GOP Mutiny Could Unseat Boehner and McConnell as Party Leaders

finance.yahoo.com ^ | 4/14/14 | Eric Pianin

[cotton1706]

It increasingly looks as if the Republicans will regain control of Congress this fall, with the GOP narrowly winning back a majority in the Senate and the House GOP either retaining or slightly building on its majority. But will the two top Republican leaders – House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- be around to enjoy the spoils of victory?

Both Boehner of Ohio and McConnell of Kentucky are crafty and highly resilient veterans who would be difficult for their opponents to bring down even under the best of circumstances. Yet McConnell is facing arguably one of his toughest reelection campaigns this fall while Boehner appears headed for another tough internal challenge from far-right House conservatives for the speakership shortly after the mid-term election.

While some political experts say it is far too soon to speculate on what the future holds for McConnell and Boehner, there are clearly some troubling signs on the horizon for the two leaders:

Mitch McConnell: While McConnell is expected to easily fend off a primary challenge from Tea Party favorite Matt Bevin, it will be a much rockier road for the 71-year-old leader in the general election against Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Democratic secretary of state. Lundergan Grimes, held an early 46 percent to 42 percent lead over McConnell in a Feb. 7 SurveyUSA poll conducted by the Courier-Journal and WHAS-TV in Louisville. A Rasmussen poll a few days earlier showed the two in a virtual deadlock.

[neocon1984]

I’ll vote for Bevin. If he wins the primary, I’ll vote for him again. If he loses, I’ll vote for Grimes.

You are either an idiot or a troll. Maybe we should just let the Dems take control of the whole country. Hey! Let's vote for Hillary if we don't get a Republican who will reduce the size of government (an issue nearest to my heart).

[Monmouth78]

No, it’s people like you who were unwilling to draw a line who gave us “leaders” who fight for the other side.

McConnell is one of the folks who must go, even it it means the GOP loses the seat. Graham is another.

[lodi90]

The 'real' problem is Democrats, period. We're not in a timeframe where we can try to fix it all in one election, if we lose again, it's over.

Nope. The real problem is the GOP is divided and ineffective. You can't defeat rampaging marxists when a wing of the opposition party pinch hits for Team Dem on all the big issues.

[Kenny]

Nope. The real problem is the GOP is divided and ineffective.

God help us, the Bundy ranch is under attack, they tried to give the Internet away, Obama has unilaterally disarmed America, the Democrats have implemented socialized medicine and all we've got to fight them with is 'big picture' guys like yourself.

[lodi90]

If we can’t do that, can’t beat them in the primary then it’s either put Pelosi, Reid, & O back in leadership or change the balance of power. That would mean putting Republicans in the majority.

That's not what the GOPe does. They couldn't beat Mike Lee in a primary. So they back stabbed him when he got to DC. They couldn't beat Ted Cruz so they back stabbed him in DC. And on and on. Until the GOP fights the Dems like Dems fight the GOP we will continue losing.

[lodi90]

God help us, the Bundy ranch is under attack, they tried to give the Internet away, Obama has unilaterally disarmed America, the Democrats have implemented socialized medicine and all we've got to fight them with is 'big picture' guys like yourself.

Yep. All that happened and the GOP barely says a word about it. The kenyan is ready to hand a spy authorization to Putin this week and John Boehner hasn't said a damn word about it.

The GOP is asleep at the wheel. There is no engaged opposition to all those issues you are so worried about. Electing more do nothing Republicans isn't going to change anything these next two years. They already said we must wait until 2017.

[Kenny]

I understand we’re having a civil war within the GOP and I’m all for it but not at the expense of liberty. If we don’t get the Democrats out in ‘14, we’re done.

I’m hoping that conservatives are working their butts off for Tea Party candidates in the primaries. It can be won, Cruz and Lee are proof but it’s not an overnight process. We can’t feel defeated at every loss, we have to keep fighting.

All that said I will never, NEVER vote for a Democrat and I’ll vote for the Republican in 2014 every single time. I want Democrats out.

[Kenny]

There is no engaged opposition to all those issues you are so worried about. Electing more do nothing Republicans isn't going to change anything these next two years.

So what's your plan? I hear a lot about what we shouldn't do, shouldn't support do-nothing Republicans, etc. but I'm not hearing what we should do.

