A government shutdown engineered by Republicans would be a disaster for Republicans, but such is the right-wing determination to throw a grenade into their own bunker that they are celebrating the unexpected announcement that House Speaker John Boehner will resign at the end of October.
which is one step short of calling him a traitor.
In fact, Boehner is a mainstream conservative with a sense of realism. He knows that in a government in which the opposition party controls the White House and has the votes to stop the passage of legislation in the Senate, deals must be reached to govern.
He knows that shutting down government in order to focus public attention on Planned Parenthood’s abortion practices and in an attempt to strip that outfit of government funds, as the party’s right wing demands, would backfire. Not only would it be futile, it would instead direct unpleasant attention instead on Republican lawmakers responsible for the shutdown.
that Republican leaders in the House and Senate had devised a plan to keep the government funded so it wouldn’t shut down when the new fiscal year starts Oct. 1. But the plan also envisioned getting a “reconciliation bill” on Planned Parenthood funding on the president’s desk that he would presumably veto.
However, apparently even this bold plan, which would achieve the Republican goal of elevating further the debate over Planned Parenthood, was not deemed sufficiently radical by the right wing.
Do these unyielding representatives really believe the president will cave on Planned Parenthood funding once government workers are on the street and polls show public opinion turning against Congress, as recent history suggests it inevitably will?
Why would he?
Boehner was far from the most effective speaker in the modern era, but when it comes to his battles with the right wing of his party, history will vindicate him.
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