WASHINGTON — On the day that Rep. John Boehner of Ohio was re-elected speaker of the House for the 114th Congress, the dilemma soon to face Republican presidential candidates came into sharper focus with the prominent dissent from Rep. Steve King of Iowa.
King, one of the most outspoken conservatives in Congress, concluded that Boehner was neither sufficiently conservative nor an adequate-enough defender of the Constitution to serve as his party’s leader in the new House. He therefore cast a no vote when the roll was called. He was one of 25 Republicans to vote against Boehner.
King’s defection from the majority of his party could speak louder than the others for one important reason. In a few weeks, he will host the Iowa Freedom Summit, a weekend conclave that will draw at least half a dozen potential Republican presidential candidates for the unofficial kickoff to what will be a long pre-Iowa-caucus season.
The gathering will highlight the quadrennial challenge confronting all those who seek their party’s presidential nomination: How far can candidates go in catering to the most conservative or liberal wing of their parties without compromising their chances of winning a general election?
Because the presidential campaign begins in Iowa, with GOP caucuses that draw a smaller and more conservative group of activists, keeping a candidate balanced between nomination and general-election demands requires skill and discipline. It’s easier to say than do.
The dynamics of an intraparty contest risk triggering politically destructive behavior.
The juxtaposition of what happened in Washington on Tuesday, with the convening of the 114th Congress and the leadership elections and what will happen in Iowa on Jan. 24 points to the difference between those who are the current face of the Republican Party and those who will have influence in the states in the nomination process. In Washington today, it’s John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In Iowa in a few weeks it will be Steve King winning accolades.
On a day when Republicans hoped to show the country they are ready to govern, they were distracted by another intraparty skirmish. This one lasted only a few hours, but it served as an early look at the kinds of divisions that will play out in the nomination battle.
Prospective presidential candidates can, for now, offer deference to all parts of the party. But along the way, they will have to decide which course is their own and how much they resist being pulled in directions they ought not to go, rather than pulling their party where they think it needs to be. The opening event in Iowa this month will offer the first test.
