Where Is Former House Speaker John Boehner?

(And cue the bile.)

This is where I have trouble with those who have served in congress and then use those connections to take jobs that generate large incomes.

I am the first to respect those who step up to serve as public servants.  I may not agree with their views but honor their attempts to give up privacy and free time to run for office.  On that point I will even grant Donald Trump that honor.

And while I know salaries for the jobs in the public sector are much less than what those individuals could gain in the private sector I am also aware the role of being a public servant is not to become rich.  It is to serve.

So it bothers me that when the powerful leave office too many of them reach for the ways to make money.  Too few of them follow the lead of Jimmy Carter and make a real difference to others in the world.

Today I learned that former House Speaker John A. Boehner is cashing in on K Street almost one year after resigning from Capitol Hill.  The Ohio Republican will join Squire Patton Boggs, a global law firm that traces its roots to one of Washington’s oldest and most prominent lobbying practices. The shop is also the professional home of several former Boehner congressional aides and to former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi and Democratic ex-Sen. John Breaux of Louisiana.  Though Boehner’s one-year lobbying ban expires on Oct. 31, the firm stressed that the one-time speaker will not meet the threshold to register as a lobbyist. Instead, he will serve as a strategic adviser and will focus on global business development in the United States and abroad.

And to think I had suggested that Boehner relax and read some good books in his retirement.

Heavy-Hitter GOP Member Says Ted Cruz Is “Lucifer In The Flesh”

One does have to respect those who speak from experience.

“Lucifer in the flesh”, former Speaker of the House John Boehner said of Ted Cruz in one of his most sane moments of clarity.

“I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.” 

We Need To Hope Speaker Paul Ryan Can Beat Back Trump

It is without question the Republican Party was deeply involved in both the creation and the fueling of the Tea Party movement.  There is also a direct link between that angry and crazed element which the party used over the past years to undermine President Obama to what is now taking place as Donald Trump works to gain the presidential nomination.    That is why the words from Democratic Senator Reid struck such a chord that resonates with folks from both sides of the political divide.

“It’s time for Republicans to stop the Frankenstein they created.”

But how will that be achieved?  And who can slay the party’s Frankenstein?

On Super Tuesday a small group sat around our home watching the returns, and listening to the various candidates give their speeches to the nation.   Between bites of a late dinner I pointed to the television screen and loudly said to those assembled “Trump just threatened Ryan!”

In what was just another Trump-style low moment in this campaign the GOP front runner took off after Speaker Paul Ryan.

Paul Ryan, I don’t know him well, but I’m sure I’m going to get along great with him.  And if I don’t, he’s going to have to pay a big price.

Making such a statement about a leader in Trump’s party, the house speaker, and the third in line to the presidency was simply stunning to witness.  For Trump to make the remark in the same tone that someone else might read off their list of things to accomplish on a Saturday afternoon before it gets dark outside was almost chilling to hear.

I said months ago no one could envy Ryan when he took over the job as speaker.  Given all the hell that John Boehner endured from the malcontents in the GOP caucus Ryan almost had to be pitied for the role that he was to undertake.  I have often mentioned and chastised the shouters, spitters, and haters that have emerged so stridently within the GOP since the Tea Party types have gained power.    The most nasty of those are the same ones who Ryan now has to fight back against as Trump builds his political momentum.

While we can lay the reasons for the Tea Party’s strength at the feet of the GOP we also need to hope the party can resolve the current crisis they face.  After all,  it is not only the GOP establishment who are deeply concerned about Trump’s rise, but also the rest of us who care about our country.  The world is also watching and have voiced their dismay.

Martin Wolf writing in the Financial Times of London summed up the mood of a good share of Europe’s business and economic movers and shakers by stating it would be a “global disaster” if Trump made it to the White House.  

I am confident that Ryan grasps the qualities that a president must have in order to sit and govern in the Oval Office.  No one can seriously claim that Trump has the qualities we want as our leader.  Therefore Ryan now needs to use the full power of his position to demonstrate his willingness to spend some political capital to make sure the nation does not potentially face harm from a Trump nomination.

When a presidential candidate takes a verbal blow at the speaker there must be a response that alerts the party and the nation as to who is in charge.  There can be no laughing it off , or pretending it away.  Ryan needs to step up and push back against Trump.

We can be partisans on a whole raft of issues but when it comes to stopping Donald Trump we all need to urge Ryan on and wish him success.  The nation can not afford to lose this fight with Trump.

We Should Applaud Fact Speaker John Boehner Can Cry In Public

Over the past several days, and again this morning in an interview on Face The Nation we watched as Speaker John Boehner teared up and needed to wipe his eyes.  Some laugh at this, make snide remarks, and think it somehow not manly.

Horse hockey to those sentiments.

In 2011 I wrote these words about Boehner and this tears and agree with them now as much as ever.

There are many reasons to chide John Boehner, Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, but his shedding of tears is not one of them.  While I may not understand the reason he tears up over this or that topic, it is not for me to judge.  I will stick to the issues he is wrong about and challenge him on the policy goals for the nation.

It was not until the last few years that I saw my now 90-year-old dad cry.  To show emotion was not part of his DNA,  as he was like many from his generation.  I think that was very unhealthy for many like him who never got in touch with their emotions.  My brother is much the same as my father.    “Buck it up” is much more my brother’s motto than any healthy inner reflection, connection, or expression of his emotions.