What's the plan if we throw away the House and Senate in '14? How are we going to 'fix' the Republican party by doing that? I'm listening.

[jjsheridan5]

God help us, the Bundy ranch is under attack, they tried to give the Internet away, Obama has unilaterally disarmed America, the Democrats have implemented socialized medicine and all we've got to fight them with is 'big picture' guys like yourself.

The reason that we have nothing to fight back with is because of Republican voters opting for the lesser of two evils. The inevitable result of that has been a Republican party that is hopelessly ineffective and, more often than not, is indifferent about any of these issues. That is what the "small picture" people have given us. You are unintentionally undermining your own point. We have no real representation anymore, since the people who nominally represent us, don't.

A smaller, but more effective, political party would make the Democrats pay dearly for all of these transgressions (in addition to the hundreds not mentioned here). Either the transgressions would come to an end, or the smaller, but more effective, party would get a lot larger.

But because Republican voters think they are being smart in voting for "republicans" because they are not "democrats", the Democrats can get away with anything and everything. The only way to change this pattern is to get rid of the perpetrators of that pattern -- GOPe "Republicans". The only way to do that is to stop the insanity of voting them into office.

[Kenny]

Good luck, hope your plan works because we’re all screwed if it doesn’t.

Oh wait, there was no actual plan.

[cuban leaf]

You are a moron.

---

Yeah, I get that response a lot on liberal sites.

Opinions vary. ;-)

[cuban leaf]

I concur, to quote a famous WWII general (Patton)...
“I’d rather have my “enemy” in front of me;
then my “Friend”, stabbing me in the back.”

---

Exactly. If we have to clean out the party before we can get the country, so be it.

[pfony1]

Well...

Now that we see that some in the “Tea Party” is choosing to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Obama-bots, there’s really no need to take the “Tea Party’s” claims to “conservative purity” seriously. Can you say: “Fringe party flames out!”

Every REAL conservative knows that keeping Reid and Pelosi in power is NOT good for America.

But some “Einsteins” claim to object to the appearance of McConnell’s neck! How petty — and sick — is that!

So, I think it’s too bad that the self-anointed “leadership” of the Tea Party has been seduced by Soros and his money and too bad that discouraged conservatives have been seduced by anti-GOP trolls on the White House payroll and have become “sunshine patriots”.

Please remember that Washington did not defeat the British in one year.

[jjsheridan5]

Good luck, hope your plan works because we’re all screwed if it doesn’t.

Oh wait, there was no actual plan.

We are all screwed, as you put it, if we have an opposition party as ineffective and indifferent as the one we have had due to poor decisions on the part of Republican voters (I have my share of blame in this, since for many years I believed what you believe). As far as "the plan". You are basically asking "what makes an effective opposition party", since the "plan" would be to rid the party of its current leadership and replace them with people who aren't just there for money and power. But you have to first get rid of the ones who hold all of the leverage within the Republican party, otherwise, any real reform would wither and die.

I have no intention of answering the question you are really asking ("what makes an effective opposition party"), since that would be a small book. But the biggest problems right now revolve around messaging. Ultimately, the reason that the Republican party is small is because it is hopeless at exposing the Democrats, hopeless at capitalizing on opportunities as they appear, hopeless at creating simple messages that ring true and appealing to the lower informed voters, hopeless at tailoring messages for different voting blocks, hopeless at turning Democrat attacks back onto them (ie - the "war on women" was an ideal opening to attack the Democrats based on how women actually fare when the Democrats are in charge -- a nasty, prolonged assault on that front would have been devastating to the Democrats -- but never going to happen with the current Republican leadership). All of that has to change.

It is an uphill battle (our current republican leadership cannot fight a downhill battle, let alone an uphill one), since most avenues of the media are unofficial components of the Democrat party. But it certainly isn't impossible. Reagan was one man (largely not enthusiastically supported even within his own party, especially early on), and he was able to do it. But today's Republicans simply whine that everybody is against them, and preemptively claim defeat.

The Republicans get given golden opportunity after golden opportunity, and, thanks to voters such as yourself, we have nothing to show for it.

[Kenny]

Thanks to voters like myself, we have Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Rand Paul and a number in the House who are fighting for us.

