John Boehner chooses job security

WASHINGTON — By week’s end, the speaker of the House was sorely in need of a change of subject.

His top lieutenant had been ousted by an unknown and underfunded college professor who enjoys Ayn Rand and karaoke, his Republican colleagues were engaged in a fractious succession race, and any hope of legislative achievement for the rest of the year had gone from slim to nil.

So John Boehner, facing the cameras for his weekly news conference Thursday, went to his usual fallback. He criticized President Obama — on job creation, veterans’ health care, the Bergdahl prisoner exchange, Syria, Libya, Egypt and, particularly, Iraq. Obama is “taking a nap,” the speaker said, while “we’ve seen big cities in Iraq overrun with terrorists.” He repeatedly demanded that the president (who at that moment was awake and in the Oval Office with the Australian prime minister) “get engaged” in Iraq.

Ah, but how? “Do you think the U.S. should be launching airstrikes?” inquired Nancy Cordes of CBS News. “And if not, what should the U.S. do?” “I don’t know enough of the details about the airstrikes to comment,” the speaker answered. All he could propose was that we should “provide the equipment and the technical assistance that the Iraqis have been asking for.”

Actually, the administration has been providing equipment and assistance, but what the Iraqis want are airstrikes — and the speaker wasn’t about to commit to that. This was classic Boehner: He opposed Obama’s policy — whatever policy — but offered no alternative.

Play-it-safe leadership has kept Boehner in power — stronger than ever, arguably — even as Majority Leader Eric Cantor, the more conservative of the two, fell to a right-wing primary challenger. Cantor had tried to nudge the party to be more inclusive, but even his modest gestures on immigration appear to have cost him his job.

Boehner, by contrast, chooses job security at the cost of leadership. The Ohioan continues to lead House Republicans, but only in the way a rodeo competitor leads the bull he’s riding. It’s the safe path for him: He keeps his job by doing nothing that might rile rank-and-file conservatives.

Cantor’s defeat has widely been interpreted as another conservative rebuke of Washington, and nothing says Washington like Boehner, a 23-year denizen of the capital who wore a necktie Thursday featuring a repeating pattern of Capitol domes. But he avoided anything that might offend tea party activists by answering questions with banality.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram asked about the tea party’s role in Cantor’s defeat. Boehner answered with a non sequitur about how “the American people are being squeezed by Obama’s policies.” When Pergram pressed for a germane reply, Boehner held out his hands and wiggled his fingers, as if he were being asked to touch something messy. “I’m not going to analyze that race,” he said.

CNN’s Dana Bash asked whether Boehner favored Kevin McCarthy of California as the next majority leader. “I can work with whoever gets elected,” he replied.

NBC News’ Luke Russert inquired about whether immigration reform is dead because of Cantor’s defeat. Boehner answered with another irrelevancy about how “the president continues to ignore laws.” ABC News’ Jeff Zeleny pursued the point with three follow-ups, but he got only pursed lips and demurrals from Boehner — “I’m not going to analyze. … We don’t know that that is the issue” — before the speaker called on another questioner.

Boehner has defied conservatives before, on the government shutdown, hurricane relief and the budget deal — but only after letting his tea party backbenchers try and fail at their favored approach. Though he lashed out late last year against conservative groups that lobbied against a budget deal, he has since piped down.

Thanks in part to gerrymandering, the vast majority of Republican members of Congress are in safe seats and have no incentive to compromise, because compromise might invite a primary challenge. Cantor was undone in part by conservative voters who had been added to his district by a Republican redistricting effort.

In this environment, the only hope for agreement is that leaders, for the good of party or country, would coerce rank-and-file conservatives to cooperate. But with Cantor’s defeat, Boehner has lost any ability to do that. And Cantor’s likely successor as majority leader, McCarthy, is a vanilla figure who will be at least as cautious as Boehner.

This is why nothing should be expected from House Republicans, on immigration or anything else. For Boehner’s job security, it is the safe play; for the country, it is the most risky.

Dana Milbank is a Washington Post columnist.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Thursday, March 28

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Initiative promoter Tim Eyman takes a selfie photo before the start of a session of Thurston County Superior Court, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Olympia, Wash. Eyman, who ran initiative campaigns across Washington for decades, will no longer be allowed to have any financial control over political committees, under a ruling from Superior Court Judge James Dixon Wednesday that blasted Eyman for using donor's contributions to line his own pocket. Eyman was also told to pay more than $2.5 million in penalties. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Editorial: Initiative fee increase protects process, taxpayers

Bumped up to $156 from $5, the increase may discourage attempts to game the initiative process.

Protecting forests and prevent another landslide like Oso

Thank you for the powerful and heartbreaking article about the Oso landslide… Continue reading

Boeing’s downfall started when engineers demoted

Boeing used to be run by engineers who made money to build… Continue reading

Learn swimming safety to protect kids at beach, pool

Don’t forget to dive into water safety before hitting the pool or… Continue reading

Comment: Why shootings have decreased but gun deaths haven’t

High-capacity magazines and ‘Glock switches’ that allow automatic fire have increased lethality.

Washington state senators and representatives along with Governor Inslee and FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez break ground at the Swift Orange Line on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Community Transit making most of Link’s arrival

The Lynnwood light rail station will allow the transit agency to improve routes and frequency of buses.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, March 27

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

An image of Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin is reflected in a storefront window during the State of the City Address on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at thee Everett Mall in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: State of city address makes case for Everett’s future

Mayor Franklin outlines challenges and responses as the city approaches significant decisions.

FILE - The massive mudslide that killed 43 people in the community of Oso, Wash., is viewed from the air on March 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Editorial: Mapping landslide risks honors those lost in Oso

Efforts continue in the state to map areas prone to landslides and prevent losses of life and property.

Burke: ‘Why not write about Biden, for once?’ Don’t mind if I do.

They asked; I’ll oblige. Let’s consider what the president has accomplished since the 2020 election.

Comment: Catherine missed chance to dispel shame of cancer

She wasn’t obligated to do so, but she might have used her diagnosis to educate a sympathetic public.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.