John Boehner is a good man in a hard place. He has served in
public office as a lifelong conservative, not a RINO. His position
on the Obama tax increases has been better than almost any other
Republican who has been speaking out lately, given the
Obama/Democrat election victories — close loopholes and deductions
for $800 billion in new revenue over a decade, but no increases in
rates.
But face it. Boehner is no match for Obama on the national
stage. He cannot press the economic arguments articulately. He does
not have a compelling personality. Obama is running circles around
Boehner with outrageous falsehoods, and Boehner cannot raise a peep
to challenge him. Boehner has managed to allow Obama to turn the
Bush middle class tax cuts, passed by a Republican majority
Congress over 10 years ago, into the Obama middle class tax cuts,
supposedly opposed by the House majority Republicans.
Reagan-era Democrat Speaker Tip O’Neill used to say Reagan’s
budgets were dead on arrival. He used to counter Reagan proposals
by saying they just could not get through the House. After the
Reagan landslide reelection of 1984, O’Neill responded that the
people had elected a Democrat House majority too, and they had as
much right to pursue their policies in the House as Reagan had to
pursue his policies as President. And O’Neill had a personality
that was easily dismissive of questioners.
But from Boehner, nothing like any of that.
Of course, Boehner has a special problem that would be faced by
any other Republican Speaker — a national news media that
voluntarily behaves in serving the ruling Democrat regime like the
old Soviet media was forced to under compulsion. The New York
Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, ABC,
CBS, NBC, these are shamefully dishonest institutions. They are not
remotely practicing journalism. They are political activists
posing as journalists.
And this is no longer a contention over which reasonable people
can differ.
This so rightly called “lamestream” media fawningly covers all
the dishonest, Calculated Deception that Obama proclaims over and
over. But it will not cover what Boehner has to say in
response.
Still Newt Gingrich had a way of dominating the narrative, and
getting his message through. Though even conservatives have failed
to notice that while Clinton may have used the presidential bully
pulpit to win the PR war over the government shutdowns of the
1990s, it was Gingrich who won the substance. Federal discretionary
spending actually declined in nominal dollar terms for a year,
which never happens in Washington, and total federal spending
declined by one seventh as a percentage of GDP by 2000, a dramatic
slash in Big Government on top of the Reagan cut (total
federal spending under Reagan dropped by one tenth as a percentage
of GDP despite the defense buildup that won the Cold War without
firing a shot). Gingrich also got the Democrat President to go
along with the biggest capital gains tax cut in American history,
almost a 30% rate cut, which led to the biggest run of federal
surpluses in history. Gingrich’s House majority was also re-elected
for a dozen years, which had not happened since Babe Ruth was
playing baseball.
But the biggest reason Boehner must go as Speaker is found in
the Constitution. As Jeff Lord
reminded us a month ago, the Speaker of the House does not have
to be an elected member of the House. Anyone can serve as
Speaker!!!
Think about the possibilities and the opportunities that
creates. Republicans can pick the most articulate, knowledgeable,
lucid leader possible to fire volleys back at Obama and the
Democrats.
That is what is needed now most of all. An articulate Republican
who can take on Obama and his dishonest, false narratives. About
the rich, the budget, spending, taxes and debt. About energy and
the environment. About the Obama record, and the longest trail of
broken promises in world history.
Steve Forbes could be named Speaker of the House. Or Larry
Kudlow. Or Steve Moore. Or Paul Gigot. Or Grover Norquist. Or Rush
Limbaugh. Or Sean Hannity. Or Mark Levin. Someone who can talk,
explain, tutor, and at last who knows what he is talking about. How
about R. Emmett Tyrrell? Hell, they could even bring Gingrich
back.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Majority Whip Kevin
McCarthy are perfectly capable of managing the day to day affairs
of the House and getting legislation through. What the Republicans
need as Speaker of the House is something they don’t have now —
someone who can speak.
But how is it even possible for this to happen? Hasn’t Boehner
already been re-elected as Speaker?
Shortly after the election, the newly elected House Republican
Conference met and chose Boehner to serve as Speaker again. But
that is not legally official until the new House votes on it
sometime after the new House convenes on January 3.
Moreover, all it would take on that vote is for just 16 House
Republicans to abstain from voting for Boehner. The result would be
a tie between Boehner and Pelosi. Gridlock. Let the House
Republican Conference caucus and pick our new Moses.
New blood is needed as Senate Republican Minority Leader as
well. Mitch McConnell is also a good man with a conservative
record. He is supposed to be a wicked good parliamentarian. I
haven’t seen anything come of that.
The problem is he has the personality and appearance of an
undertaker. Alfred Hitchcock would be more compelling. While the
Senate Minority Leader has to be one of the 45 remaining Senate
Republicans, we have much better options there. How about Marco
Rubio? How about Rand Paul? Senate Republicans can make history by
choosing highly articulate freshman Ted Cruz. These gentlemen can
talk, they have rock star personalities and demeanor. They
are all in the ring to win the fight.
Thus newly led into battle, our new leaders can inform President
Obama that his idea of granting him authority to raise the debt
limit as he pleases is dead on arrival, and not to be discussed
anymore. They can emphasize that last point to the Marxist
infiltrator Washington press corps too, through the haze of the
bong smoke any time those hippies in suits gather.
The House can then pass a bill making all of the Bush tax cuts
permanent, and send everyone home subject to recall when the Senate
acts. The new leaders then go on national tour to explain to a very
retrogressive nation today that the next step according to the law
books, as can be read in the civics books for those who can still
read, is for the Democrat Senate to act on the House passed bill,
and then for the differences to be ironed out in Conference.
President Obama, we will call you when we are ready for
you, to sign the bill that the Congress of the United States has
passed.