On the flip side was my mother who never needed to worry about an ulcer as she never allowed anything to hide her emotions.  She was honest with how she felt.  I am very much like her in that talking and expressing how  I feel is just as easy as devouring a chocolate bar.  I would have it no other way.  I only wish everyone in my family had the ability for self-reflection, inner perspective, and the better over-all health it allows for.   (Lord knows that statement is true!)

Which takes me back to John Boehner’s tears.

I have no problem with someone who is honest enough with his feelings, and comfortable enough in his own skin, to express them.

Fight Boehner on education funding and taxes.  (And countless other issues.)

But applaud him for being a real person….a man in touch with his feelings.

Time For House Teabaggers To Put Up, Or Shut Up

There is a broad sense of understanding in the nation that one of the reasons for the dysfunctional nature of Washington is the fact about three dozen crazed House members hell-bent on not allowing government to operate have done everything in their power to fulfill their mission.  Trying to extract concessions from their party in ways that are not even remotely possible and clearly not sensible has not stopped their attempts to be nothing more than homegrown political terrorists.

So it is now time after they were reasons one, two, and three for the resignation of Speaker John Boehner to either step up and place their ideas on a way forward for a vote of the whole body or to understand that clearly there is no reason for anyone to listen to what they sputter about anymore.

Today in The Wall Street Journal the top editorial could not have made that fact more clear.

This is the moment for the rebellion caucus to put up or stand down. The Members should organize behind a candidate of their own, put their tactics to a vote among their colleagues, and abide by the result. The worst outcome would be if they continue to use a threat to depose the next Speaker as a way to dictate strategy from the caboose.

The time to shut down the uneducated and moronic fringe members of the house has arrived.  The future of the GOP and the election of 2016 is at stake.

American voters are watching.

10 Days Ago I suggested Speaker Boehner “Tell The Conservative Jackasses To Go To Hell”

From September 14th.

There is no way I would want the job or stress that Boehner faces in the weeks and months to come.  There is no way I would not at once jettison the chamber that is more committed to driving the nation into the ditch than governing.   I would retire to a beachfront home and get a glass of wine and read in the sun and let the knuckle-draggers spin and slime away in the muck which they have created.

I have long been of the view Boehner could have been a great speaker as he wants to move the trains on time.  He could have worked out compromises with the White House had there not been a continuous narcissistic band of loud-mouths from the far-right threatening his every move.   Those deadweights on the party are more interested in the sound of their shouts and blather than the well being of the nation.

For that reason alone I hope Boehner comes to peace within himself and tells the conservative jackasses to go to hell and takes off for his time in the sun.  I would be happy to share my reading list with him.

Kindred Spirits: Speaker John Boehner And Speaker Thomas Reed

On Tuesday I started my latest book.  Little did I know that it would be a perfect fit for the political bombshell that landed this morning when House Speaker John Boehner made it known he would resign his position and leave congress at the end of October.

No one can blame Boehner for the decision he made.

In fact just about ten days ago I suggested that Boehner tell the conservative jackasses to go to hell.

There is no way I would want the job or stress that Boehner faces in the weeks and months to come.  There is no way I would not at once jettison the chamber that is more committed to driving the nation into the ditch than governing.   I would retire to a beachfront home and get a glass of wine and read in the sun and let the knuckle-draggers spin and slime away in the muck which they have created.

I have long been of the view Boehner could have been a great speaker as he wants to move the trains on time.  He could have worked out compromises with the White House had there not been a continuous narcissistic band of loud-mouths from the far-right threatening his every move.   Those deadweights on the party are more interested in the sound of their shouts and blather than the well being of the nation.

For that reason alone I hope Boehner comes to peace within himself and tells the conservative jackasses to go to hell and takes off for his time in the sun.  I would be happy to share my reading list with him.

It can be argued that Speaker Boehner left under high-minded reasoning if you discount the political turf battle that would have required him to get assistance from Democratic house members to counter the three-thumb crowd who wished to oust him.

High-mindedness is also front and center in James Grant’s highly readable and lively “Mr. Speaker”, the story of  House Speaker Thomas Reed from Maine who will resign rather than lend his support to the war fever of President Teddy Roosevelt.   It is becoming quite clear as I read this book that Reed is the most fascinating politician history rarely talks about.

So as I will read the newspapers which land on the front stoop with reports of Boehner leaving Washington, I will also be found in the front yard turning the book pages and stepping back in history to discover the life and times of another speaker who bid farewell and went back home.

Best Lead Paragraph In Monday Newspapers

No other line for an opening paragraph in today’s newspapers can rival this one.

September will not be the month House Speaker John Boehner gives up smoking.

There is no way I would want the job or stress that Boehner faces in the weeks and months to come.  There is no way I would not at once jettison the chamber that is more committed to driving the nation into the ditch than governing.   I would retire to a beachfront home and get a glass of wine and read in the sun and let the knuckle-draggers spin and slime away in the muck which they have created.

I have long been of the view Boehner could have been a great speaker as he wants to move the trains on time.  He could have worked out compromises with the White House had there not been a continuous narcissistic band of loud-mouths from the far-right threatening his every move.   Those deadweights on the party are more interested in the sound of their shouts and blather than the well being of the nation.

For that reason alone I hope Boehner comes to peace within himself and tells the conservative jackasses to go to hell and takes off for his time in the sun.  I would be happy to share my reading list with him.