United States, suddenly quits his job, it’s anything but routine. It’s a bombshell political announcement with profound implications for the Congress, for the Republican Party and for the 2016 Republican primary. 

{mosads}The impact of Boehner’s (R-Ohio) departure will be felt as early as next week, when the House faces a showdown over a shutdown. Those who believe extreme conservatives, members of the Freedom Caucus, are now less likely to force a shutdown are mistaken. After all, they just scored big-time. They’re on a roll. They drove the most powerful Republican in the country out of office. Why stop now? Shutting down the government is their next target. Then, refusing to raise the debt ceiling. 

With Boehner’s resignation, the Republican civil war is not over, it’s just begun, which has to be making party leaders nervous. Anti-establishment forces have prevailed in the House. Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, three outsiders, are leading the Republican primary field for 2016, and it’s not clear any establishment candidate can overtake them. The downfall of Boehner may signal the end of the Republican Party as we once knew it.

As a Democrat, I know I’m supposed to tap-dance on Boehner’s grave, but actually I was sorry to see him throw in the towel. I’ve known Boehner since my days as co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire.” He’s a good man. He’s a true, and reasonable, conservative, someone who was always willing to reach across the aisle and seek common ground — as he did with Teddy Kennedy and George Miller on No Child Left Behind, for example.

Unfortunately, his Speakership will be remembered as one of the least effective in history. Why? Because, from the beginning, afraid of losing his job, Boehner was afraid to challenge the Tea Party madmen in his conference in order to get things done. He let them run the show. He let the minority rule the majority. 

And, in the end, that’s what did him in. Never having accepted Boehner as conservative enough, extreme right-wingers in the House decided to challenge him one more time. And even though he’d beaten them back a couple of times in the past, and probably could have done so again, he just didn’t have the stomach for another fight. Instead, he walked away.

It’s a sad ending to a sad Speakership. If only he’d been willing to take on Tea Party Republicans by letting the full House debate and vote on the issues, Congress could have passed immigration reform, a transportation bill, a farm bill, gun safety legislation and raised the minimum wage — and John Boehner would have been remembered as a great Speaker.  

Press is host of “The Bill Press Show” on Free Speech TV and author of “The Obama Hate Machine.”