House Speaker John Boehner’s Two Biggest Mistakes

Many are applauding House Speaker John Boehner’s latest tirade where he finally puts the Heritage Action and other groups into the proper prospective but some are saying “too little too late”.  Mr. Boehner could have saved his party and raised the level of play in Washington to a much higher level by doing what he began to do with the “Grand Bargain”.   Had he completed this action, America would have to reconsider its thought of Republican governess and would have a completely different take on them as they have today.  

But, alas, Mr. Boehner found himself hamstrung by his two most devastating mistakes far too early after taking control of the gavel.  His two major mistakes were inheriting Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy.

With Eric Cantor, Mr. Boehner inherited a partner who was immediately embraced by sabotaging of the speaker in order to claim that gavel for himself.  History tells us that as soon as he was named as the number two man, Mr. Cantor was already sniping at Boehner behind his back.  Cantor had already pledged his loyalty to that self-aggrandizing but powerless Tea Party.  Claiming that if John Boehner did not follow the Tea Party way, he, Eric Cantor would.  This was music to that less than 25% of the Republican Base and they quietly began to fall in behind him.  Yes, Mr. Cantor had his sights set on relieving Mr. Boehner of the speaker gavel and because of that everything Mr. Boehner would even hint at trying was not only leaked but sunk like a big old rock in a shallow pond.

Mr. Boehner’s second mistake was inheriting Kevin McCarthy.  Mr. McCarthy was supposed to be the one who could hold all Republicans in line and insure that the agenda of the speaker got the Republican votes it needed.  Had Mr. McCarthy been the right choice, the Republican agenda may have reached a fever pitch within the first few months of coming into operation but as is so very clear today, Mr. McCarthy was not the right choice. 

I don’t know if Mr. Boehner really had a choice in these two but if he had, then maybe his leadership was doomed from the start.  If Mr. Boehner did not have a choice and really did inherit these two then he is truly the most unlucky of men, Washington may have ever met.  Nothing he said he would do or may have secretly wished to do ever materialize.  

He failed at even keeping his people together but this time stood tall and now have more to show as an achievement than being the most unproductive in the history of the House of Representatives.  Not sure this is what he wanted as a legacy but thanks to the choices he made or the choices that was made for him, this is what he got.  Maybe this will spur him to began to stand even taller and change the tide and the direction of the wave that the current group of Republicans seemed stuck riding.