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John Boehner Allies Fret Coup Attempt
Politico ^ | Saturday, February 28, 2015 | John Bresnahan; Anna Palmer and Lauren French

Posted on 02/28/2015 11:59:23 AM PST by kristinn

Close allies of Speaker John Boehner are worried that his conservative rivals could move to oust him as soon as next week.

Removing a sitting speaker is exceedingly difficult, and such an effort would almost certainly fall short. Yet growing speculation about the possibility of it – coming after Friday’s embarrassing defeat at the hands of conservatives and House Democrats on the homeland security battle — shows how vulnerable the speaker has become.

Five years into the job, he’s a leader consistently buffeted by forces beyond his control. The legislative calendar guarantees it won’t get any easier: in the coming weeks and months there will be battles over the debt ceiling, budget, taxes, and spending cuts. The question is how many more of these episodes Boehner can withstand.

Frustration with the Ohio Republican is mounting after dozens of hardliners voted Friday against his three-week funding package for the Department of Homeland Security. Hours of frantic leadership meeting ensued. After some backroom maneuvering with Democrats, Boehner was able to push through a one-week bill to keep DHS open.

President Barack Obama signed the bill into law just 10 minutes before a shutdown of the massive federal agency.

The stinging rebuke of Boehner on the House floor infuriated his supporters, who accused opponents of handing Democrats a huge PR victory.

Yet is also left even Boehner backers wondering how viable he remains. They admit these repeated confrontations, in which Boehner can’t muster 218 Republican votes for his proposals and has to turn to Democrats for help, leave him looking weak and ineffective — and thus vulnerable to a conservative challenge.

(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: boehner; dhsfundingbill; fireboehner
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To: Truth29

Yes, and there have been ‘rumors’ of a palace coup before too. They come to nothing, of course.

I happened to flick on the tube yesterday as the first three-week DHS bill was circling the drain, and there was my state’s brand-new congressman (who voted FOR the extension) sitting directly behind the lying, cheating, adulterous scumbag Kevin McCarthy, truly one of the worst human beings in Washington, and they were both laughing it up like this was all just one big charade party to them.

Which I suspect it is.


21 posted on 02/28/2015 12:18:40 PM PST by Fightin Whitey
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To: kristinn
Get rid of Boehner, now!

Boner: "You're so mean!"


22 posted on 02/28/2015 12:19:57 PM PST by Road Warrior ‘04 (Molon Labe! (Oathkeeper))
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To: kristinn

Send the golf club for a spine and two golf balls in a sack Boehner packing. See Boehner has no spine and no balls unless they were supplied by Obama. He is a worthless crybaby!


23 posted on 02/28/2015 12:22:33 PM PST by hondact200 (Candor dat viribos alas (sincerity gives wings to strength) and Nil desperandum (never despair))
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To: Fightin Whitey

I suspect you are correct. There is a quote something about when the ballot box cannot be used to effect change, revolution becomes inevitable. Boehner is building up a huge head of steam in a pressure cooker that could have unintended consequences. One could be a walkout of conservatives from the GOP to form a new party, or something else unexpected. The GOP cannot go on endlessly playing the same game and telling conservatives that they have no alternative but to vote for them. A breakup of some type is coming.


24 posted on 02/28/2015 12:27:03 PM PST by Truth29
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To: spiderfern
Just another effort by the news media to stir up he Republicans!

What the Hell are you talking about?

Boehner had this thing in the bag. The House passed a bill to fund DHS without funding Obama's amnesty; McConnell F'd it up, and now is trying to exert pressure on the House to pass something they have already passed.

Boehner should have simply told Reid and Pelosi to pound sand. For one brief nanosecond, he had balls, and is now back into cave mode.

Don't blame Politico for this - the Stupid Party strikes again.

25 posted on 02/28/2015 12:30:09 PM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
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To: kristinn

Getting rid of Boehner might give the even more cowardly Republicans in the senate some incentive to kick the Kentucky Turtle and his crew to the pavement. This might have been the last straw for Bonehead but how many times have we said that in the past only to have the Republicans in the house giving him a reprieve.


26 posted on 02/28/2015 12:30:32 PM PST by dowcaet
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To: kristinn
We know there are about 50 committed conservatives in the House.

If they can win over a few score more, a lot of things will change in the Peoples Chamber.

By those 50 standing strong, voting on principal, they drive Boner to the arms of Pelosi and the Communists.

Each time Boner goes to that well he becomes weaker and is perceived weaker.

He's become a laughing stock, left and right.

As has Mitch McConnell with the SCATHING article in American Spectator last night.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3262501/posts

27 posted on 02/28/2015 12:36:22 PM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: tumblindice

VERY goot!!!

I’d like to see the SOB and turkey neck gone but I’ve wished that for a long time.

Hope dies eternal.


