Dems want to empower Boehner

thehill.com ^ | 3/22/15 | Mike Lillis

[cotton1706]

House Democrats fighting for leverage in the GOP Congress are hoping they can empower an unlikely ally: Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

Democrats are outnumbered by more than 50 members – and have almost no power to bring bills to the floor.

But they see Boehner as a willing compromiser on must-pass legislation like funding the government and raising the debt ceiling – once the Speaker can convince his troops that the partisan route endorsed by his conservative wing has been denied. By banding together in veto-sustaining majorities against conservative proposals demanded by Boehner’s right flank, Democrats hope to both sink those GOP measures and grease the skids for more moderate compromises.

“[The Republicans] have a majority party that's deeply divided,” Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the Democratic whip, said Thursday from his office in the Capitol.

“And … what we've learned is if we stick together – and we have been sticking together, we've been very unified – that it can empower Speaker Boehner at some point in time to say, 'Look, I tried every which way I can think of to accomplish the objectives that our caucus wants to do. But if I can't accomplish those, I will not allow the government to shut down, the debt limit to be not extended, or other things that are harmful to the country,’” Hoyer said.

Those dynamics were on full display in the recent fight over funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

House conservatives had insisted that the package include amendments blocking President Obama's executive actions on immigration, and the House passed five such provisions on largely party-line votes.

[Cen-Tejas]

I know this thread is dead but hopefully you will get this.

Remember! An Article 5 Convention is hugely different structurally than a “Constitutional Convention”.

A “Constitutional Convention” is the LAST thing conservatives want.

An Article 5 Convention is the last vestige of hope re a non violent way out of the mess we are in. The genius of the Article 5 structure is a credit to our founding fathers who must have seen 250 years into the future.

[pfony1]

Hi Cen-Tejas,

Let’s try to get 2/3rds of the States to call for a convention.

First New Amendment: Term Limits!

Thanks for the discussion.

[Cen-Tejas]

Well, republicans, after November, have 39 state houses. So, that’s a good start!

Thank you too! Great discussion.