Posted on 09/17/2009 6:20:41 PM PDT by counterpunch
Minority Leader John Boehner spent much of last week trying to persuade a stubborn Rep. Joe Wilson to apologize to the House telling associates he needed to get to Wilson before the weekend to elicit an apology.
But as the days dragged on, Boehner had to back off: Wilsons spine was stiffened by $1.5 million in campaign contributions, the Democrats anti-Wilson rhetoric had become increasingly extreme, and the South Carolina Republican was rapidly accumulating support from the conferences dominant right wing.
At some point, he realized he had no choice but to get behind Wilson because thats where his conference was going and he was just so angry that the Democrats had pushed this thing so far, said a GOP aide with knowledge of the situation.
Like a surfer riding the heavy waves before a hurricane, Boehner, a conservative with a penchant for compromise, has spent the past few months trying to harness the anger of the GOP base without allowing his conference to veer too far to the right.
But never were the strains of that balancing act more apparent than during the Wilson vote, as the Ohio Republican tried to juggle his commitment to bipartisan civility with his responsibility to a besieged member of his conference.
Its very hard these days to be a leader like John Boehner who tries to find the middle ground, said former Connecticut Republican Rep. Chris Shays, one of the last Northeastern moderates, who was beaten by Democrat Jim Himes last year.
Hes a conservative, but hes less conservative than his base, Shays added. And hes got to lead a party that has been so battered and beaten that its incredibly angry angry at whats going on in the country, angry at the way its being treated by the majority.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
They just don’t get it!
When they push to the middle, they lose. So they complain that their colleages aren’t pushing to the middle.
They are clueless.
_______________
Yep
It's hard to lead when you have to keep yelling "wait up so that I can lead". Boehner needs to step down as leader. We need a war time Consigulari.
But he has such nice hair.
Anybody in favor of our orange colored, white haired Gov Crist is nobody I will support. Talk about supporting a ZERO..... John McCain's best buddy. We need him like a hole in the head. They have to be nuts!!!
Well said. The DC elites have totally lost touch with the conservative base. The average Joe/Jane is waking up and moving hard right or at the least more to the right after seeing what obama and the rest of those nazis are capable of doing to this country.
What has amazed me for several yrs now is how the GOP/RNC misread the base.
I kind of think the whole Left/Right thing is better suited for Europe. American Right isn’t even really an ideology. It’s the basic American belief that we shouldn’t ever have to see our Government. Once it starts butting in to our lives, getting in our way, and making its presence felt, we don’t like it.
The Statists want to smear us for that, but remember, they are smearing all of America when they do. Nanzi Pelozi can call us whatever names she wants, cry on TV about fearing the angry mobs, but those angry mobs are the American people who have finally had enough that she fears. It’s about time the Government starts fearing the people, instead of the other way around.
I have despised Crist ever since he stood next to McCain and endorsed him in the Republican primary.
And because of that, I now despise anyone who endorses Crist in the Florida Republican Senate primary.
Cornyn is on my shitlist now, and I used to like the guy.
But he has shown poor judgement and abused his position as chairman of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee by endorsing candidates in Republican primaries.
It wasn’t too long Cornyn was throwing the RSCC weight and money behind Arlen Spectre.
The Democrat Party thanks Cornyn for all the GOP money he spent attacking Toomey on behalf of Spectre.
What an idiot.
Sources say they have been especially wary of the possible damage inflicted on the partys reputation by bomb-throwing Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who last fall called for an investigation into whether members of Congress are pro-America or anti-America.
I don’t think Boehner has said anything about Maxine Waters wanting to investigate private citizens and weather or not there racist.
John Boner has such an unlikeable aura about him, I don’t know how he got elected dogcatcher let alone to a leadership position in Congress. The guy reminds me of one of those cocky (yet incompetent) upper management types who tries to tell you how to do your job yet has never worked a day in his life.
Thanks LucyT for the post.
Pence is just another useless corporate schill.
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/p000587/votes/
He's a good man.
Ummmm...that's how it works all the time.
The grassroots is SUPPOSED to come up with stuff which become the popular issues.
Can you imagine the uproar if the leadership of the House starts going undercover with cameras a la 60 Minutes? Bad news.
I am intrigued by Pence as well. I just happened to see the press conference of Boehner last Friday backing Wilson completely and telling how he had apologized to the WH. Then I saw it was Politico and said “figures.”
I get Pence’s emails from his position as Chair of the Republican Conference and am impressed. He is part of leadership and sends out some really good press releases that never see the light of day except in email.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.