Boehner Between Rock and Hard Stuff

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by: Colorado Pols

We’ve been saying for months that the Tea Party is killing Republicans, and there’s no better current example of that problem than the one that faces Speaker of the House John Boehner. From CNN:

Norm Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, said Boehner “has a big headache inside his own caucus.”

“You’ve got senior members like Jim Jordan of Ohio, the head of the Republican Study Committee … which is the kind of conservative caucus about 40 years ago. It was a fringe group, a small fraction of the Republican Party. Now, it’s 80%,” he said.

Jordan came out against Boehner’s plan, saying that although he thanks him for fighting for GOP principles, “I cannot support the plan.”

Jordan and 38 other House Republicans have signed a pledge that he will not vote to raise the debt ceiling if aspects of the cut, cap and balance bill that passed the House last week aren’t included in the plan. Boehner admitted that his plan is “built on the principles” of that plan but doesn’t go as far as that bill would.

Chris Chocola, president of the conservative group Club for Growth, said Tuesday that his group cannot back Boehner’s plan.

“The Boehner plan does not achieve the goals of cut, cap and balance and doesn’t fix our fiscal mess,” he said. “We are urging club members to call their members of Congress and ask them to oppose it.”

The Cut, Cap and Balance Coalition, which includes more than 100 groups, argued that it understands the pressure on Boehner and congressional leaders to get a deal done before August 2 but said they should not exclude the cut, cap and balance bill. [Pols emphasis]

That last sentence is rich — basically the Cut, Cap and Balance Coalition is saying to Boehner, “We know you have a difficult decision to make, and we respect that…but you’d better do what we want.” Thanks for the support, everyone!

14 thoughts on “Boehner Between Rock and Hard Stuff”

ellbee says:

July 27, 2011 at 2:09 am

Those kooky CCBers!

All 2/3 of the American public they represent.

Silly guys!

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1. Mr. Toodles says:
  
  July 27, 2011 at 2:29 am
  
  Obama has acted responsibly 52%
  
  Republicans haven’t acted responsibly 63%
  
  Congress would raise the debt ceiling while cutting between two trillion and
  
  four trillion dollars in government spending over the next ten years and raising taxes on some
  
  businesses and higher-income Americans.
  
  Favor 64%
  
  Increasing the taxes paid by oil and gas companies by ending federal subsidies for those businesses
  
  favor 73%
  
  Increasing the taxes paid by businesses that own private jets
  
  Favor 76%
  
  Increasing the taxes paid by people who make more than 250 thousand dollars a year
  
  Favor 73%
  
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2. nancycronk says:
  
  July 27, 2011 at 7:05 am
  
  as I think these people are for wanting the country to default, you’ve got to admit they are better at messaging than the Dems are. Their plan to steal from the poor and give to the rich is called “Cut, Cap and Balance”. You know some big bucks were spent on focus groups to find just the right words.
  
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ColoMod says:

July 27, 2011 at 2:48 am

This is just getting ridiculous. House ‘pubs are out of control. How many more days are we going to dick around and act like completely unreasonable human beings?!

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Libertad says:

July 27, 2011 at 5:01 am

Why wont they take them to a floor vote to show those republicans and the American people?

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1. MetaData says:
  
  July 27, 2011 at 5:05 am
  
  Spending bills must originate in the House.
  
  Maybe you should read a book about how the US political system works.
  
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  1. abraham says:
    
    July 27, 2011 at 5:42 am
    
    It has been several years since anyone in Congress actually took the Constitution seriously. This observation is an indictment of both parties.
    
    The increasing isolation of the Congress from the American people – regardless of political affiliation – is what is causing the righteous indignation of the leadership and the President. This is becoming like West Side Story with a rumble between the two gangs – except none of these people can sing or dance.
    
    Sadly, Washington, DC has decided that the Constitution is just a general suggestion and not really a blueprint for governance.
    
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    1. The realist says:
      
      July 27, 2011 at 4:29 pm
      
      “This is becoming like West Side Story with a rumble between the two gangs – except none of these people can sing or dance.”
      
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nancycronk says:

July 27, 2011 at 7:01 am

1. I thought “Club for Growth” was a hair club for men?

2. Anyone who bitches about this situation but does not call their members of Congress regularly should stop bitching and blame themselves. If all of yours are Democrats and you already know where they stand, please call Cong. Mike Coffman. I had no trouble getting through yesterday or today. Here’s his local number: 720-283-9772.

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1. Gray in Mountains says:
  
  July 27, 2011 at 7:52 pm
  
  was a coop for Viagra users
  
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Ray Springfield says:

July 27, 2011 at 12:20 pm

Do you think the Tea Party would care? ,No, they might consider closing their short positions.Then again, they might hold out for lower.

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Ray Springfield says:

July 27, 2011 at 3:06 pm

Bloomberg analysts state that the markets won’t start to crash until mid August. seniors and disabled vets probbly will not get their checks on the 3rd, but the US will not actually begin to default until the 15th. A single day drop of 10% of the DOW would then be expected with more to follow.

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1. jadodd says:
  
  July 27, 2011 at 4:09 pm
  
  Bloomberg’s analysis should be considered with a great deal of skepticism for two reasons:
  
  1. Bloomberg is peddling this mime that August 2 is not the default date because the federal government is taking in more revenues and spending less than the Treasury projected.
  
  2. Remember what happened to the market back in 2008 when the House initially failed to pass the bailout?
  
  No one – including Wall Street – really believed that Congress would fail to raise the debt ceiling. Therefore, no one is really prepared if they don’t. Bloomberg is just trying to buy time for Wall Street to stake their short positions.
  
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jadodd says:

July 27, 2011 at 4:30 pm

We need to remember that for the Republican right wing – conservatively 80% of the party – this is a win-win situation. Remember their ultimate goal:

“I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” – Grover Norquist

A government default will do just that. As as for the pain:

“Our goal is to inflict pain. It is not good enough to win; it has to be a painful and devastating defeat. We’re sending a message here. It is like when the king would take his opponent’s head and spike it on a pole for everyone to see.” Grover Norquist from the National Review, quoted in The Republican Noise Machine by David Brock, Crown Publishers 2004, pg. 50.

So, when liberals wring their hands and complain about all the pain this will cause America, the right wing simply smiles.

We need to be planning how to pick up the pieces once the proverbial substance hits the electrical appliance. I assure you that the ruling class has one.

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