Posted on 12/11/2014 4:56:48 PM PST by xzins
The only ethical response to betrayal by one's own leader is to find a new leader.
There have been famous betrayals, but for America one stands out. Benedict Arnold was a general in the American Revolution. Thousands of officers and enlisted followed him, obeyed him, attended to his every word. That was prior to September 21, 1780 and his plot with the British to turn over the critically strategic ground of West Point to the British in exchange for money and position. After his betrayal of his country, it would have been a strange thing indeed to have found his troops arguing that they still owed Arnold that same loyalty as they had before. After all, his own actions had violated the trust they had placed in him.
During the Speakership of Dennis Hastert (Republican, Illinois) Hastert verbalized the idea that a speaker who relied on the minority party to pass a bill was violating the trust of his fellow majority members. Hastert said that it was not his job to push legislation that had been rejected by most of those who had elected him to the office of Speaker of the House. The unofficial rule is that a majority of the majority party must support a bill before it is brought to a vote. Otherwise, a Speaker is using cronies to permit the minority party to rule the House of Representatives.
During his time as Speaker, John Boehner has violated the Hastert Rule six times, and even though Boehner himself once rejected the idea of passing bills with minority party votes, he has used this method of passing spending bills that would have been rejected by his own supporters.
Boehner's most famous betrayal was last February 2014 when he had support from only a mere TWENTY-EIGHT Republican representatives but still put a so-called 'clean debt ceiling' bill up for vote. That bill passed by a vote of 221-201, overwhelmingly democratic. Boehner had obviously betrayed the trust of his supporters while heeding the voices of 28 cronies against the vast majority of his own people.
Much was made this past election about those who were shunned in their House races for election when they suggested that they might not support Boehner for Speaker in the new Congress that takes power in January 2015. Marilinda Garcia had funds withheld by the Republican Campaign Committee when she hinted that she would not support Boehner for Speaker. http://www.redstate.com/2014/10/06/nrcc-withholds-funds-after-marilinda-garcia-nh-02-says-she-may-not-vote-for-boehner/
At best, this is a new member of the Republican House being told that loyalty is expected of its members. At worst, it is campaign extortion. In either case, however, there is the message being sent from the Speaker that support should be forthcoming from the membership toward the leadership.
But support is a two way street.
Arnold expected support from his troops. He was their general. He had been victorious in battle, had suffered hardship alongside them, and had even shared the danger of the heat of battle. In many ways he had earned their respect and their support.
But his betrayal canceled all that. He went over to the other side. He put his own troops at grave risk. He is justly condemned by history. His name has become a byword for traitor.
A leader who turns to his enemy to win a victory for the enemy over his own troops and their interests is rightly called a "Benedict Arnold."
Speaker Boehner has willingly betrayed his own troops in the past. If he does so in this matter of a funding bill that permits our lawless President to pay for illegal immigrants to receive status and benefits, then Boehner has betrayed not just his own caucus, but he has betrayed the huge majority of voters who chose republicans this past November to stop amnesty, to stop ObamaCare, to stop out-of-control spending, and to stop a chaotic foreign policy.
Boehner will steal one entire year of power from the Congress that has not yet taken office, for their power of funding will be neutered until September of 2015. He will betray the support his own people have shown him by siding with the enemy.
He will also violate the terms of his understanding with those who were to support him for Speaker. They give loyalty in return for loyalty. They give support in return for support. They will have been betrayed.
There will be zero reason to continue him as Speaker of the House. The only ethical response to betrayal by one's own leader is to find a new leader.
I’ve said many times, Boner has been totally consistent. The problem is with those who think he’s something he is not and help keep him in power.
Agreed. Since John Boehner has proven himself to be a traitor to the Republican party by repudiating the Hastert Rule on more than one occasion, he must be removed from his Speakership.
But what if the anti-Boehner Republicans in the House are not willing to stand together to try to depose him and replace him with one of their own? Then the entire Republican House membership will be exposed as a corrupt group of snake-oil salesmen who deceived their voters into electing them on false pretenses.