28 posted on 02/28/2015 12:36:35 PM PST by Sequoyah101 (Adversity does not build character so much as expose it.)
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To: Mariner

Matt Salmon’s wife read a note from him to the Arizona Republican Women at a luncheon today. He has formed the Freedom Coalition in the House; has about 40 members and they will NOT vote for any bill that is unconstitutional.
I wish he would run against McCain.


29 posted on 02/28/2015 12:46:06 PM PST by DLfromthedesert (www.ouramericanrevival.com)
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To: Fightin Whitey

It’s a freebee for Pelosi. She lies and say’s he’ll bring out a clean vote. She’s just laying landmines. Either way, Boehner loses.


30 posted on 02/28/2015 12:56:25 PM PST by Usagi_yo
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To: kristinn

Call Frank Underwood and see if he has any dirt on Boehner.


31 posted on 02/28/2015 1:04:57 PM PST by joshua c (Please dont feed the liberals)
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To: kristinn

Bah. POLITICO drivel.

It’s an attempt to get Boehner to negotiate on appropriate terms with the conservatives who make up nearly half of his caucus.
There are now 50 or 60 organized members whose votes he has to earn with terms they’ll accept.
The conservatives are organized and are acutely aware of what happened to Cantor for ignoring his conservative constituency.

The media and big donors hate the idea of politicians representing their voters.


32 posted on 02/28/2015 1:12:43 PM PST by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat Party!)
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To: Fightin Whitey

You can rest assured they’re ALL lying.


33 posted on 02/28/2015 1:13:58 PM PST by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat Party!)
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To: DLfromthedesert

The name of Salmon’s group is the ‘House Freedom Caucus ‘.
It’s a great development!


34 posted on 02/28/2015 1:25:33 PM PST by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat Party!)
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To: mrsmith

Thank you. I stand corrected.


35 posted on 02/28/2015 1:39:05 PM PST by DLfromthedesert (www.ouramericanrevival.com)
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To: mrsmith
It’s an attempt to get Boehner to negotiate on appropriate terms with the conservatives who make up nearly half of his caucus.

I read it in just the opposite way. Unless I misunderstand what "appropriate terms" would include, I took this as laying the groundwork for Boehner to declare permanent war on the house conservatives and get the needed votes from democrats.

The last I heard, there was a bill that was passed at the House and waiting to go to reconciliation with the Senate. I don't see how Boehner ducks taking action on that without first changing the subject to just how disruptive and intolerable the conservatives are, and how the reasonable bipartisan statesmen will have come in and save the day, by whatever means necessary.

I think the Washington establishment can see the writing on the wall and they know they have to move fast to get certain outcomes before the next election. I'm guessing they have calculated that the time has come to ditch the conservative base.

The one hope I have is that this backfires, and there are enough Republicans, principled or not, who are worried enough about the next election to want to avoid being seen as working with the Democrats to support Obama.

But I am not holding my breath. I'm sure there are plenty of people in Washington who realize that by virtue of Friday's events, there is no doubt that "war were declared." Though I'm not sure how many of them are Republicans.
36 posted on 02/28/2015 2:17:38 PM PST by Omaha Note
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To: kristinn

“Five years into the job, he’s a leader consistently buffeted by forces beyond his control.”

Beyond his control? If he acted like a man and not a wimp, he’d take control. Poor man, everything is beyond his control.


37 posted on 02/28/2015 2:18:04 PM PST by leapfrog0202 ("the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of personal discovery" Sarah Palin)
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To: kristinn

Fold and bend-over Pubbies planning a coup?

LOL

Yeah, right. Like that would ever happen. They had a chance in Jauary 2011, January 2013, and 2015, and didn’t. They don’t have the spines to do it now.


38 posted on 02/28/2015 2:20:23 PM PST by TomGuy
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To: Omaha Note

I don’t see our views as ‘opposites’.
The next step IMO is war as you describe.
However this was the first time conservatives organized and made an effectual ‘power play’. I don’t think Boehner expected them to hold together and succeed. They never had before.
So, I ‘m looking for Boehner to deal with the new balance of power in a way other than he has previously -which was to tell the conservatives he’d give them ‘cover’ but none of their legislation. I expect him to negotiate with conservatives now. It’s the obvious and smart thing to do.
Of course he may turn to Pelosi. It would be a blatant error, an insult to his whole caucus, and a drag on the whole party in the next election. But he may.


39 posted on 02/28/2015 2:49:30 PM PST by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat Party!)
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To: mrsmith
That makes sense, but I'm not sure what cover he can offer that "we the base" will not see through. I think one of the main reasons that the power play succeeded to the extent that it did is that we have gotten wise to their tactics, and political cover is getting harder and harder to come by.

Unless Boehner has some kind of conversion experience over the weekend, my guess is that he plays along with McConnell and the establishment and rolls the dice on making a deal with Pelosi.
40 posted on 02/28/2015 3:44:51 PM PST by Omaha Note
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