By Irene F. Starkehaus -
Sorry. I'm sure Representative Daniel Webster gets tired of that literary reference. I can't help myself. It's too symmetrical to pass up.
For the record, I am not suggesting through my allusion that John Boehner is the devil. He doesn't strike me as someone who demonstrates that much enterprise. No offense intended, but Boehner seems more like middle management, Screwtape material. You know, a wizened, old curmudgeon content to live out his existence taking orders from the higher-ups, helping a novice or two in charge of securing damnations and receiving a nice pension for not making waves when the real devils are at work.
Not making waves, this is where Boehner really excels. I think that the one word that embodies the spirit of John Boehner's tenure as Speaker is "compromise." Wouldn't you agree? Always so willing to reach across that aisle to compromise with the people who are sadistically destroying the fundamental principle that our rights are endowed by our Creator and not secured by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Considering of all the notable compromises that litter our history books with mediocrity, it's possible that John Boehner's willingness to compromise in selling out the American people during the passage of Obamacare will rank right up there at the top.
History in the making – that's what the media said about the challenge to John Boehner's supreme authority, but I'm still trying to puzzle out what was so extraordinary about it all. Rep. Daniel Webster of Florida challenged Boehner for the Speakership. Boehner rallied his supporters and defeated Webster. Boehner rained down a blaze of retribution upon Webster by removing him from various committees and now combs through the list of Republican people labeled betrayers as he begins the Great Purge.
In terms of RINO politics, that's business as usual. According to Politico:
"Boehner's allies have thirsted for this kind of action from the speaker, who say he's let people walk all over him for too long and is too nice to people who are eager to stab him in the back."
Stabbed in the back? Really? Gosh, any idea how that feels? I'll bet the voters who keep putting the GOP in positions of authority to stop the rampant power grabs by the Left can sympathize with such disloyalty. Would that Boehner might have shown the same initiative against the Democrats as he has against his fellow party members, we would not be saddled with trillions in debt, Obamacare, a growing surveillance state and unbridled immigration over our borders by undocumented, illegal aliens.
Oh, and his Republican brethren would probably not have considered challenging his third term as Speaker of the House. But I guess the devil is hidden in those details.
The shame of this little drama is that Representative Daniel Webster was unsuccessful in unseating our beloved Speaker. That failure comes with a price tag for sure. But the good news – in spite of John Boehner's bluster and bravado and fearsome chest thumping – is that a pretty clear message has been conveyed on behalf of the people who delivered a Republican majority in both the House and Senate.
Boehner may purge and retaliate all he wants. The Republican constituencies will be back in two years and ready to vote with a vengeance. Look – I wasn't sure they had it in them either. But the Tea Party isn't going anywhere and Boehner might want to consider that reality before he spikes the ball in his own end zone.
No-no-no, that's fine, Mr. Speaker. World weary over the trials and tribulations of executive amnesty and not willing to make waves with President Obama who oversteps his authority and renders you impotent? "Cromnibus" got you down and you can't work up the energy to tell the minority Dems to take a hike? Don't want to make any sudden moves and scare the American people with your sudden procurement of spine?
Funny that a man of Boehner's political acumen can so easily reach a hand of compromise to the American Left as they saddle generations of Americans with the reparation of their political debauchery, but would have no reverence for the genuine opposition embodied in Webster's actions this week.