But the fact that not a single House Republican has made the slightest effort to challenge John Boehner for the Speakership makes it appear that the House Republicans are, in fact, a group of frauds and traitors to their own constituents.
I AGREE with you so much.
Last February's betrayal should have had Boehner recalled. I assume the upcoming election could have been a reason the Republicans did not want a major intra-party war at that time.
But, they have no excuse if he takes this to the floor without a majority of Republicans supporting it. And to lock the incoming Congress into a bad deal that they can handle so differently once they have control of the Senate is to APPEAR to be sleeping with the enemy.
There is obvious justification for replacing Boehner, and there's a new Congress. Boehner's betrayal SHOULD open the door if some brave soul will step through it.
Needs its own Religion thread.
“The State Department announcement was careful to explain that the U.S. will take in only those Syrians who are “persecuted by their government.” Christians in Syria are being killed by ISIS and other Muslim rebels, not by “their government,” but the Sunni Muslims are being killed by the Shiite-led government.
It also would not take 18 to 24 months to “vet” Christian refugees for security purposes.
“There is no doubt the majority of Syrians to be admitted to the U.S. will be Muslims because it would be unlikely there would be a ‘security risk’ with the Christians,” according to Corcoran.”
My mother’s best friends family came from Syria. They are Christian. I wonder if she could do anything for them.
I nominate Col. Allen West.
Not only did he betray us, he betrayed God by supporting a gay candidate. I guess he views us as “stupid”.
He called himself in 1984 a “conservative” and a “John Sherman Cooper Republican”. That was an obvious dis-connect unnoticed by the uninformed of KY.
Send Benedict Boehner to the back bench in disgrace!!
Well stated
You need to write editorials for a living. This one was as good as they get.
when Boehner VIOLATES his party ...its useful to theorize that OBAMA has something on him or his USELESS family...he acts like a coward...he is a coward...
Col West would be a fine pick.
Thank you FRiend.
Keep praying for grandson; two tough to remove spots remained on the scans about a month ago. Cancer can grow again from even the tiniest spot. We’re praying this last round killed those spots. We’ll know results in early January.
The Firm has been stealing your time, hasn’t it?
They are now and always been free to vote in a new leader. Boehner may fall on his own sword by being the first, although it should be Obama and Hillary, to be charged with treason.
LOL, was expecting to get jumped by somebody saying “he’s not a member of the House”. So far, NOT.
Republican representatives haven’t even read this bill: it contains abortion, contraception, money for illegals, and those are just the things we’ve heard. There’s 1600+ pages of this stuff.
It is the equivalent of ethical criminality to vote for a bill that has been shoved down their throats using the Pelosi method of passing bills.
I’d get rid of anyone who votes for this. As for Boehner who proposed it, he SHOULD be gone. But the GOP-E has locked up the rules and they all favor the establishment.
However, betrayal is betrayal. Past betrayal should be sufficient to replace him, but an in-your-face betrayal like this, that also tells the voters who recently elected them to stick it where the sun don’t shine is recent, irrefutable reason to announce a change in heart about supporting Boehner.
They have all the PR cover they need if they’ll just act and get rid of this guy.
He voted “Yes” based on what I see. His transformation to a lying ass crook seems to have been speedily fulfilled. I’m in for getting him out.
Most the candidates for speaker support amnesty like Labrador, Mulvaney, Hensarling, Pete Sessions and others.
Boehner is the boring indecisive RINO amnesty supporter.
The last thing you want is giving an open borders congressmen(who claims to be a tea party member) more power to co opt enough Tea Party members into supporting congressional amnesty.
Unhappily, a large majority of House members secretly agree with Boehner. They vote more conservative than they are, and pass off THEIR cowardice as his.
But what to do? I refused to vote for the House race this time because I loathed both candidates - Gabby Gifford’s Mini Me & McSally. McSally will vote straight GOP-E unless she is allowed off the reservation by the GOP-E for votes where it won’t matter regardless.
So what does one do?
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