Fresh off their landslide victory in November, a GOP quickly becoming more infamous for infighting than for policy has not wasted time. The cause du jour? Replacing Ohio Rep. John Boehner as House Speaker.
Full disclosure: I’m not a fan of Boehner’s. In the past six years, multiple times he has been handed leverage with which to apply pressure to Democrats. He has held the line until the eleventh hour – to be fair, sometimes only the ninth or tenth hour – and then tearfully conceded pretty much everything the opposition wanted in the first place. He is the consummate politician, fighting just hard enough to make sure we think he “really means it this time” before he rolls over.
So a small part of me cheers when stand-up guys like Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert throw their hats in the ring to fight for change. I like seeing a list of Conservatives, both freshmen and veterans, who are ready to issue a challenge to the status quo.
Knowing that this kind of dissention amongst our own ranks cannot accidentally saddle us with another two years of Speaker Nancy Pelosi helps as well. (A vote that leaves Boehner without a majority simply triggers a second vote, and a third, and so on. If you’re wondering whether that actually works, after a series of backroom deals, a third such vote won Abraham Lincoln the 1860 Presidential nomination.)
But the reality is this: with the right number of dissenters, we probably can replace John Boehner as Speaker. We may even be able to replace him with someone who is far more conservative.
And if we do, what then? We can’t replace Boehner as a member of Congress. We can’t replace the moderate Republicans who support him. What happens when they withdraw support for conservative policies in retaliation?
As much as I like Representative Gohmert, and as much as I dislike the prospect of another two years with Speaker Boehner, the pragmatist in me doesn’t see it accomplishing much.