Thanks to voters like you, they will all be rendered impotent because the Republican Party as a whole didn’t measure up.

You know and I know there’s no time for an opposition party. You look at leaders like Sarah Palin who is fighting day in day out to win for conservatives and they don’t advocate giving the Democrats a majority while we clean house. So ride your soapbox and give ‘em hell but we both know where that crusade is going and it won’t have a good ending.

[cva66snipe]

Well some My Party Tis Of Thee crowd forget that it was the current Speaker of the House who derailed and helped engineer a Coup removing the Conservatives from party leadership. In 1994 it was Contract With America. In 1996 it became "Bob Dole Say's" LIBERAL Big Tent Freak Show Convention with spouse of one of the the other Congresscritters that was behind the Liberal GOP takeover having a keynote speaker position. By 1997 Big Government GOP Elitist were running both houses.

The end result of that was the loss of both houses and worse than that Bill Clinton getting his agenda passed with a GOP majority and then the largest expansion of federal powers since the Civil War under Bush which lead to the GOP loosing both houses.

YOU CAN NOT WIN BEING NICE WITH DEMS!!! YOU CAN NOT WIN PUTTING DEM ENABLERS IN OFFICE. That is how Ted Kennedy was running the senate for decades even under the GOP majority. Since 1997 The GOP has had nothing but Blithering Enabling Idiots leading the GOP in both houses.

At least a dozen really more like 15 GOP senators need to go. They don't deserve their position and that includes my states senators Lamoderate Alexander and Bob See Saw Corker. Surrender to them all you wish folks. My vote will never go to the RINO and yes as I did when Corker was up last time I'll vote for the DEM if they are Conservative. Before anyone blast me for voting for a DEM over Corker they best do their homework on who was running and on what platforms.

I've Had Enough!

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[Impy]

If he loses, I’ll vote for Grimes.

There is no "if". Bevin is far too weak a challenger to beat McConnell, so it looks like you're voting for Grimes. You are a fool for doing so.

Refusing to back McConnell is one thing, but endorsing the democrats? Personally, I'd ban anyone who openly supported the democrats like that. Lucky for you, this ain't my website.

[jjsheridan5]

Thanks to voters like myself, we have Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Rand Paul and a number in the House who are fighting for us.

You are taking credit for that??? The delusion involved in that statement is truly mind-boggling. They won in the face of fierce opposition from the very people you are insisting that we vote for!!! Honestly, this might be the silliest argument I have ever heard: vote for people like McConnell because it gives us people like Cruz. You cannot possibly mean this.

Thanks to voters like you, they will all be rendered impotent because the Republican Party as a whole didn’t measure up.

It is not a function of "not measuring up". It is a function of it "not being what it claims to be". There is a very big distinction between the two. It is not coincidental that the Republican party is now pushing amnesty. It is to neuter the votes of the very people pushing candidates like Cruz and Lee. The Democrats are not the enemy of people like McConnell: it is the Cruz's and Lee's of the world (and the voters who support them). It is they who the Republican leadership turns their guns on, they never do so to the Democrats with same passion and commitment.

You know and I know there’s no time for an opposition party. You look at leaders like Sarah Palin who is fighting day in day out to win for conservatives and they don’t advocate giving the Democrats a majority while we clean house.

They choose to remain Republicans for the same reason I do: a party infrastructure is invaluable, and very expensive and time-consuming to create. As politicians, they have little choice, since their voting base is made up of people who historically vote Republican. They aren't going to advocate "giving the Democrats a majority", if for no other reason than it would be politically pointless to do so, and potentially quite damaging. But do you really claim to know what they think when they are not on the record? (Given your prior assertion that voting for McConnell gives us people like Cruz, I shudder at the thought of what your answer might be on that question.)

[Kenny]

Honestly, this might be the silliest argument I have ever heard: vote for people like McConnell because it gives us people like Cruz.

Congrats, you're as good at twisting words as Obama.

People like Cruz get elected because of dedicated conservatives who fight to beat RINOs and I'm with them 100%.

Let me try to simplify this, if in 2014 it's a choice between a RINO and a Democrat, yes I'll vote for the RINO. We need to get a majority so Cruz, Lee, et al can be effective, end of story.