Posted on 09/17/2009 6:20:41 PM PDT by counterpunch
Minority Leader John Boehner spent much of last week trying to persuade a stubborn Rep. Joe Wilson to apologize to the House — telling associates he needed to “get to” Wilson before the weekend to elicit an apology.
But as the days dragged on, Boehner had to back off: Wilson’s spine was stiffened by $1.5 million in campaign contributions, the Democrats’ anti-Wilson rhetoric had become increasingly extreme, and the South Carolina Republican was rapidly accumulating support from the conference’s dominant right wing.
“At some point, he realized he had no choice but to get behind Wilson because that’s where his conference was going — and he was just so angry that the Democrats had pushed this thing so far,” said a GOP aide with knowledge of the situation.
Like a surfer riding the heavy waves before a hurricane, Boehner, a conservative with a penchant for compromise, has spent the past few months trying to harness the anger of the GOP base without allowing his conference to veer too far to the right.
But never were the strains of that balancing act more apparent than during the Wilson vote, as the Ohio Republican tried to juggle his commitment to bipartisan civility with his responsibility to a besieged member of his conference.
“It’s very hard these days to be a leader like John Boehner who tries to find the middle ground,” said former Connecticut Republican Rep. Chris Shays, one of the last Northeastern moderates, who was beaten by Democrat Jim Himes last year.
“He’s a conservative, but he’s less conservative than his base,” Shays added. “And he’s got to lead a party that has been so battered and beaten that it’s incredibly angry — angry at what’s going on in the country, angry at the way it’s being treated by the majority.”
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
“And he’s got to lead a party that has been so battered and beaten that it’s incredibly angry — angry at what’s going on in the country, angry at the way it’s being treated by the majority.”
Maybe it was a majority last November but it sure seems to me that WE are now the majority.
Pence has grown quite a bit in the past couple of years... and good for him. He would be a better leader in the House than what we currently have...
But please keep in mind that Congressman Pence carried the water for an ill advised and just plain silly Bush inspired illegal alien Amnesty proposal back in 2006/2007.
I’ll forgive Pence for this mistake and trust him to be a innovative Conservative leader in the future.
Note: Pence was one of the few Republican leaders who attended the 9/12 March on DC - a big plus in my book.
LOL. Yup.
“It’s very hard these days to be a leader like John Boehner who tries to find the middle ground,”
How’s that McCain strategy workin’ for ya’?
Boehner is a limp D***. He needs to step aside..It’s a new ballgame and we need a new pitcher.
There's a communist in the White House.
IMHO Boehner is a lot like Trent Lott. My view of Trent Lott was that he was a handsome, narcissistic, ladies’ man, clothes horse, God’s gift to women, with a perpetual suntan, who may not comb his hair as often as The Breck Girl, but other than that......
Thank you. When I replied to Nervous Tick I felt a little squeamish, even though I have felt strongly for a long time about my opinions of Lott and Boehner. Your remark reassured me that I wasn’t too far off the path!
I, for one, have had enough of them 'acting' like Conservatives.
Their 'acting' lasts only until reality demands action, then they revert to true form which continually moves 'the center', for which they seem to be constantly searching, farther and farther to the left.
Precisely why both Boehner and Cantor need to go.
There's a communist in the White House Whore House. (Just to bring it up-to-date)
Boehner showed where he stood when he voted for the bailout he himself called a crap sandwich. He goes along to gets along, and that works in some situations. It doesn’t work well when the house, senate, and white house is controlled by the most militant democrats in the modern era. Reid, Pelosi, and Obama.
Call your doctor immediately if you have a Boehner that lasts more than four years.
Well, I think a lot of Republicans carried water for Bush, including Rush Limbaugh. I don't remember where Rush was on the amnesty issue, but I do know he was very supportive of Bush until the election losses of 2006.
Note: Pence was one of the few Republican leaders who attended the 9/12 March on DC - a big plus in my book.
That's a big plus in my book too. Let's just hope that the Republicans don't forget they are conservatives the next time they gain a majority. And none of this mindless talk about compassionate conservatism. That is redundant. Conservatives are compassionate by nature. But they don't have false sentiments about being compassionate. And they don't subscribe to squishy utopian fantasies about the future.
Paging Dr. Pence!
Rush was totally opposed to any amnesty.
And the two best sets of balls of all of them.... Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin. DeMint is excellent as well in the Senate.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.