House GOP Needs Leadership? They've Got Leadership, They Need a Team

While there is a great many a point in this WSJ piece by Kimberly Strassel that I find myself nodding my head in agreement with, there are also more than a few suggestions made that I find completely devoid of rational thought. The topic is the condition of the House Republicans; but one of the targets of opportunity is Republican Leader, my Congressman and a Great American -- John Boehner.

I can agree, for example, with this sentiment:

Outwardly, the House GOP is gearing up to take on Democrats this fall. Inwardly, it's in disarray, engaged in a fight over the soul of the party. The reformers demand the leadership aggressively define itself on health care, earmarks and spending; the fat and happy push back, insisting their pork and their farm bills are necessary for re-election.

That is a pretty good summation of the state of play in the House GOP, near as I can tell.

The next two paragraphs are filled with material that I have some cognitive dissonance with...

In the middle is the minority leader, who has so far walked a tightrope. Yet this is a fight that must be resolved, and definitively, if the GOP wants out of the wilderness. Mr. Boehner's choice: To join with the reformers, Gingrich-like, and rally the troops around a bold agenda, or to find himself, Michel-like, a footnote in minority history.

The GOP has been quarrelling over its image ever since its 2006 electoral banishment. But the fight got nastier after the party lost two special congressional elections in May. The Republican Study Committee's 105 conservatives have been aggressively challenging the leadership's agenda (which it views as too fuzzy) and its refusal to rein in pork. The appropriator kings have banded together to block reform, and have so far been winning the battle.

Yes, Boehner has walked a tightrope. But he has to... There are many a reformer out there who expect change to happen overnight and simply because they said so. In the real world, people like Boehner have a third choice: work to be the change you wish to see.

We can argue whether or not Boehner should attempt a Gingrich-like takeover, but the truth is it isn't his style. Boehner is a principled conservative, but he is also a skilled negotiator and consensus builder. I think that's why I like him so much, I see a lot of my own leadership style in him. He's not afraid to speak his mind on virtually any subject, but he does so in such a way as it is possible to disagree with the guy and not be disagreeable. Contrary to Obama's rhetoric, it is guys like John Boehner who truly represent what "new politics" is supposed to be about.

But if you are one of those people who thinks that if Boehner isn't Gingrich, then surely he must be Michel; I got news for you...there is a new sheriff in town and he does things a little differently.



One of things I really love about these kinds of articles and the people quoted in them is the veiled references to "leadership" without naming names and citing specific issues. Yeah, Rep. John Campbell of California, I am looking right at you. When you say:

"We have not shown the American people that congressional Republicans today are different from the Republicans they voted out," California Republican John Campbell tells me. "Much of our congressional leadership does not believe we did anything wrong or are currently doing anything wrong. But we did, and we are."

...without getting any more specific than that, you are doing a disservice to yourself, your cause, the Republican conference, and the American People. You are already taking a risk by saying these things, go full monty, man, and stop hiding behind inuendo. Put your cards on the table, Congressman, or shut up. I'm sorry that the conference didn't vote you in to a leadership role that fits your grand vision of yourself, but perhaps that's because you aren't ready to handle the responsibility of leadership just yet.



While he has been more willing to look for consensus than some in the Conference would like, Boehner has seen what happens when you go All In on every single issue. He has learned from experience how to pick his battles and he knows the players on the other side well enough to know what they're breaking point is and how to exploit the advantage.

Let's see if any of the following rings any bells:

FISA

Troop Supplemental

S-CHIP

The Stimulus Package (remember all those tax hikes and domestic spending crap?)

Immigration (none of the bs amnesty bills are going anywhere)

Meanwhile, House Republicans are getting some things done:

They are wrapping gas prices around House Dems necks.

They are wrapping taxes around House Dems necks.

They are wrapping spending around House Dems necks.

You start throwing bombs every day of the week, you won't get anywhere. House members have a responsibility to pass legislation that will be good for our nation. Sometimes, that means compromising and sucking it up.

Folks want to go around belly-aching and moaning about how bad their lives are in the minority is? Then they can feel free to put on their big boy pants and do something about it. If we really want the majority back, it's gonna take a hell of a lot more than telling that to some reporter.

The House Republicans have a leader, what they need is a team. Because right now, it looks like there are more than a few spoiled kids who are ticked off that their well-off parents didn't have enough influence to get the coach to put them in the game. I'm sick of this stuff. Let's put our best guys on the field and let them play. We have the right guy in charge and he has a great plan for winning back the faith and trust of the American people. We need for the team to get on board.